Dox Thrash, Philadelphia (View of Philadelphia with City Hall)

In 1926, Dox Thrash settled in Philadelphia, where he found success as an artist. He was befriended by Samuel Brown Jr., head of the Tra Club, an African American art association. Soon afterward, he began working in the print shop of another friend, Samuel Reading, in West Philadelphia.

Thrash had lived in Philadelphia for twenty-four years when he made this cityscape. Created using his carborundum process, the dark-inked composition has a soft, velvety quality. City Hall is the tallest building in the skyline.