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Memory

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Alternate Title: John Sloan; Dolly Sloan; Robert Henri; Linda Henri

Artist: John French Sloan, 2 Aug 1871 - 8 Sep 1951
Sitter: John French Sloan, 2 Aug 1871 - 8 Sep 1951; Dolly Sloan, 1876 - 1943; Robert Henri, 25 Jun 1865 - 12 Jul 1929; Linda Henri, 19 Jan 1875 - 8 Dec 1905

Date: 1906

Type: Print

Medium: Etching on paper
Dimensions: Image: 18.5 × 22.4 cm (7 5/16 × 8 13/16"); Sheet: 27.8 × 35.3 cm (10 15/16 × 13 7/8")

Topic: Printed Material\Book; Equipment\Smoking Implements\Cigar; Artist's Effects; Artist's Effects\Drawing board; Equipment\Smoking Implements\Pipe; Nature & Environment\Fruit; Interior\Domestic; Self-portrait; John French Sloan: Male; John French Sloan: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter; John French Sloan: Visual Arts\Artist\Illustrator; John French Sloan: Visual Arts\Art instructor; Linda Henri: Visual Arts\Artist; Linda Henri: Female; Dolly Sloan: Female; Dolly Sloan: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist\Patron of the arts; Dolly Sloan: Visual Arts\Artist's model; Robert Henri: Male; Robert Henri: Literature\Writer; Robert Henri: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter; Robert Henri: Visual Arts\Art instructor; Portrait

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Restrictions & Rights: Usage conditions apply

Object number: NPG.69.37

Exhibition Label: “Paint what you feel. Paint what you see. Paint what is real to you.” With that directive, the charismatic painter Robert Henri (1865–1929) persuaded a generation of American artists to dispense with time-honored European traditions and find fresh inspiration in the daily life of New York City. Together with John Sloan, whom he met in 1892, Henri led a rebellious group of painters who became known as the Ashcan School for their depictions of the gritty realities of urban life. Sloan and Henri’s shared dedication to realism strengthened their close friendship. The intimacy and productivity of their partnership is captured in this group portrait of the artists and their wives. While Sloan (right) and Henri (left) concentrate on drawing, Dolly Sloan (1876–1943) reads aloud and Linda Henri (1875–1905) gazes at the viewer. Linda’s death the previous year accounts for the print’s wist fully nostalgic title, Memory.; “Pinta lo que sientes. Pinta lo que ves. Pinta lo que es real para ti”. Con este lema, el carismático pintor Robert Henri (1865–1929) persuadió a una gene ración de artistas estadounidenses para que aban donaran las viejas tradiciones europeas y buscaran nueva inspiración en la vida diaria de la ciudad de Nueva York. Junto a John Sloan, a quien conoció en 1892, Henri encabezó un grupo de pintores rebeldes conocido como la Escuela Ashcan (“escuela del bote de basura”) porque representaban la realidad cruda de la vida urbana. La dedicación al realismo compartida por Sloan y Henri fortaleció su amistad. Su colaboración íntima y fructífera queda plasmada en este retrato con sus esposas. Mientras que Sloan (der.) y Henri (izq.) se concentran en sus dibujos, Dolly Sloan (1876–1943) lee en voz alta y Linda Henri (1875–1905) mira al espectador. La muerte de Linda el año anterior explica el título nostálgico de la obra, Recuerdo.

Data Source: National Portrait Gallery