Katherine Sehon

Artist John Sloan (American, 1871 - 1951)

Date1909

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 35 1/4 x 24 1/4 inches (89.54 x 61.6 cm)
Framed: 43 1/16 x 32 x 2 inches (109.38 x 81.28 x 5.08 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: acquired in memory of Carol Levin through the generosity of her family: Richard M. Levin, Michael and Diane Levin, Nancy Levin and Jeff Flora, and Ann and John Brendle

Object number2000.30

SignedSigned lower right: John Sloan

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

American Art

Terms

DescriptionThis is a vertically-oriented, loosely painted portrait of a woman. Facing the viewer directly, she emerges from a dark background wearing a black hat, white blouse, and a light brown-yellow jacket. There is a brooch pinned at her neck.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Making Faces: A Selection of Portraits by John Sloan, Kraushaar Galleries, New York, May 20–October 27, 2001, no. 4 (Kraushaar Galleries, New York, only).

Gallery Label

"Miss Sehon again today and I worked all afternoon. She does her part splendidly. I wish that mine were done as well. I feel that I have made some progress... and so do not feel discouraged." -- John Sloan

John Sloan's quick, confident brushwork summarizing Katherine Sehon's clothing contrasts with the dense, fine strokes he used to work her face. This technical shift suggests more effort was required to capture her likeness and personality. A 17-year-old neightbor of Sloan's, Sehon is portrayed as a proper lady. This is a rare portrait of a middle class subject by an artist better known for his paintings of urban life.

Provenance

To the John Sloan Trust, New York, 1951;

to (Kraushaar Galleries, New York, 2000);

to NAMA, 2000.

Published References

Grant Holcomb III, “A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of John Sloan, 1900–1913,” Ph.D. diss., University of Delaware, 1972, 417–18.

Rowland Elzea, John Sloan’s Oil Paintings: A Catalogue Raisonné (Newark: University of Delaware Press; London and Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1991), pt. 1:99–100, 129, no. 155.

Advertisement for Kraushaar Galleries, Antiques 157 (May 2000), 715.

Making Faces: A Selection of Portraits by John Sloan, exh. cat. (Columbus, Ga.: Columbus Museum; New York: Kraushaar Galleries, 2001), 5, 11, 23.

Margaret C. Conrads, ed. The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: American Paintings to 1945 (Kansas City, Mo.: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2007), 1: 491–494, 2: 219–220.

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