Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1995
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
John Sloan
(American, 1871–1951)
Easter Eve, Washington Square
1926
Etching and aquatint on cream wove paper
Plate: 9 13/16 x 7 13/16 in. (24.9 x 19.8 cm)
Sheet: 16 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. (42.5 x 29.8 cm)
Mat: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Sheet: 16 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. (42.5 x 29.8 cm)
Mat: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1995.19
SignedIn graphite, lower right: John Sloan. [underlined]; in plate, lower right: John Sloan, 1926
InterpretationJohn Sloan's Easter Eve, Washington Square features a trio of fashionably dressed young women laden with floral bouquets cheerfully making their way across New York City's Washington Square in the midst of an April shower. Looming in the background is the Washington Arch, a lower Manhattan landmark erected in 1892 to honor the centennial of George Washington's inauguration as first president of the United States. To record this urban scene Sloan combined deftly etched lines for details, like in the women's dresses, with tonal aquatint areas seen in the background buildings. He paid particular attention not only to the specific setting but to time of day and the peculiar atmospheric effects of weather, with a screen of diagonal strokes to convey falling rain and contrasts of light and dark tones to suggest reflections shimmering on wet pavement.
After he moved to Manhattan in 1904, John Sloan became one of the first twentieth-century artists to use his observations of ordinary New York City life as the primary subject of his art. Easter Eve, Washington Square is typical of most of his etchings: inspired by everyday incidents he witnessed in various neighborhoods of the city, he sought to capture fleeting moments in his art. Like Fifth Avenue 1909 (TF 1995.20), this print focuses on the public persona of stylish, well-off New Yorkers out on display on city streets. In contrast to such related print images of urban women as Isabel Bishop's Noon Hour (TF 1996.84) and Kenneth Hayes Miller's Leaving the Shop (TF 1996.85), Sloan gives as much to setting as to figures, contrasting the women's exuberant mood with the brooding presence of the monument under a rainy nighttime sky.
After he moved to Manhattan in 1904, John Sloan became one of the first twentieth-century artists to use his observations of ordinary New York City life as the primary subject of his art. Easter Eve, Washington Square is typical of most of his etchings: inspired by everyday incidents he witnessed in various neighborhoods of the city, he sought to capture fleeting moments in his art. Like Fifth Avenue 1909 (TF 1995.20), this print focuses on the public persona of stylish, well-off New Yorkers out on display on city streets. In contrast to such related print images of urban women as Isabel Bishop's Noon Hour (TF 1996.84) and Kenneth Hayes Miller's Leaving the Shop (TF 1996.85), Sloan gives as much to setting as to figures, contrasting the women's exuberant mood with the brooding presence of the monument under a rainy nighttime sky.
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1995
Exhibition History
Visions of a Nation: Exploring Identity through American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 10, 1996–January 12, 1997.
Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1999–May 7, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]
Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.
(Re)Presenting Women, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.
Ville et campagne: les artistes américains, 1870–1920 (The City and the Country: American Perspectives, 1870–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venues: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 15, 1999; Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1999–May 7, 2000 (in modified form). [exh. cat.]
Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.
(Re)Presenting Women, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.
John Sloan, 1871–1951. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1952. Ill. p. 57.
Morse, Peter. John Sloan's Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings, Lithographs, and Posters. New Haven, Connecticut, and London, England: Yale University Press, 1969. No. 222, p. 247.
Sloan, Helen Farr, ed. John Sloan: New York Etchings (1905–1949) . New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1979. No. 56.
Watrous, James. American Printmaking: A Century of American Printmaking 1880–1980. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984. Text p. 46; fig. 3.6, p. 49.
Morse, Peter. John Sloan's Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings, Lithographs, and Posters. New Haven, Connecticut, and London, England: Yale University Press, 1969. No. 222, p. 247.
Sloan, Helen Farr, ed. John Sloan: New York Etchings (1905–1949) . New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1979. No. 56.
Watrous, James. American Printmaking: A Century of American Printmaking 1880–1980. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984. Text p. 46; fig. 3.6, p. 49.