Stormy Sky, Palisades, 1908

Provenance

Dr. Harry Shapiro
Kraushaar Galleries, New York, New York (as Storm Sky, Palisades, II)
Mr. and Mrs. I. David Orr, New York, acquired from the above, 1962
Private collection, by descent from the above
Sale, Bonham’s New York, New York, July 28, 2025, lot 314
Private collection, New York, New York

Exhibited

Retrospective Exhibition: John Sloan, Paintings, Etchings and Drawings, Wanamaker Galleries, New York, New York, November 4- December 1939; Wanamaker Galleries, Philadelphia, January 8-29, 1940, no. 58. (as Storm Sky, Palisades)

Literature

R. Elzea, John Sloan’s Oil Paintings: A Catalogue Raisonné Vol. 1 (The American Arts Series, 1991) 86, no. 109.

Grant Holcomb, A Check List for John Sloan’s Paintings (Lock Haven, Pa: Annie Halenbake Ross Library, 1970), 36.

Grant Holcomb, and Annie Halenbake Ross Library, The Early Landscapes of John Sloan (Lock Haven, Pa: Annie Halenbake Ross Library, 1969), 3, no. 46.

Grant Holcomb, “A Catalog Raisonné of the Paintings of John Sloan, 1900-1913,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, 1972, 360-61, illustrated.

This painting is included in the catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work by Rowland Elzea, John Sloan’s Oil Paintings: A Catalogue Raisonné, Part One.

Related Works

Hudson Sky, 1908, oil on canvas, 26⅛ x 32¼ inches, signed and dated lower left: John Sloan 1908; Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas

Coytesville on the Palisades, 1908, oil on linen mounted on board, 8¾ × 10⅞ inches, signed and dated lower left: John Sloan 08; Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware

Hudson Sky, 1908, oil on canvas, 26⅛ x 32¼ inches, signed and dated lower left: John Sloan 1908; Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, Kansas

Note

John Sloan’s Stormy Sky, Palisades reflects his turn toward landscape painting, a shift that marked an important evolution in his career. Though best known for his realist depictions of city life, Sloan began painting directly from nature around 1906, finding a new source of artistic exploration in the Hudson River and its surrounding scenery. Along with artist Robert Henri, Sloan was a member of the group known as The Eight, later becoming the Ashcan School, which brought American art to both national and international acclaim, challenging the traditional subjects and styles of high art in their time. Sloan was an influential teacher with many of his students becoming highly successful artists, such as Alexander Calder, Reginald Marsh and Barnett Newman. His paintings are represented in nearly all major American museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art.