The Ashcan School painter and Pennsylvania-native John Sloan was preoccupied with the New York City rooftop perhaps more than any other American artist in the first half of the 20th century. This setting factors into some of his most iconic works.
An exhibition titled “From the Rooftops: John Sloan and the Art of a New Urban Space” at the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State University in State College, Pa., offers the first in-depth examination of Sloan’s lifelong interest in the urban rooftop by bringing together nearly 30 of his paintings, prints, and drawings. In addition to major loans of works by Sloan, the exhibition expands on the visual culture of “the city above the city” and includes examples by more than a dozen notable contemporaries who were also captivated by rooftop locales, including George Ault, William Glackens, and Reginald Marsh.
Organized by the Palmer Museum of Art, the exhibition is accompanied by a publication and will travel to the Hyde Collection in June 2019. The Palmer’s exhibit will be on view from Sunday, Feb. 3, to Sunday, May 12.
For more information, visit www.palmermuseum.psu.edu.