Joseph Pennell (1857–1926) was an American-born printmaker and writer who was one of the major book illustrators of his time. Born in Philadelphia, after attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Pennell found work etching historic landmarks and illustrating travel articles and books for American publishers. In 1884 he went to Europe and settled in London. Here the Pennells were part of a group of artists surrounding the American avant-garde painter James McNeill Whistler. Whistler's style influenced Pennell's work and when Whistler moved to Paris in 1892, Pennell followed in 1893 and spent a period working with Whistler in his studio Also in this circle were writers such as H.G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James and George Bernard Shaw.
During his lifetime Pennell produced more than 900 etchings and mezzotints and more than 600 lithographs on architectural and landscape subjects ranging from the Panama Canal to the factories of England and the temples of Greece. He helped to spur the revival of printmaking and print collecting during the first two decades of the 20th century. Pennell moved back to the United States during World War I.
He was married to the writer and fellow Philadelphian Elizabeth Robins Pennell, who was an equal in terms of intellect and ambition.
