Lower Broadway
1904
Medium
Graphic Arts-Print
Classification
Graphic Arts-Print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of DeWitt Hornor
Accession Number
1978.77.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling heart of early 20th-century New with Joseph Pennell's *Lower Broadway* (1904), a lithographic print from the Smithsonian American Museum's collection. Pennell, a renowned American printmaker and illustrator celebrated for his dramatic urban scenes, masterfully captures the towering skyscrapers lining Broadway, alive with streetcars clattering along tracks and crowds of figures weaving through the chaos. Gifted to the museum by DeWittor, this graphic arts print freezes a pivotal moment in Manhattan's transformation from a commercial hub into a skyline-defining metropolis....
About the Artist
Joseph Pennell · 1857–1926
Joseph Pennell (1857–1926) was born in Philadelphia to Quaker parents and displayed an early aptitude for drawing, finding solace in sketching amid a challenging childhood. He received initial drawing instruction from James R. Lambdin and his first etching lessons from Stephen Ferris in 1879. Pennell attended night classes at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art before studying at ...