American realist painter John Sloan (1871–1951) is best known for his images of New York during the early 20th century and as one of the pioneers of the Ashcan School. The Delaware Art Museum holds the largest and most extensive collection of Sloan’s art and archival materials in the world. An American Journey: The Art of John Sloan, on view October 21, 2017 – January 28, 2018, will be the first comprehensive retrospective of Sloan’s work since the Delaware Art Museum’s 1988 show John Sloan: Spectator of Life.

An American Journey: The Art of John Sloan, organized by Dr. Heather Campbell Coyle, the Delaware Art Museum’s chief curator and curator of American Art, will present the entire arc of Sloan’s career—from newspaper illustration in Philadelphia during the 1890s through his late paintings in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The exhibition includes nearly 100 works—drawings, prints, and paintings—produced between 1890 and 1946 and includes paintings that have not been seen in decades, some not since Sloan’s 1951 death. This retrospective will also draw on the Museum’s rich archival materials, including illustrated letters and photographs.

“The first full retrospective of John Sloan’s work in nearly 30 years, this is a show that only the Delaware Art Museum is in a position to present,” explains Delaware Art Museum’s Executive Director and CEO Sam Sweet. “The broad range of works on view—drawn from the Museum’s own collection—tell the story of an important time in the history of American art. The exhibition will shed new light on the artist’s longstanding legacy, the Ashcan School, and a moment in New York City life.”

An American Journey explores all facets of the artist’s long and prolific career: his student work at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; illustrations for Philadelphia newspapers and national magazines; depictions of New York City life; paintings of Gloucester, MA; his nudes and portraits; and studies of Santa Fe.

“The Delaware Art Museum has the most expansive collection of paintings, drawings, etchings, and illustrations made by Sloan, as well as his personal papers. This retrospective will draw on these materials to present an unprecedented look at Sloan’s long career. In particular, this project showcases the artist’s early years in Philadelphia, his figure paintings, and his work as an illustrator,” says Dr. Coyle.

The Museum’s major New York paintings—Throbbing Fountain, Night (1908), Wet Night on the Bowery (1911), Spring Rain (1912), and Wet Night, Washington Square (1928) —will be featured in the retrospective, as will his masterful New York City life etchings.

An American Journey: The Art of John Sloan includes illustrations from throughout Sloan’s career—ranging from the Art Nouveau elegance of his work in the 1890s, through his charming and challenging visual puzzles, and his biting political cartoons. “These will be seen with major paintings and etchings to highlight how the artist worked out ideas across media and over years,” explains Coyle.

Thanks to the generosity of the artist’s wife, Helen Farr Sloan (1911–2005), the Delaware Art Museum is home to the largest collection of art by Sloan, as well as the John Sloan Manuscript Collection, a treasure trove of photographs, letters, diaries, clippings, and tear sheets. These rich holdings, documenting Sloan’s life and work, provide the unique focus of this exhibition.

The Delaware Art Museum’s Sloan collection is situated within a strong survey of American art and illustration, with particular strength in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Museum’s American art and illustration collection stretches from 1757 to the present day and includes major works by Raphaelle Peale, George Inness, Howard Pyle, Edward Hopper, William Zorach, Norman Lewis, Andrew Wyeth, Robert Colescott, and Deborah Butterfield. Selections from the Museum’s archive on John Sloan can be found online here.

An American Journey: The Art of John Sloan will be accompanied by a full range of public programs, including tours, lectures, family and school programs, as well as a symposium November 2–3, 2017 for specialists and enthusiasts to explore Sloan’s work in depth.

The exhibition is supported by a catalogue with essays by Delaware Art Museum’s Chief Curator and Curator of American Art Dr. Heather Campbell Coyle and painting conservator Mark Bockrath. The publication also features individual object entries contributed by Dr. Coyle and other scholars currently working on Sloan, including John Fagg (Lecturer, Director of American and Canadian Studies Center, University of Birmingham); Margarita Karasoulas (Ph.D. candidate, University of Delaware); and Jennifer Parsons (assistant curator, Florence Griswold Museum). The catalogue will be available in the Delaware Art Museum’s Store and online at delart.org this fall.