The younger sister of John Sloan, Marianna (or Nan), was an artist who worked primarily in watercolor. Considered by her brother to be the most naturally talented artist in their family, Marianna's artistic skills were honed through training at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, where she studied with painters Robert Henri and Elliott Daingerfield. After some exhibiting successes at home and abroad, Marianna Sloan chose to make a European tour in order to better finish her artistic education. Throughout her five-decade career she comfortably worked in a variety of media and techniques: oil paint, watercolor, gouache, poster design, book illustration, mural painting, painted lampshades, and even the design of women's clothing. She also owned and ran a Philadelphia bookstore from the late 1920s through the 1940s and sold her brother's paintings.
