Joseph Pennell

Joseph Pennell (1857-1926)

Joseph Pennell, painter, illustrator, etcher, lecturer, critic, author, teacher, was born in Pennsylvania,  the son of Philadelphia Quaker parents and briefly attended the School of Industrial Design now called the Philadelphia College of Art.  He was a pupil in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts between 1878-80, and his unusual ability in etching was early recognized by his instructor, James L. Claghorn.

In his time Pennell had “acquired no small measure of fame as a public lecturer, critic and author.  He also taught at the Art Students’ League.  As an illustrator for a time he worked in New Orleans in collaboration with Cable, the novelist.

In 1881 he went to Europe to illustrate some of the Italian writings of W. D. Howells.  There he received recognition from Philip Gilbert Hamerton who secured his services in illustrating a book on a tour along the river Seine.  “The fame of his work soon brought him all the commissions he wished,” and he collaborated with Henry James, Justin McCarthy and Sir Walter Besant in illustrating the “picturesque buildings and streets of London. He also collaborated with Andrew Rensselaer in portraying “the Majesty and beauty of the English cathedrals”.  He did so with his wife Elizabeth Robbins Pennell.

About his drawings an etchings one critic of the time said they are: “legion in number and must be seen to be appreciated [he completed over 1800 etchings and lithographs, executed mostly in Europe before 1917].  His etchings (he has destroyed all his early plates to prevent prints from worn-out plates finding their way into the market), run up into the hundreds and have an average excellence rarely maintained by a devotee of the needle, his Philadelphia, New Orleans, Italian, and London series, all have their own charm and excellence.”