Joseph Pennell: Efforts, Successful and Not

"The 'L' and the Trinity Building"
by Joseph Pennell

"Joseph Pennell's new studio was an inspiration. He experimented with his Pittsburgh and New York plates, trying to get out of them all he put into them. He hovered about tone in etching 'by way of aquatint and sandpaper - at last I have tackled mezzotint . . . and having lots of fun and making lots of messes.'

Now and then other work interrupted. The 'Century' discovered an author as keen about the practical progress of modern industrialism as Pennell was about its picturesqueness, and little journeys were numerous, here and there in England, to France, to Germany, to Belgium, for a series of drawings and etchings to illustrate Mr. James Davenport Whelpley's article on 'The Commercial Strength of Great Britain'; 'Germany's Foreign Trade'; 'Belgium, the Balance Wheel of Trade'; and 'The Trade of France.' 

In whatever leisure was left him he kept up his large correspondence and fulfilled his every duty on committees. 'Time is short,' he reminded Morris in one of the first letters on his return. In those that followed he discussed each and every detail of the fast approaching exhibition in Venice - exhibitors, space, decoration, packers, insurance, expense. The hanging was the most important, why not 'a simple background grey or white canvas - if you are not afraid - and a simple gold band - as we do in the International.' Only the best work was to be accepted, for it was wise to remember the British attitude towards the Americans represented that winter in the International Society's Exhibition, an attitude almost of hostility against not only the mediocre but the fine.

He made out lists of artists to be represented. He reported that T.R. Way will lend a group of Whistler's lithographs, but Mr. Alexander will not lend the portrait of Miss Alexander, refuses to send 'the little girl from home again.' Mrs. Saint Gaudens wants Saint Gaudens' reliefs and bronzes included; examples of McLure Hamilton and Cecilia Beaux are matters of course. And so it went on. He urged a friend: 'My dear Morris if we [as Americans] want to keep abreast of Contemporary art we must work - something more than hustle - I am afraid this show will hurt us...' 

Sadly the show did not reflect well on the Americans as a whole, but Pennell himself did better. In June he was made a National Academician, then in November he sold all of his prints in the Venice exhibition - the Pittsburgh and latest New York etchings - to the Municipality of Venice for their Public Gallery."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Letters of Joseph Pennell, Vol. Two" by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.)  

 

Joseph Pennell: New York, New York!

"New York Bay from the Margaret" by Joseph Pennell
Pastel on Brown Paper

"On June Twentieth, 1908, Joseph Pennell sailed for New York. While he was there, the Grolier Club proposed to give a show of his etchings with one hundred and fifty-seven prints in all, a proposal which he did not consider twice before accepting. Another show of his work was opened at Keppels'. He was also making illustrations of New York with coloured chalks on brown paper, his knowledge of New York growing with each drawing. These would be used in an upcoming book.

At the end of October I joined him, my first visit to my native land in twenty-four years. He was at the Belmont. 'People ask me why I go to the Belmont,' he wrote in the 1919 Keppel Catalogue. 'I go to get things like this ('The Clock, Grand Central') and from every room on every side I get subjects just as inspiring.' It was well that work no longer monopolized all his time. 

"The Clock, Grand Central" by Joseph Pennell

November was a month of dinners, lunches, visits, committee meetings. And he was my guide, on foot to lower New York and its skyscrapers, on ferryboats to the waterfront and its glories. And we were still in New York when 'The Life of Whistler' was published. If it cost us much time, labour and grave anxiety, we were repaid. It was an immediate success, both in England and America. Landing at Southampton on the morning of December third, in the first paper we opened we found an advertisement announcing the second edition.

That same winter McLure Hamilton painted him, in his long grey blouse, sitting in his studio by his table littered with bottles of acid, copper plates, and baths, a misty glimpse of St. Paul's through the window beyond. A.S. Hartrick made a lithograph of him in the same blouse, turning the wheel of his press. He sat to J. Kerr-Lawson for a second lithograph, to Clifford Addams for a second painting. William Strang's tinted drawing of him was made some few years before. These and Whistler's portraits, the lithographs, were on our walls. A professional beauty could be in no greater demand as a sitter, his friends used to tell him."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The LIfe and Letters of Joseph Pennell, Vol. Two" by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.)  

 

Joseph Pennell: A New Home and Studio

"Wren's City Out of the Adelphi Terrace Windows"
by Joseph Pennell

"Although his home and studio on Buckingham Street in London never ceased to please Joseph Pennell, he could not resist the finer views he could have just two short blocks away on the top floor of the Adelphi Terrace House. He could look down upon an unsurpassed arrangement of the Thames, Waterloo Bridge and Wren's City. It gave him one of his unfailing inspirations: why not build a studio on the roof from which Westminster Abbey to the west, as well as St. Paul's to the east, could be seen. The architect thought it was a good idea and improved upon it. He built not merely a studio, but an entire fourth floor divided into three flats, and for two of them Pennell signed a lease of twenty-one years without flinching.

