In spring 2008 the Managing Director invited the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia (AKMP) to coordinate a series of displays designed to showcase on a rotating basis Philadelphia's rich cultural heritage and the collections of the city's museums. The inaugural display is drawn from over 10,000 images of Philadelphia in different media from the AKMP collection. Primarily, the collection documents city life during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some images illustrate the work of painters who have used Philadelphia as the subject and inspiration for their art. The nine paintings span nearly 100 years, from the Centennial in 1876 to the post-World War II era.
The earliest image exhibited, Street Car Travel in Philadelphia (1876), was painted by Edwin S. Haley. Very little is known about Haley except that he was a sign painter for one of Philadelphia's streetcar companies. The colorful, animated image of a car packed with people on their way to the Centennial Celebration in Fairmount Park is his only known oil painting.
Four paintings by Fred Wagner (1864-1940), Train Shed (1919), Broad Street Station (1919), Logan Circle (c. 1930), and South Broad Street (c. 1930), reflect the style of the Pennsylvania Impressionists, a group of artists centered in New Hope in Bucks County in the early to mid 20th century. Wagner attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) where he studied with the artist Thomas Eakins. By 1912, Wagner had a studio in Philadelphia, and a year later he participated in the now-famous Armory Show of American Art in New York City. He also often exhibited at PAFA. In addition to AKMP, his work is in the collections of PAFA, Cleveland Museum of Art, and St. Louis Museum of Art.
Ina S. Kayaloff Garsoian (1896-1984) lived in Philadelphia from 1934 to 1937. Her Philadelphia Skyline (1942) captures two landmarks that have since disappeared: the gothic buildings of Friends Select School and the Schmidt's Brewery sign near the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Born in Russia, Garsoian studied in Moscow before moving to Paris, where she worked with artists Pablo Picasso and Giorgio de Chirico. While in Philadelphia, Garsoian first was as a designer and builder of theatrical and architectural models. Later she was employed by the federally supported Works Progress Administration and taught illustration and cartoon animation techniques. In 1937 Garsonian moved to New York to continue her work in theater design. Her paintings and drawings may be found in the collections of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris, Fogg Museum, New-York Historical Society, and Museum of the City of New York.
Humbert Howard (1915-1990), a native Philadelphian, was known as the dean of the city's African American artists. While there are no recognizable landmarks in Howard's Philadelphia Skyline (1960), one may imagine the early stages in the construction of Center Square after the destruction of the old Pennsylvania Railroad Broad Street Station. Howard attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., University of Pennsylvania, and the Barnes Foundation. He supported his art by working as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. Until the late 1950s Howard was the chair of the Pyramid Club's annual invitational art exhibit that showcased American art dealing with African American subjects, although not necessarily painted by African Americans. In addition to being housed at AKMP, Howard's paintings are in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, African American Museum in Philadelphia, and Library of Congress.
C. Isabel Campbell (1890-1962), who painted Port of Philadelphia (1955) and Philadelphia Airport (1955), was born in Brooklyn, New York. She studied at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design) with artists Daniel Garber and Elliott Daingerfield. She exhibited at the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, where she received a silver medal. Campbell also exhibited at the Moore College of Art and Design, Academy of Natural Sciences, and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The paintings displayed in the Managing Director's office were commissioned by Philadelphia's Commercial Museum in the 1950s.
Members of the public may view the paintings during regular business hours. For more information, call Sheila Olivo in the Managing Director's office at 215-686-3480.
