He also taught a generation of artists at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he introduced new techniques for studying and painting the human form. Many of his portrait subjects are from all walks of life in Philadelphia, his lifelong home.
He not only mentored a new generation of artists at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts but also introduced groundbreaking techniques for studying and painting the human form. His portraits frequently depicted individuals from various social classes in Philadelphia, where he had spent his entire life.