© Delaware Art Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Not for reproduction or publica…

Man Monkey

Date1905

Artist John Sloan (American painter, etcher, and illustrator, 1871–1951)

MediumEtching

Dimensionsplate: 4 13/16 × 6 13/16 in. (12.2 × 17.3 cm)
sheet: 8 3/4 × 10 15/16 in. (22.2 × 27.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1998

Object number1998-174

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPRINT

Label TextIn 1905 John Sloan began an important series of etchings entitled New York City Life that represents distinctive aspects of everyday urban life. He originally planned a group of ten but added three more between 1910 and 1911. The etchings represent all classes of people and many kinds of urban activities, including street life, the art crowd, upper-class society, popular entertainment, couples in love, the family, marriage, prostitution and poverty. The scenes are in response to the energy and diversity of the city which Sloan saw and experienced first-hand since his arrival in 1904. Although the work is at times satirical in tone, the series also captures the more private and poignant moments of urban existence. Sloan's ability to depict the robust daily life of the ordinary person established his reputation, along with that of other members of "The Eight," as the creator of a uniquely American vision.