John Sloan

Art Brokerage: John Sloan American Artist: b.1871 - 1951. Sloan began his career as a newspaper illustrator for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Through Charles Grafly, Sloan soon met Robert Henri, who was then teaching courses at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Sloan enrolled in a drawing class at the Academy taught by Thomas Anshutz, and eventually began renting Henri's studio at 806 Walnut Street, which became a meeting place of other young newspaper illustrators including William Glackens, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and of course, Sloan himself. These artists along with Henri are now termed the "Philadelphia Five." By 1896-97, with the encouragement of Henri, Sloan began painting seriously, primarily portraits, aside from his commercial work, and soon began exhibiting his canvases. By 1904, following the lead of the rest of the Philadelphia Five, Sloan moved to New York City with his wife Dolly, whom he married in 1901. In 1908, Sloan was one of the participating artists in the landmark exhibition, The Eight, at the Macbeth Gallery in New York. Although Sloan considered himself a professional artist, with his particular aptitude for drawing and print making, he continued to support himself as a commercial illustrator until 1916. (Sloan did not sell a painting until 1913 when Albert C. Barnes of Philadelphia purchased Nude in the Green Scarf.