John Sloan

John Sloan was an American painter and a key member of the Ashcan School, a group who portrayed the rough, vivid life of early twentieth century New York. Born in Pennsylvania in 1871, he began as a newspaper artist and brought that reporter's eye to his painting. He depicted ordinary city life, crowded streets, rooftops, saloons, and working people, with warmth and honesty.

He was interested in the small, unglamorous dramas of urban living rather than grand subjects, and his sympathies lay with the working class. A committed teacher and a figure in progressive politics, he helped shape a distinctly American realism. Sloan's lively, affectionate scenes of old New York remain some of the best records of the city in his era.