Grant Simon (Philadelphia 1887-1967) 1956 Signed Litho Church on the River Front

Description: Grant Miles Simon (Philadelphia 1887-1967) Christ Church on the River Front, circa 1776, 1962LithographSigned in pencil and dated left, titled and numbered from edition of 100 11 3/4 by 8 3/4 inches (image) 16 3/4 by 13 inches (page) Christ Church, the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church, was founded in 1695 as a condition of William Penn’s Charter. Known as “The Nation’s Church,” it hosted members of the Continental Congress during the American Revolution and Presidents George Washington and John Adams in the first decade of the newly established Republic. Among early members were Benjamin and Deborah Franklin, Betsy Ross, John Penn (William Penn’s grandson), and signers of the Constitution and of the Declaration of Independence, including Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, and Francis Hopkinson. Dating to 1744, the current building has been cited as “our finest Early American church” and one of the finest Georgian structures in America. Its steeple (1754), financed by a lottery organized by Benjamin Franklin, is the work of Robert Smith, one of America’s earliest architects. For 56 years, the steeple made Christ Church the tallest structure in North America. This Church further serves as a site of significance in Philadelphia’s history of slavery and abolition. It’s location alone places the church within walking distance of the waterfront where thousands of Africans first arrived upon American soil after surviving the transatlantic slave trade. 2nd & Market (then known as High St.) also shared its position with the frightening scenes of an active whipping post and nearby auction block. One man named Absalom Jones (1746-1818) began his life enslaved to a vestryman of the church. He later freed himself and his wife and went on to be ordained in the parish as the first African American Episcopal priest. Christ Church is a privately managed historic site that is an official component of Independence National Historical Park. An active Episcopal parish, the church hosts daily historical talks and tours. From AskArt: The late Grant Miles Simon was well known as a prominent architect, lithographer, painter, historian, and author. Born in 1888, his artistic training includes study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, LEcole des Beaux Arts in Paris, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. He acquired numerous distinctions as a student and as a practicing architect. His vast knowledge of Philadelphia is reflected in his accomplishments-as chairman of the Philadelphia Historical Commission, and in his lithographs, books, essays, and literary contributions with other distinguished historians. Beginning as early as 1913, Grant M. Simon was a recognized painter and watercolorist. He gained a considerable reputation for his watercolors in the last twenty years of his life. In 1958, he won the coveted Paris Prize for Architecture, based in part upon a watercolor rendering. His work reflects his interest in his travels-in Philadelphia, the east coast, especially Maine, as well as abroad. In 1949, he spent an entire summer on Mt. Desert Island in Maine, painting and exhibiting his work. This experience influenced his painting technique, particularly misty fogs, for which he has been called a master. In Philadelphia, Simon enjoyed prominence. He designed some of the citys better known landmarks-the Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, the Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company building, the First Unitarian Church, the War Memorial of the University of Pennsylvania, and others. He held memberships in the Architectural Institute of America, the American Watercolor Society, and the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, exclusively for the pupils of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, whose principles they wished to cultivate in the United States. Simon exhibited at the American Watercolor Society in 1943, 1945 and 1946; the National Academy of Design in 1945, 1946; and the Library of Congress in 1941-1943. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Atwater Kent Museum, Library of Congress, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and many others, in addition to distinguished private collections. Grant Miles Simon died in 1967.

Price: 129.95 USD

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

End Time: 2024-10-22T20:11:06.000Z

Shipping Cost: 9.95 USD