J.Pennell [signed in pencil.]
[Philadelphia and London: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1912.]
Large lithograph from an edition limited to 50, scarce, sheet 485 x 635mm. 19 x 25". Foxing; laid on card.
View of construction work on the Panama Canal in Central America which joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in the canal's early days to 14,702 vessels in 2008. From ‘Joseph Pennell's pictures of the Panama Canal', the artist's most famous lithographic series. In January of 1912, Pennell went to the Isthmus of Panama to draw the work on the canal for Century Magazine and London Illustrated News. There were 28 large lithographs in the series, issued in an edition of 50. Joseph Pennell (1857 - 1926) was a painter, illustrator and etcher, born in Pennsylvania, USA, the son of Philadelphia Quaker parents. 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.
See Print Collector's Quarterly Oct. 1912 p.291. See Library of Congress 12023736.
[Ref: 22330]  £550.00