Sloan, Helen Farr, 1911-2005

Helen Farr Sloan was the second wife of John Sloan, the painter.

Widow of the painter John Sloan.

Helen Farr Sloan (1911-2005) was the widow of celebrated American artist John Sloan (1871-1951), one of the original members of The Eight and later the Ashcan School of realist painters. Mrs. Sloan was herself an accomplished artist, educator, art patron, and philanthropist who dedicated herself to preserving her husband's legacy after his death in 1951.

Educator, artist, patron of the arts, philanthropist; married John Sloan in 1944; lived in New York City and Santa Fe, N.M.

Helen Farr Sloan (1911–2005) was the widow of celebrated American artist John Sloan (1871–1951), one of the original members of The Eight and later the Ashcan School of realist painters. Mrs. Sloan was herself an accomplished artist, educator, art patron, and philanthropist who dedicated herself to preserving her husband’s legacy after his death in 1951. For many years, she maintained his archives while collecting information and sponsoring research projects related to her husband’s life and artistic career. She provided documentary sources to many authors working on book projects about Sloan’s life and artistic works, while writing prefaces for a number of publications and even editing some works. Mrs. Sloan funded the Philadelphia Inquirer notebooks project (which comprises this collection) to document the artistic context for the early stages of her husband’s career.

John Sloan was born in Philadelphia in 1871, and attended Philadelphia Central High School. In 1887, Sloan started working for a dealer of books and fine arts, where he soon earned extra income by selling pen-and-ink drawings and gift cards. In 1892, Sloan joined the art department of The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked until 1895, mostly illustrating the Sunday edition of the paper. He continued to provide occasional illustrations for The Inquirer Sunday Magazine even after moving to another newspaper, Philadelphia Press, and his illustrations also appeared in several magazines, including Moods: A Journal Intime, where he became art editor in 1895. From 1892 to 1895, Sloan attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he encountered American artist Robert Henri, who would inspire him to abandon illustration work to pursue painting as a career.

Bruce St. John. John Sloan. New York, Washington, London: Praeger Publisher, 1971. John Loughery. John Sloan, Painter and Rebel. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1995. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1805-2005: 200 Years of Excellence. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2005. "Finding aid to the John Sloan Collection." Delaware Museum of Art. http://www.delart.org (accessed September 26, 2008).