Of the flat on the river front he made his studio - a palace indeed compared to his old one. The splendour of London was spread out before him. Space was plentiful for shelves and a long, low chest of drawers to store prints and drawings in. A large closet held his huge collection of old paper for printing. The press with its paraphernalia was sold for one of the less picturesque, more practical presses the Bank of England printed its bank notes on, until hand was exchanged for electric power. The walls were bare, a single print hanging in the studio, papered in grey, but this print appropriate: Toulouse-Lautrect's affiche for 'L'Estampe Originale.' The white or pale rose on the other walls made a good background for the few Whistlers and Pennells hung. The rooms were as empty as our needs allowed, a few rugs on the well-polished floors, a few pieces of indispensable furniture. The emptiness was a beauty in itself. 

We moved in towards the end of March and I doubt if we could have moved in then, or ever, without the help of Augustine. I wonder I have not said before that she was the stay and support of the household, and had become one of the family. She was the most competent of women, a genius as a cook, a paragon of order and cleanliness. And from the first day she understood Pennell, helped him in a hundred ways, saw to the packing up and sending off of his drawings and prints, when in France hunted up old paper for him, had no fear of work, and was the only person with the courage to scold Whistler when late for dinner. 

Thanks to her powers of organization by the middle of April, Pennell, with his blocks of brown paper and his coloured chalks, was in Italy, finishing 'Italian House,' journeying as far south as Rome, Civita Vecchia, and Naples. By the end of May he was back, writing to Harrison Morris about the Whistler Memorial and a proposed exhibition of American artists in London, and answering Van Dyke's suggestion for a New York book."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Letters of Joseph Pennell, Volume Two" by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.) 

 

Joseph Pennell: The Bio of Whistler, Pt. 2

"By the Law Courts" by Joseph Pennell

"The British courts, like all others, take their time. The case against us did not come up until the July of 1907. In the meanwhile it was never out of Joseph Pennell's mind, day or night. It was not his habit to be beaten, no matter what the game, no matter what the fight. He let no idea, no argument escape him, tireless in his study of the situation by day, and I have known him to get up out of his bed to jot down a sudden suggestion, fearful lest otherwise it might be forgotten by morning. One comfort was that we could rely upon our three witnesses: Mrs. Whistler (Whistler's sister-in-law); Luke Ionides, one of his oldest friends; and W.E. Gray, the photographer well known to artists.

The trial began on July 2, 1907. Though we were defendants, because we claimed Whistler's authority, the onus of proving it rested with us. Pennell, nerves all on edge beforehand, was cool enough in the witness box, thankful that matters had come to a crisis, conscious that he was in the right, that he had done all he could to prove it, and that suspense would soon be over. 

The other side called in Mr. Montague Lush, whose reputation was to make things uncomfortable for witness in cross-examination. With an air of 'now I've got you,' Mr. Lush said, to some question of Whistler's nationality, 'Why, you know that Whistler was never even in America.' 'Never in America!' Pennell answered, quite in his Buckingham Street manner, 'Why, he was born there!' and the counsel, whose business was to confuse, was confused himself. Again he thought to score with the objection: 'But why should Whistler have asked you? You have never written a biography.' 'No, but my wife has,' came quick as a flash, and that point also was quickly disposed of.  

Things seemed to go better for us, though Mr. Justice Kekewich's manner was so much pleasanter to Miss Philip than to me that my heart sank. But it was plain that she had no case. The trial dragged on, till on the Tuesday, the ninth the case was 'dismissed with costs.' Whistler's authorization could not be denied. Our rights were vindicated, our authority proved. 'Now,' we were told, 'you can put 'The Authorized Life of Whistler' on the title page.' 

We felt it called for celebration. Our publisher and his two partners gave us a lunch at the Café Royal where Whistler loved to go. We drank the white Bordeaux-Podensac he loved to order. In the evening we dined with Mr. and Mrs. Sauter, falling among friends who rejoiced with us. A load was off our minds." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Letters of Joseph Pennell," Volume Two, by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.)  

Joseph Pennell: The Bio of Whistler, Pt. 1

"Study of Joseph Pennell"
by James McNeill Whistler

"To the abundance of work Joseph Pennell was doing in 1906 and 1907, a burden of personal care and anxiety was added - the burden of a lawsuit, and it is hard to say whether it was worse in anticipation or when we were deep in the legal preparations for it. 'The Life of Whistler,' was the cause.

Whistler, after he asked us to write the book, spent many evenings with us, refreshing his memory of the past for our benefit, bore with patience the presence of a photographer in the studio getting special negatives for us, was as interested as Heinemann, his publisher and ourselves. His health, however, was breaking. He was much away and, towards the end, in no condition to be worried, 'to be made an Old Master before his time.' We continued to collect material during his last year and after his death.

We wrote to men and women associated with Whistler to ask for their reminiscences and impressions, and for permission to consult any letters they might have received from him. Among others we appealed to Marcus B. Huish of the Fine Art Society, who then submitted the letter to Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip, Whistler's executrix, who, for some reason was under the impression that Whistler had not asked us, and who objected to us as his biographers.

