Joseph Pennell

Born in Philadelphia on July 4, 1857, Joseph Pennell became known as a draftsman, etcher, lithographer, and illustrator for books and magazines. He studied art in Philadelphia and went on to build an unusually wide-ranging career, producing views of landmarks, landscapes, and industrial scenes with equal fascination.

Much of his working life was spent in Europe, where he developed a reputation as a prolific illustrator and printmaker. He contributed to books and periodicals, traveled widely in search of subjects, and became especially admired for the way he captured architecture, streets, bridges, ships, and the drama of modern industry.

Pennell also wrote about art and printmaking, and he worked closely with his wife, the writer Elizabeth Robins Pennell. Together they published a well-known biography of James McNeill Whistler, a figure important to Pennell's artistic life. He died in Brooklyn, New York, on April 23, 1926.