Robert Casadesus

This caricature by Chester County artist Alfred Bendiner playfully represents some of the musical talent appearing in Philadelphia in the first half of the twentieth century. A man of many talents, Bendiner was a trained architect and an accomplished writer in addition to being a skilled draftsman. His caricatures garnered a wide audience when they appeared in a number of newspapers between 1917 and his death in 1964. Working in his quick, responsive style, Bendiner began his drawings during performances and finished them late at night to make the deadline of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Many of his depictions of musicians were collected in his 1952 book Music to My Eyes.