John Sloan

John Sloan 1871-1951, American painter and etcher, b. Lock Haven, Pa. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and worked for 12 years as an illustrator on the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Press. In 1905 he went to New York City, where he worked as an illustrator. A member of the Eight , he was active in organizing the Society of Independent Artists and was its president from 1918. Long a popular teacher at the Art Students League of New York City, he was elected president in 1930. His scenes of city life and his nude studies are in leading museums throughout the United States. Characteristic are McSorley's Bar (Detroit Inst. of Arts); Renganeschi's, Saturday Night (Art Inst., Chicago); Wake of the Ferry (Phillips Memorial Gall., Washington, D.C.); and Nude with Nine Apples (Whitney Mus., New York City). Sloan's painting owes its distinction to a natural interest in human beings, whose life he portrayed with a directness often verging on satire. As an etcher he was equally gifted.

Bibliography: See his Gist of Art (1939); his correspondence ed. by B. St. John (1965); prints by P. Morse (1969); biographies by B. St. John (1971) and J. Loughery (1995); studies by L. Goodrich (1952), V. W. Brooks (1955), and D. W. Scott and E. J. Bullard (1971).

Sloan, John (1871–1951). American painter and graphic artist. He was born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Philadelphia, where from 1891 he worked as an illustrator on various newspapers and periodicals, particularly the Philadelphia Press. In the early 1890s he also attended classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and in 1896 he began to paint seriously, influenced by Robert Henri. In 1904 he settled permanently in New York, where he and Henri were among the members of The Eight. Sloan was the most political member of the group and as well as taking his most characteristic subjects from everyday lower-class New York life, he did illustrations for socialist periodicals, including The Masses, of which he was art editor from 1912 to 1916. However, he was not interested in using his art for what he called ‘socialist propaganda', and he resigned from the magazine after a dispute over policy. Sloan's paintings of the pre-First World War period are generally solid, broadly brushed, and low-keyed in colour, typically featuring street scenes or domestic interiors; however, he could also be sharply satirical and occasionally he expressed himself in a totally different vein, as in Wake of the Ferry ( Phillips Collection, Washington, 1907), a hauntingly melancholic marine picture. After the Armory Show (1913) he broadened the scope of his work beyond urban subjects to include landscapes and nudes and his style became harder and brighter. He also made etchings throughout his career, and Bellows called him ‘the greatest living etcher'.

Sloan's ‘impact on the art scene came not only through his art but also through his quick tongue, dedication to causes, leadership of organizations, and popularity as a teacher’ ( David W. Scott in Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art, 1973). For most of the period from 1914 to 1937 he taught at the Art Students League, his students including Alexander Calder, Barnett Newman, and David Smith. He was director in 1931–2 but resigned because of the organization's unwillingness to hire foreign teachers. Sloan also taught at the art schools run by Archipenko and Luks, and from 1918 until his death he was president of the Society of Independent Artists. In 1939 he published an autobiographical-critical book, Gist of Art. The best collection of his work is in the John Sloan Trust, Wilmington, Delaware.

Sloan, John (1871–1951). American painter and graphic artist. During the 1890s he worked as a newspaper illustrator in Philadelphia, and he started painting seriously in 1896, influenced by Robert Henri. In 1904 he settled permanently in New York, where he and Henri were among the members of The Eight. Sloan was the most political member of the group and as well as taking his most characteristic subjects from everyday lower-class New York life, he did illustrations for socialist periodicals, including The Masses, of which he was art editor from 1912 to 1916. However, he was not interested in using his art for what he called ‘socialist propaganda’ and he resigned from the magazine after a dispute over policy. His paintings of the pre-First World War period are generally solid, broadly brushed, and low-keyed in colour, typically featuring street scenes or domestic interiors; however, he could also be sharply satirical and occasionally he expressed himself in a totally different vein, as in Wake of the Ferry (1907, Phillips Coll., Washington), a hauntingly melancholic marine picture. After the Armory Show he broadened the scope of his work to include landscapes and nudes and his style became harder and brighter. He also made etchings throughout his career. Sloan was a popular teacher at the Art Students League and other schools. In 1939 he published an autobiographical-critical book, Gist of Art.