Joseph Pennell was born in Pennsylvania in 1860. He is best known as a painter, illustrator, etcher, and teacher. As a young artist, he attended the School of Industrial (Philadelphia College of Art) and later attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts between 1878-80. He was strongly influenced by James Whistler, but Pennell began to prefer printmaking, rather than painting, at a young age. 

Pennell was a prolific printmaker and during a trip to Europe in 1917 he completed over 1800 etchings and lithographs. As part of this series he depicted various scenes of London, such as "St. Paul’s Churchyard." He often painted buildings, street scenes, and recognizable landmarks of Europe. After completing this series, he destroyed his etching plates, so as to keep reproductions off the market.

Throughout Pennell’s career, he helped illustrated nearly one hundred books. The artist’s work is held in museum collections throughout the world including Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh/ Carnegie Institute, Denver Art Museum, Florence Museum Of Art, Frederick R Weisman Art Museum, Georgia Museum of Art, among others.