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John Sloan Quotes

John French Sloan was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight. He is best known for his urban genre scenes and ability to capture the essence of neighborhood life in New York City, often observed through his Chelsea studio window. Sloan has been called "the premier artist of the Ashcan School who painted the inexhaustible energy and life of New York City during the first decades of the twentieth century" and an "early twentieth-century realist painter who embraced the principles of Socialism and placed his artistic talents at the service of those beliefs." Wikipedia  

✵ 2. August 1871 – 7. September 1951
John Sloan photo
John Sloan: 8   quotes 0   likes

Famous John Sloan Quotes

“[on w:Diego Rivera:].. the one artist on this continent who is in the class of the old masters.”

John Sloan

Source: Brooks, Van Wyck. John Sloan: a Painter's Life. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co, 1955, p. 170

“[As a painting teacher] I'm not flirting, playing around. I'm serious about it... If you don't want to be serious about playing [at art], do something of no account. Go into banking. Buy collar buttons at five cents a dozen and sell them for five cents a piece.”

John Sloan

Ibid. p. 8.
The Gist of Art (1939)

“Then there is this idea that the world owes you a living. Here is a little thought about that. It isn't particularly logical but it makes my point. You were paid when you were born, with the privilege of living. Death is all that is coming to you. Life came to you when you were born.”

John Sloan

Ibid., p. 27.
The Gist of Art (1939)

“I have nothing to teach you that will help you to make a living. [as art teacher, advising his students]”

John Sloan

Source: Loughery, John. John Sloan: Painter and Rebel. New York: Henry Holt, 1995. , pp. 224-225

“The idea of taking up art as a calling, a profession, is a mirage. Art enriches life. It makes life worth living. But to make a living at it—that idea is incompatible with making art.”

John Sloan

Ibid., p. 26.
The Gist of Art (1939)

“[choosing his scenes by:].. night vigils at the back window.”

John Sloan

The Gist of Art Joan Sloan, New York: Artist Group, 1939, p. 220
The Gist of Art (1939)

“People who take things too literally don't get much of anything from my teaching. By never saying anything I mean, I say a great deal. I never mean anything I say under oath. I never mean exactly what I say. Not even this. You have to read between the words.”

John Sloan

In John Sloan on Drawing and Painting. Mineola NY: Dover Publications, 2000. Originally published in 1939 as The Gist of Art, p. 7.
The Gist of Art (1939)

“It takes a great deal of strong personality to survive the art school training. Hard nuts that the art schools can't crack and devour get through and become artists.”

John Sloan

Ibid., p. 8.
The Gist of Art (1939)

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