John Sloan: Santa Fe Sojourn

JOHN SLOAN Santa Fe Sojourn

JOHN SLOAN Santa Fe Sojourn

All images Š 2017 courtesy Gerald Peters Gallery and Kraushaar Galleries Inc. All rights reserved. Š 2017 Essay by John Macker No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, including photocopying, recording or information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

JOHN SLOAN Santa Fe Sojourn

AUGUST 25 – OCTOBER 7, 2017 1005 PASEO DE PERALTA, SANTA FE, NM 87501 (505) 954-5700 | WWW.GPGALLERY.COM

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merican artist John Sloan (1871-1951) originally from Pennsylvania and New York, utilized his passion for art and artists and the respect he had gained as an urban-realist painter of renown, to found the insurgent painters group, “Ashcan School” along with William Glackens and his mentor, Robert Henri, among others. He was also a founding member of The Eight, a loosely woven group of Eastern U.S. artists who exhibited together, which included five members of the Ashcan group, along with Arthur B. Davies, Maurice Pendergrast and Ernest Lawson. In 1913 he exhibited in the legendary Armory Show, an event that heralded the birth of Modernism in America, as well as the death knell for the darker, more traditional and more regional, Ashcan style.

A ritual of summers painting in Gloucester was interrupted by an excursion to Santa Fe with his wife and the Randall Daveys, in 1919. He returned almost every summer thereafter for thirty years. The Southwest’s arid climate, the bold fabric of the landscape, the clarity of the air and vast skies, freshened his approach to painting.

He produced landscapes, genre scenes, as well as portraits of the local Hispanic community. Having already discovered a new dynamism in color and form from painting the Eastern seaboard, the light and space of New Mexico enabled him to re-invigorate his palette and celebrate the raucous beauty of the Southwestern topography in a new way. He also employed an autobiographical approach to his work, painting the intimacy of his environs as well as close New Mexico friends, like Will Shuster.

As historian Avis Berman has noted, “For more than fifty years, his world was a good-humored mix of painters, writers, musicians, models, workers, children, native peoples, and immigrants.”

Sparked by the success of The Eight, he inspired and encouraged some of his Santa Fe friends to unify in order to gain recognition and establish themselves. In 1921, Will Shuster, Walter Mruk, Jozef Bakos, Willard Nash and Fremont Ellis became Los Cinco Pintores; they’re considered the fledgling “modernists” of Santa Fe. In 1923, Sloan became a member in good standing of the newly formed New Mexico Painters.

As the 1920’s ushered in the Jazz Age and Prohibition, Natives peoples were suffering under the unjust predations of the American government. Sloan and many of his contemporaries were appalled at the rise of anti-Indian sentiment. He became a staunch advocate of New Mexico’s indigenous peoples, agitating for their traditions, land and art. By the end of his life, Sloan had played a seminal role in the cultural growth of Santa Fe. He promoted Southwestern art in the East and influenced more open exhibition policies at the Museum of New Mexico. That fabled institution, under the direction of Edgar L. Hewitt, served as a resource and receptacle for Sloan and the other artists who would make up the Santa Fe Art Colony.

We are pleased once again to present the Santa Fe works of John Sloan at Gerald Peters Gallery. This exhibition, which includes over 20 paintings and works on paper, exemplifies the powerful and enduring influence the Southwest had upon Sloan’s artistic production. We would also like to thank Kraushaar Galleries Inc., New York for their dedication to the legacy of John Sloan and continued support and assistance.

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Plates

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Autumn, Sun on the Range, 1920, oil on canvas, 26 x 32 inches

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The Acequia Madre, Evening, 1920, oil on canvas, 26 x 20 inches

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Coming Storm, 1921, oil on canvas, 20 x 26 1/8 inches

Coming Storm, 1923, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

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Culebra Range, Early Autumn, 1923, oil on canvas, 26 x 34 inches

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Mesa, Carson Reserve, 1925, oil on canvas, 20 x 26 inches

Chama River, 1925, oil on canvas, 20 x 26 inches 10

Pecos Pines, 1925, oil on canvas, 32 x 26 1/8 inches

Tree By Yellow Chama, 1925, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches 11

The New Homestead 1930, gum arabic tempera underpaint; oil-varnish glaze on panel, 24 x 32 inches

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The Old Fashioned Dress, 1934, tempera underpaint; oil varnish glaze on panel, 30 x 20 ½ inches 14

Children Playing in the Rio, Santa Fe, 1938, casein, tempera underpaint: oil-varnish glaze on panel, 24 x 18 inches

Aspens on the Range, 1938, tempera underpaint; oil varnish glaze on panel, 20 x 26 inches 15

Picnic, Arroyo Hondo, 1938, tempera underpaint; oil varnish glaze on canvas mounted on panel, 20 x 24 inches

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East at Sunset, Camino Monte Sol, 1939, tempera underpaint; oil varnish glaze on panel, 22 ½ x 28 inches

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Picnic in the Rio Grande Canyon, 1947, 1948, casein tempera underpaint, oil-varnish glaze on panel, 22 x 27 7/8 inches

Bridge Over Rio Grande, 1948, 1949, oil on panel, 20 x 26 inches 18

Etchings

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Better Mouse Traps?, 1937, etching, 4 x 6 inches (plate)

Snow on the Range, 1937, etching, 4 x 6 inches (plate)

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Dragon of the Rio Grande, 1922, etching, 2 Âź x 5 Âź inches (plate)

Hombres in the Sun, 1937 etching, 6 x 4 inches (plate)

Winnowing Wheat, 1937 etching, 6 x 4 inches (plate)

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Santa Fe Family, 1937, etching, 3 Âź x 3 Âź inches (plate)

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Seven Toed Pete, 1929, etching, 7 x 5 inches (plate)

The Black Pot, 1937, etching, 6 x 4 inches (plate)

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Knees and Aborigines, 1927, etching, 7 x 6 inches (plate)

10 0 5 PASEO D E PER ALTA , S A N TA F E , N E W ME X ICO 87501 ( 5 0 5 ) 9 5 4 - 5 7 00 | WWW. G P GA L L E RY. CO M

10 0 5 PASEO D E PER ALTA , S A N TA F E , N E W ME X ICO 87501 ( 5 0 5 ) 9 5 4 - 5 7 00 | WWW. G P GA L L E RY. CO M