Henrietta with Red Book

Born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, Sloan spent his early career as a Philadelphia newspaper illustrator, as did fellow artists Everett Shinn, George Luks and William Glackens. Eventually these artists moved to New York and began painting gritty scenes of everyday life.

Sloan painted the same modern woman Henrietta Mayer—a New York City ‘Shop Girl’ or store clerk and artist’s model—at least five times between 1913 and 1914. The canvases, especially this example from 1913, represent the artist’s experimentation with color. Here, against a blue background, the artist emphasizes the contrast of the sitter’s porcelain skin against the brown dress and hat that she wears. Sloan uses her coral necklace and small red book as colorful points of interest for the viewer. Another version of Henrietta is owned by the Delaware Art Museum.