BIOGRAPHY
An American painter and printmaker, John Sloan studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1892 to 1894 and worked as a commercial artist, first with the Philadelphia Inquirer and then the Philadelphia Press. He first gained national recognition for his illustrations in the turn-of-the-century poster style, such as Atlantic City Beach. In fact, until 1916, he earned his living through magazine illustrations.
Around 1897, through his association with the group of young Philadelphia artists around him, Sloan began to paint in oil, becoming interested in depicting city life. In 1904, he followed artist Robert Henri to New York, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He participated with seven other artists in an exhibition at the Macbeth Gallery to protest the conservative taste of the National Academy of Design, a group which was dubbed The Eight. Several of those artists became known as Ashcan painters (of the Ashcan School) because of their fondness for depicting the seamier side of urban life. At this time Sloan’s paintings were archetypal Ashcan images: genre scenes of lower-class neighborhoods in New York, painted thickly in a dark or strong palette, as in the Hairdresser’s Window (1907). Sloan avoided all sentimentality in his ‘slices of life’, often infusing a light humor into vignettes of crowds, people entering bars (e.g. Haymarket, 1907) or playing in city parks. Although he was a socialist, his paintings were rarely intended as social criticism.
After the Armory Show (1913), Sloan began to focus on formal issues rather than subject matter. Fascinated by color theories, Sloan began applying various color systems to his landscapes and town views. His preoccupation with formal issues led him to focus from the late 1920s on the nude, and to develop a technique of linear hatching that he believed gave substance to his painted forms, such as Nude and Nine Apples (1937). Sloan was also renowned as a printmaker and master draughtsman: his etchings (like the New York City Life series, 1904), relate thematically to his paintings and influenced his late style.
After World War I, Sloan’s reputation grew substantially, as an important force in encouraging the development of art in the USA. He taught at the Art Students League in New York from 1916 to 1932, and also served as President of the Society of Independent Artists.
An American painter and printmaker, John Sloan studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1892 to 1894 and worked as a commercial artist, first with the Philadelphia Inquirer and then the Philadelphia Press. He first gained national recognition for his illustrations in the turn-of-the-century poster style, such as Atlantic City Beach. In fact, until 1916, he earned his living through magazine illustrations.
Around 1897, through his association with the group of young Philadelphia artists around him, Sloan began to paint in oil, becoming interested in depicting city life. In 1904, he followed artist Robert Henri to New York, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He participated with seven other artists in an exhibition at the Macbeth Gallery to protest the conservative taste of the National Academy of Design, a group which was dubbed The Eight. Several of those artists became known as Ashcan painters (of the Ashcan School) because of their fondness for depicting the seamier side of urban life. At this time Sloan’s paintings were archetypal Ashcan images: genre scenes of lower-class neighborhoods in New York, painted thickly in a dark or strong palette, as in the Hairdresser’s Window (1907). Sloan avoided all sentimentality in his ‘slices of life’, often infusing a light humor into vignettes of crowds, people entering bars (e.g. Haymarket, 1907) or playing in city parks. Although he was a socialist, his paintings were rarely intended as social criticism.
After the Armory Show (1913), Sloan began to focus on formal issues rather than subject matter. Fascinated by color theories, Sloan began applying various color systems to his landscapes and town views. His preoccupation with formal issues led him to focus from the late 1920s on the nude, and to develop a technique of linear hatching that he believed gave substance to his painted forms, such as Nude and Nine Apples (1937). Sloan was also renowned as a printmaker and master draughtsman: his etchings (like the New York City Life series, 1904), relate thematically to his paintings and influenced his late style.
After World War I, Sloan’s reputation grew substantially, as an important force in encouraging the development of art in the USA. He taught at the Art Students League in New York from 1916 to 1932, and also served as President of the Society of Independent Artists.
RESOURCES
1. The Cot
2. Works by John Sloan in the Crystal Bridges Museum main collection:
Bleecker Street, Saturday Night ; dozens of sketches of various scenes (for instance, Roofs, Summer Night)
1. The Cot
2. Works by John Sloan in the Crystal Bridges Museum main collection:
Bleecker Street, Saturday Night ; dozens of sketches of various scenes (for instance, Roofs, Summer Night)
REFERENCES
Biography adapted from Fort, Ilene Susan. "Sloan, John." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T079198>.
Biography adapted from Fort, Ilene Susan. "Sloan, John." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press.
<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T079198>.
Artwork behind title: Sloan's Bleecker Street, Saturday Night (detail), Crystal Bridges Museum
