Many people come to know the works of Eric Sloane through various “pathways”. Some learn of Sloane through collecting tools, others from his books. Some know Sloane as a painter of New England and don’t recognize paintings of Taos, New Mexico as works by Sloane (and vice versa). More simply, some know him as a painter, others as an illustrator.
Spring is typical of Sloane’s work in pen and ink. If you noticed the “N.A.” after Sloane’s signature, that signifies that the work was completed post-1967, as Sloane was elected as an Associate of the National Academy in 1966. He would have used no such designation after his signature pre-1966, “A.N.A.” after works he completed in 1966 (signifying his “Associate Member” status), and “N.A.” (signifying his rise to full membership in the Academy) post-1967.
You might also see that Sloane uses correction fluid sparingly or not at all in his later pen and ink work, whereas he relied heavily on the “medium” in his earlier pen and ink works. You might have also noted that the borders of the illustration appear rounded. This is because Sloane knew that this was to be an illustration for a set of four season collectible pewter plates, so he sized his illustration – and formed his borders – knowing that the illustration was to be placed on the well of the plate. The result was charming.

This is the Warren Freedom Bell, in ‘desk bell’ form, created for the 1976 United States Bicentennial and the 100th anniversary (1876) of the original casting of the bell, which sat atop the old Warren (CT) church.

The idea for the Warren Freedom Bell was inspired by Eric Sloane, who with his friend and fellow author Eric Hatch, created “The Committee of the Two Erics”, which created a national campaign to institute bell ringing on Independence Day. It was with the Warren church bell that Sloane and Hatch inaugurated the practice.
The bell and cradle were reproduced in miniature to create this ‘desk model’, as well as a handbell and a doorbell. Only 178 bells were cast according to the Warren County Historical Society, with an unknown number of those being allocated to desk, hand, or door configurations. This bell is also signed by Sloane inside the mouth, which is rarer still. Only 100 of the 200 total that were supposed to be made (again, only 178 were actually made) were signed, and how many of those made it into the desk model is unknown.
If you like it, we have this one – and only one – available in the gift shop at ericsloane.com

A Re-post from our Friends at the Cloud Appreciation Society, authored by Wil Mauch:

Eric Sloane Week, Day 3:

Eric Sloane’s first and most enduring artistic love was with the sky. By the late 1920s, the artist made his way back east from Taos and was haunting Roosevelt Field in Long Island, NY, the famous airfield where Charles Lindbergh had set off in 1927 on his solo transatlantic flight. Sloane traded his lettering and paintings of aircraft to the pilots who flew them in exchange for rides. A chance encounter and subsequent friendship with famous aviator Wiley Post was a catalyst for Eric’s change in his artistic focus.

Sloane recalled that it was Wiley Post who told him during a flight that ‘Someday, an artist will come along and paint just clouds and sky.’ Sloane decided to become that artist and took to painting cloudscapes. He was entranced by the incredible heights reached by the summits of thunderheads and the exquisite colours found only in the sky.

His first complete cloudscape, a dark and foreboding rendition of a violent thunderhead, was hung for sale at the Roosevelt Field Inn. Sloane secretly feared that no one would purchase such a large view so few had ever witnessed, so he placed a price tag on it that he considered an ‘outlandish’ sum. He reasoned that, if the painting failed to sell, it would be because of price, not lack of quality. The painting was bought by the trailblazing aviator Amelia Earhart, who was very much familiar with such a view of clouds.

A Re-post from our Friends at the Cloud Appreciation Society, authored by Wil Mauch:

Eric Sloane Week, Day 1:

Eric Sloane (1905-1985) was an American fine artist, illustrator, and author. He is perhaps best known for his lavishly illustrated books on early American life and culture as much as for his paintings of rural America. No matter the subject matter – airplanes, the barns and stone fences of his beloved New England countryside, or the pueblos of New Mexico (for Eric painted them all) – it was always the sky and clouds that were the real subject matter for this self-taught artist. Sloane’s earliest years read like a Horatio Alger piece – born in New York City to wealthy parents who both died when Eric was young, leaving him with a million-dollar inheritance lost subsequently in the Great Depression. He flew with Wiley Post, sold his first “cloudscape” (a term he coined) to Amelia Earhart, created the Hall of Atmosphere for the American Museum of Natural History, and (at age of 71) was asked to paint a 58’ x 75’ mural for the entrance of the soon-to-be-unveiled Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He worked incredibly hard, becoming an internationally recognized fine artist and best-selling author, all within his lifetime – much of his work devoted to encouraging people to look at the sky.

