John French Sloan (American, 1871-1951)
White House, Pennsylvania
Signed "-John Sloan-" l.l., identified on labels from Kraushaar Galleries, New York, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (see below) affixed to the frame backings, and in a letter from Carole M. Pesner to André Previn also affixed to the frame backing.
Oil on linen mounted on cardboard, 9 x 11 in. (22.5 x 28.3 cm), framed.
Condition: Surface grime.
Provenance: Mr. Daniel Fraad; Kraushaar Galleries, New York; Collection of Dory Previn, Massachusetts.
Literature: Rowland Elzea, John Sloan's Oil Paintings, A Catalogue Raisonné, Part One (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1991), no. 94, p. 96.
Exhibitions: Three Young Collections: Selections from the Collections of Donald and Lynn Factor, Dennis and Brooke Hopper, André and Dory Previn, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, January 15-February 26, 1967, cat. no. 31 (ill.)
N.B. In the above referenced letter from Carole Pesner of Kraushaar Galleries, Mrs. Pesner provides the Sloan estate number of "JS 582" and dates the work to 1907 based on John Sloan's diaries. The work is also dated 1907 in the Sloan catalogue raisonné. The painting is registered in the Sloan archive at the Delaware Art Museum, which holds the largest collection of art by Sloan, as well as the John Sloan Manuscript Collection, donated by Helen Farr Sloan (1911-2005).
In the catalogue raisonné entry for a related work (No. 71, Pasture, Fort Washington), Rowland Elzea noted that in August 1906 Sloan wrote in his diary that he bought a wooden sketch box that he was fitting out to try some outdoor work while in Fort Washington (Pennsylvania). Robert Henri had taken up the practice of painting small, rapid pochades from nature while he was in France, and he urged his friends to try this technique. Elzea quotes John Sloan from his diary (August 11, 1906), "Made a try with my sketch box and find it quite a new thing to paint outdoors. My work of this sort has usually been of city subjects from memory..." Between 1906 and 1911, Sloan went on to paint about 50 small, 9 x 11 inch canvases from nature.
Estimate $15,000-20,000
The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.