Charles Sheeler (1883–1965) was born in Philadelphia. He studied industrial drawing and applied arts at the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia, and drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Sheeler taught himself photography and worked as a freelance photographer. His interest in moving film dissolved soon after Manhatta was made and by 1931 he had distanced himself from photography as well. Instead, he focused on painting and is known for capturing architecture and urban landscapes. He was among a group of artists who employed the precisionist style, which emphasized linear precision and influenced the rise of modernism in the United States. 
