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.

A Re-post from our Friends at the Cloud Appreciation Society: 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).

As a teen, Eric Sloane exhibited a penchant for wandering, often covering great distances. On his final break from home in 1925, he absconded with his father’s Ford Model T, forging license plates for the vehicle. On his travels across the United States, he somehow bartered enough of his artworks to eat and to keep fuel in the ‘T’. He lettered windows and menus for meals, painted signs for businesses, and murals for lodging. When he couldn’t find work, he slept under a canvas tarp tied to the roof of the ‘T’ to make a crude tent. Though broke, he made it as far as Taos, New Mexico, already a burgeoning artist enclave that helped Sloane decide to become a fine artist.

It was in Taos, Eric recalled, that he fell in love with the sky. He never abandoned illustration and drew thousands over the course of his career, many of them for the nearly 40 books he authored during his lifetime.

Eric Sloane’s simplified guide to the three basic forms of cloud from his book Clouds, Air and Wind (1941). This themed week was proposed and written by Wil Mauch (Member 60,370).

Had a blast with Eric Sloane Museum manager Andrew Rowand @ericsloanemuseum Saturday night during the “Night at the Museum” event. Met a lot of great people, friends old and new, and so grateful to be asked to speak about Eric Sloane and his art. Looking forward to the September event!

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.

A photographic portrait of Eric Sloane, probably taken c. 1940, when the author/artist was 35 years old. During the Second World War, Eric created “thought pictures” for the U.S. Army Air Corps to help train pilots. The brass at the U.S. Army Air Corps had taken notice Eric’s first book, “Clouds, Air and Wind” (1941), and knew he was the choice to illustrate flying manuals. The June 1946 issue of Air Trails explained that “…Clouds, Air, and Wind took shape…This primer of weather has helped the Army and Navy flyers by means of his word pictures, not only to learn weather but to remember it. Its success gave Sloane the job of doing flight manuals at Wright Field. These were to explain the effects of flying upon the human body. He went through all the effects of high altitude, G-force, etc. and came out with a book of drawings called “Your Body in Flight”. German medical officers mentioned this book as being a gem of clarity and importance—something far beyond what the Luftwaffe had. There is no telling how many lives this manual saved by making our boys remember their flight physiology at altitudes where the mind is dulled by anoxia and extreme cold.”