John Sloan, Robert Henri, and John Butler Yeats: A Portrait of Friendship
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (July 31, 2015) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to present John Sloan, Robert Henri, and John Butler Yeats: A Portrait of Friendship on Thursday, August 13 at 7:00 p.m. This is the second of three lectures offered in conjunction with the John Sloan Gloucester Days exhibition on view at the Museum through November 29, 2015. The exhibition will be open for viewing prior to the lecture from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Presented by Avis Berman, an independent writer, art historian, and author of Rebels on Eighth Street: Juliana Force and the Whitney Museum of American Art; James McNeill Whistler; and Edward Hopper’s New York.
Self-Portrait, Working, 1916
Oil on canvas
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
Gift of John and Helen Farr Sloan
©2015 Delaware Art Museum/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
High resolution image available on request.
When we consider the subject of portraits of artists, our first thoughts tend to be of likenesses painted on canvas, etched on a plate, or exposed on a negative. But equally compelling in the study of artists and why they make the images they do are those portraits deduced and composed from the examination of psychological and social motivations. This sort of portrayal based on deeper emotional currents is especially revealing in the case of the American painter and printmaker, John Sloan. Sloan could not have matured into the artist he was without the catalytic interlocking relationships he sustained with two other forceful personalities—the painters Robert Henri and John Butler Yeats. The power of these artists’ intense, transformative personal and intellectual friendships—friendships that became central experiences, opened doors to new worlds, and were precious founts of support and inspiration—does much to explain many facets of Sloan’s life and work. The three men’s association also had more general consequences for American art—it was a great influence on drawings, paintings, and prints produced by a number of outstanding artists in Sloan and Henri’s orbit.
Tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members. For more information, please call (978)283-0455 x10 or emailinfo@capeannmuseum.org.
The third lecture in the series, presented by Michael Lobel on October 30, will be Passing through Gloucester: John Sloan Between City and Country.
About the exhibition:
One of this country’s most important artists of the early 20th century and a highly respected teacher, John Sloan (1871-1951) spent five summers—1914 through 1918—living and working on Cape Ann. During that time he created nearly 300 finished oil paintings, using Gloucester’s rugged landscape as a backdrop to experiment with color and explore ideas about form, texture and light. Arguably the most productive period of his career, the body of work that Sloan created during this time continues to astonish and delight viewers a century after it was completed.
The Cape Ann Museum is proud to have five major works by John Sloan in its permanent collection: Sunflowers, Rocky Neck, 1914; Old Cone (Uncle Sam), 1914; Glare on the Bay, c.1914; Red Warehouses at Gloucester, 1914; and Dogtown, Ruined Blue Fences, 1916. Approximately 30 additional works, drawn from public and private collections across the country, will also be on display.
Exhibition Sponsors:
John Sloan Gloucester Days is sponsored by Carpenter & MacNeille Architects and Builders, Inc. and by Cape Ann Savings Trust & Financial Services.
Good Morning Gloucester 