The result was that on the breakfast table the morning of November 28, 1906, we found two registered letters awaiting us, one at each place. They were warnings from Miss Philip's solicitors if within a week, they had not our assurance that we did not propose to write what purported to be a life authorized by Whistler, or to publish any of his letter, Miss Philip would take such measures as she was advised to - in a word, the usual lawyer's letter. We refused to give up doing what Whistler asked us to do, for we considered doing it a sacred obligation. Miss Philip immediately took the threatened measures."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Letters of Joseph Pennell" by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.)

 

Joseph Pennell: Illustrated Travel Guides

"Right of Way" by Joseph Pennell

"During the Nineties the vogue for the illustrated travel book had become firmly established, the result largely of Pennell's influence - not the huge elaborate publications, but the idea now was a small volume convenient for the traveler to carry, well made, well written, well illustrated, and issued for a reasonable sum. The Macmillans' Highways and Byways Series was a success from the start. It was continued with one or two volumes every year. To the English publisher of Henry James's 'Little Tour in France,' Pennell suggested: Why not an illustrated edition? 'The Best Guide Book ever written. I know because I illustrated it,' is his inscription in Mr. Edward L. Tinker's copy.

In the spring of 1899 the Little Tour took him and his bicycle over a route part of which he knew by heart, while the other part he had long been meaning to get to know as well. His Highways and Byways book for the year was also in France, 'Normandy' by the Reverend Percy Dearmer.  

Twice he interrupted the journeys. On the second he crossed from London with Lavery, each bringing a bicycle, arrived in time for the opening of the Van Dyck Exhibition with which the ceremonies closed. The collection impressed him, he must write this article himself, and we sat up till all hours, he dictating, I writing in the old fashion. The first  thing in the morning, the three of us were off on our bicycles, riding along the Belgian and French coast, Lavery as far as Calais, I as far as Dieppe, Pennell as far as Mont St. Michel, where he proposed an article to the Century and wrote to me to return to France as fast as possible. Familiarly as he knew France, his love of the beauty of 'the French scene' had not lost its ardour. 

1900 called him away on fewer long journeys, a good thing, so often did the Paris Exposition lure him across the Channel. One journey was to illustrate 'East Anglia,' a Highways and Byways book. Another in the summer was for his own amusement, though it was the prelude to a later article, 'In the Alps on a Motor Bicycle.' His love of cycling had not swindled, nor his spirit of adventure cooled. Now he was the first to put the motor bicycle to the test. He chose the London streets to begin on, not the wisest choice, and a story lingers of the machine getting away with him one day as he turned from the Marble ARch into Park Lane and met a detachment of the Black Watch. Right into the bagpipes he charged, scattering apologies right and left - 'Awfully sorry but I don't know how to stop the thing!' He escaped unhurt before they recovered from their surprise and tried to resume the swagger of their march." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Letters of Joseph Pennell" by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.)  

Joseph Pennell: The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers

"The Trains That Come and Go" by Joseph Pennell

"To all he was doing in the Nineties, Pennell, towards the end of that crowded period, added an interest which proved anything but a sinecure. Early in the winter of 1898, after Whistler's nomination as chairman, he was elected to the Executive Council of the recently organized International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, which existed until its dissolution in 1925.

During his fourteen years in London, Pennell had watched many fruitless movements against the Royal Academy and Academic convention. The idea of the International originated with Francis Howard, who was young, had studied in Paris, taken to art criticism in London, and had the intelligence to associate with him at the start John Lavery and E.A. Walton, the leaders of the Glasgow School, and Georges Sauter, a distinguished German artist living in London. Whistler accepted the leadership of this group of independents who scoffed, as he did, at the British belief in a national art with zealously guarded frontiers.

The first meeting was held in December, 1897. At the third Whistler was elected chairman, then president. The Society was to be like no other; a self-elected Executive Council in sole charge of its affairs; exhibitors responsible for nothing save the quality of their work; a company to manage its finances; its exhibitions to be as international as its name. 

The first exhibition was held in May, 1898, in the Skating Rink at Knightsbridge, transformed temporarily into three large and two small galleries, in which Whistler's scheme of decoration, his velarium and method of hanging were adopted. Pennell arranged his journey to Wales for the late spring, to the Italian Lakes for the summer, so as to be free for his work on the Selecting and Hanging committees. His section must uphold magnificently his claims for Black-and-White. He toiled like a galley slave. If distinguished black-and-white men did not submit work he thought worthy, he hurried to their studios to commandeer their best. He did not rest until the most distinguished French, German, Italian lithographers and etchers were included. 

And it was not enough to show good work, it must be shown beautifully. He was an artist in hanging - and most artists are not. A gallery arranged by him had an air of distinction. He knew where everything ought to go, hung the collection on the floor, to quote his words, rarely making any change when he transferred it to the walls. Lunch and dinner were nothing to him. He would rather go hungry than stop at a critical stage in the hanging."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Life and Letters of Joseph Pennell" by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.)