Description

Pennell, who had lived in London for two decades, returned to New York in 1904 and was enraptured by the new forest of skyscrapers—symbols of America’s vitality, modernity, and importance in world business. When Pennell etched this view of the heart of financial America, the New York Stock Exchange on Broad Street, designed by George B. Post, had just been completed. It is the shortest building on the right with a facade of white marble Corinthian columns. The crowd clustered in the foreground is the outdoor Curb Exchange, brokers who could not get a place on the stock exchange. Pennell carefully inked and wiped the plate for this impression, leaving tone on the surface to create an atmospheric effect.