With thanks to Wil Mauch, the Cloud Appreciation Society, and The National Air and Space Museum for the image of Eric Sloane painting the Earth Flight Environment mural – Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM 9A11988).

After the Second World War, Eric Sloane continued to draw illustrations and write articles for weather-related periodicals and magazines. In 1948 he became the Art Director for Weatherwise magazine, contributing dozens of illustrations and articles during his 5-year tenure with the periodical. Not content with publishing only in Weatherwise, Sloane had articles and illustrations published in Flying Cadet, Popular Science, Air Trails, Rudder, Science Digest, Flying, and Farm Quarterly during his Weatherwise years. In 1952, Eric Sloane’s Weather Book was published, one of seven more Sloane titles devoted to meteorology. His last meteorological title was For Spacious Skies (1978). Spring Sky is a masterful reflection of Sloane’s skills as a painter as well as his deep understanding of meteorology, light and shadow, color, reflection, and cloud formation.

This painting was chosen for the month of March in Eric Sloane’s 1976 For Spacious Skies Calendar. Eric had an incredible read of colors and shadows of a season. Not to mention a formidable understanding of cloud formations as they relate to conditions, season, time of day, and reflection of the light and color of the landscape. Here, the relative warmth of the spring atmosphere has built some cumulus clouds that will not turn into thunderstorms yet – those will come later in the summer.

“Maple Sugaring Season” by Eric Sloane. Maple Sugaring season has arrived throughout much of New England. “Sugaring was hard work, but the American farmer made such a cheerful season of it that the whole family looked forward to sugaring, making it more play than work”. – from Eric Sloane’s Seasons of American Past (1958).

Born on this day in 1905 to a wealthy New York City Couple, Eric Sloane described his parents as having the least artistic tastes, which he credited to his growth as an artist. Interesting, as all three siblings became artists in their own right – Eric’s sister Dorothy became a folk artist, brother George became a landscape architect, and of course there is Eric, who would become an internationally known artist and author – all within his lifetime.

“I hope that I might be quoted someday as having said: ‘The only value of age is that it gave time for someone to have done something worthwhile.’”
– Eric Sloane

A portrait of Eric Sloane by David Armstrong (CT, PA 1947-1998). Criticized as “too somber”, Armstrong countered that “Eric was an unbelievably hard worker. He painted every day, morning to night. People didn’t see him struggling, wincing, staring out the window. He was never satisfied with his work.” Notice how Armstrong included that ever-important sliver of the New England landscape, visible through the window. Notice, too, how Armstrong rendered the clouds as an homage to his friend and mentor.

Trees in Winter by Eric Sloane, N.A. Notice how well the bark of the Birch trees is rendered – look closer and you’ll see how Eric used the flat side of a razor blade, working gently to pull the blade across the trunk horizontally to produce the effect of Birch bark. Eric also includes “Tree Wells”, the area around the trunks where the snow looks like it has melted. Indeed it has, as these wells are formed because sunlight has reached the trunks, warming and reflecting upon the snow that has come to rest nearest the trunk.

As a teen, Sloane ran away from home several times, often covering great distances. He once stole his father’s Model T Ford, forging the license plates in the process. He drove across much of the Continental Unites States, an escape that provided thousands of recollections to which an older Sloane would return in print and oil paints. He illustrated and painted along the way, trading menu lettering and decorations for meals, lettering windows and doors at hotels for rooms, somehow managing to keep enough fuel in the Model T. He also sketched and painted, most especially around Taos, New Mexico, by then an artist colony. When planning his return to New York City, Sloane decided that he would return as an artist.