David J. Kennedy's hundreds of drawings
of Philadelphia, executed between 1836 and his death in 1898, provide a one-man
artistic survey unequaled in the city's history and almost without parallel
in the United States. In many ways livelier and more faithful than the camera,
Kennedy's observations encompassed more than the obvious historical sites and
standard picturesque views; his energetic pencil documented circuses, cigar
stores, factories, lumber yards, taverns, bridges, and a variety of scenes that
are charming, informative, and unusual today precisely because they were absolutely
ordinary then. Some of his work was done at the suggestion of Ferdinand J. Dreer,
who commissioned Kennedy as a topographic draftsman, but most of it was undertaken
for his own pleasure, "the results of spare moments carefully applied,"
showing in Kennedy's own words- "how much can be accomplished if we are
diligent in what we undertake."
Biography from "The David J. Kennedy Collection," PMHB, vol.60, no.1. 1936, p.71
in Philadelphia, three centuries of American art: Bicentennial Exhibition, April 11- October 10, 1976. [Philadelphia], Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1976.