Early One Morning in the Twentieth Century

Early One Morning in the Twentieth Century by artist David Guinn was located in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It depicts a typical mid-19th century Society Hill streetscape. Guinn’s geometric style is based loosely on the work of Swiss artist Paul Klee, who used similar shapes in his compositions. The geometric shapes are intended to compliment the mural’s surroundings – the I.M. Pei apartment towers in the distance, the grid map in Welcome Park, and the neighborhood’s colonial architecture. The shapes become more abstract and digitized as one views the composition – moving left to right – an effect intended to loosely represent the progression of time, from the past to the present. Most of the composition was created using the grid method but Guinn used a Kraft paper stencil to transfer the images of the horse and buggy, and the wagon — all of which he painted by hand, onto the wall.

Location Note: Mural is no longer on view at this location (removed 2003).