The son of a box manufacturer, Joseph Pearson attended public school in Philadelphia. In 1894 he began working in the office of the architect Wilson Eyre, winning a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts the following year. From 1896 to 1901 he was enrolled at the Academy, studying under William Meritt Chase and J. Alden Weir. He subsequently tourred Europe, during which time he studied and copied many Velasquez paintings.
Pearson taught at the Pennsylvania Academy for most of his career. He was on the faculty from 1909 until 1939, a tenure interpreted only during the 1922Ä1923 term. From 1929 to 1935, he also taught summer sessions.
Landscapes, religious subjects and portraits are all part of Pearson's varied oeuvre. He was however best known for his animal paintings, specificallly his large outdoor bird scenes.
The recipient of numerous medals and prizes, Pearson won several awards at the Pennsylvania Academy, the National Academy of Design and the Art Institute in Chicago. Additionally, he received a gold medal at the PanamaÄPacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915, and a gold medal at the Philadelphia SesquiÄCentennial Exposition in 1926.
Pearson was married twice, once in 1902 to Emily Ruoff Fetter, and again in 1948 to Alice Kent Stoddard.
