Frank Van Sloun (1879-1938) was an American painter, muralist and etcher. He painted murals in California. His paintings and etchings are in museums in California, Missouri and Washington, D.C..
Life
Van Sloun was born in 1879 in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
.
He was influenced by
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
from a young age, and he studied at the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may study f ...
and the Chase School of Art, later known as the
Parsons School of Design
The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...
.
Van Sloun became an artist in New York City, and he moved to San Francisco in 1911.
He taught at the
California School of Fine Arts
San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...
, and he joined the
California Society of Etchers
The California Society of Printmakers (CSP) is the oldest continuously operating association of printmakers and friends of printmakers in the United States. CSP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization with an international membership of print ...
.
He had a studio at 166
Geary Street
Geary Boulevard (designated as Geary Street east of Van Ness Avenue) is a major east–west thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, United States, beginning downtown at Market Street near Market Street's intersection with Kearny Street, a ...
in San Francisco.
He painted murals in the
Oakland City Hall
Oakland City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Oakland, California. The current building was completed in 1914, and replaced a prior building that stood on what is now Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Standing at the height of , it was the fir ...
, the
Bohemian Club
The Bohemian Club is a private club with two locations: a city clubhouse in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco, California, and the Bohemian Grove, a retreat north of the city in Sonoma County. Founded in 1872 from a regular meeting of jour ...
in San Francisco, and the
California State Library
The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...
in
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
. With
Maynard Dixon
Maynard Dixon (January 24, 1875 – November 11, 1946) was an American artist. He was known for his paintings, and his body of work focused on the American West. Dixon is considered one of the finest artists having dedicated most of their art to ...
, he did the murals of the dining-room in the
Mark Hopkins Hotel
The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco is a luxury hotel located at the top of Nob Hill, San Francisco, Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. The hotel is managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 5,000 hot ...
, in San Francisco.
For art historian John Maxwell Desgrey, "Van Sloun's greatness as an American artist did not only lie in his skills, training, and God-given talent as an artist, but more importantly in his American roots. He was completely a product of America, not only in his art training but in his subject matter and technique."
Van Sloun died in August 1938 in San Francisco, at age 59.
He was buried in the
Holy Cross Cemetery.
His artwork is in the permanent collections of the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
and the
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
* National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
* National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London
...
in Washington, D.C.
It is also in the
Norton Simon Museum
The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds.
Overview
The Norton Simon collections ...
in Pasadena,
the
Mills College Art Museum in Oakland,
Saint Mary's College Museum of Art in
Moraga,
and the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...
in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
.
Further reading
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Sloun, Frank
1879 births
1938 deaths
Artists from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Art Students League of New York alumni
Parsons School of Design alumni
San Francisco Art Institute faculty
Artists from San Francisco
Painters from Minnesota
Painters from California
American male painters
20th-century American painters
20th-century American male artists
20th-century American etchers
American muralists