Entrance to Lloyds 1895

Joseph Pennell created this etching titled 'Entrance to Lloyds'. Pennell, an American expatriate, lived most of his adult life in London. Pennell was a vocal advocate for the artistic potential of urban and industrial subjects, a sentiment evident in this piece. Here, the grand architecture of Lloyds Bank meets the street. The blurring of social classes—laborers and top-hatted gentlemen—suggests a shared space, but also hints at the rigid social hierarchies of the Edwardian era. The image shows the financial institution as a bustling hub, reflective of London’s status as a global financial center. Pennell described his artistic project as capturing the “wonder and the romance” of modern life. Yet there is something more subtle at play: a tension between the monumentality of the bank and the anonymity of the figures populating its entrance. How does this contrast make you feel?