The Cut at Paraiso
Joseph Pennell American
Not on view
Pennell, a Philadelphia-born Quaker, spent the first two decades of his career abroad, living primarily in London, where he became a close associate of Whistler. This lithograph was made after the artist toured Panama and looked at the engineering works in progress for the Panama Canal. Of this subject, he wrote, "At this point the old railroad crosses the Canal bed, and there is a splendid view in both directions...The mountains are covered with long lines of mist, under which nestles the American-Japanese town of Pariso. The new line of railroad never corsses the Canal, but passes behind the mountain on the right. The scheme of having it follow the Canal through Culebra Cut has been abandoned, owing to the slides."
