Joseph Pennell

The prolific illustrator and printmaker Joseph Pennell completed this wash drawing to accompany the text of English Cathedrals by Mariana Griswold Schuyler van Rensselaer, a New York writer and socialite. The scene shows what Van Rensselaer thought to be the “most characteristically English” aspect of the church, namely the main entrance at the side of the façade that projects from the bottom of the southwest tower. Pennell’s handling varies from tightly controlled delineation to the freely applied wet wash of the cobblestones and trees. He also emphasized the medieval character of the streets and buildings, which he described in his journal.