John Sloan

American (1871-1951)

Born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania in 1871, John Sloan was a major early 20th century figure in New York, pioneering the Social Realist movement with Robert Henri and his circle.

Sloan began his career as a newspaper illustrator for the Philadelphia Inquirer and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under Thomas Anshutz. Sloan rented Robert Henri’s studio, which became a meeting place of other young newspaper illustrators including William Glackens, George Luks and Everett Shinn. These artists along with Henri and Sloan are now known as the “Philadelphia Five.”

With the encouragement of Henri, Sloan began painting and exhibiting his canvases and in 1908, was one of the participating artists in the landmark exhibition, The Eight, at the Macbeth Gallery in New York. Sloan taught at the Art Students League and his students included Reginald Marsh, Raphael Soyer and Alexander Calder.

Sloan’s work is held in collections throughout the country including the Delaware Art Museum, Addison Gallery of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, Cincinnati Art Museum, Carnegie Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Phillips Memorial Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.