As we are in the month of January, this painting seems especially fitting. Titled “January Sunset”, at least until Eric Sloane saw the title. He attempted to correct the gallery, pointing out that the title should read “January Sunrise”. The gallery owner was unmoved, and indicated to Eric that it really shouldn’t make much of a difference. “…I’d know the difference”, a perturbed Sloane wrote the gallery manager, “Sunset clouds are usually cumulus or lumpy, a product of rising thermals from heated ground while sunrise clouds are flat stratus (as in my painting), the result of cold night air being pushed downward by the inversion of upper air heated by the rising sun”. Indeed, January is the month for cold night air.

During c. 1935-1945, Eric Sloane created a number of aviation-related maps for various publications, including this one of Roosevelt Field for a 1941 issue of “The Sportsman Pilot”. These types of maps were always engaging to the eye. They are whimsical, yes, but to modern eyes also convey a great deal of information concerning the major players in early aviation.
Sloane filled these maps with prominent names and businesses partly to sell the finished product, which would have been a “stand alone” map. One can imagine that every individual and business would want to purchase at least one of these maps – not a bad sales strategy!

This charming card was created by Eric Sloane – prior to his changing his given name of Everard Hinrichs – when the artist was 18 years of age.

Merry Christmas Joe B, whoever and wherever you are! Eric Sloane signed and personalized many books over the course of his career. From his first book, “Clouds, Air, and Wind” (1941), to his last entitled Eighty: An American Souvenir” (1985), Eric would often sign and perhaps even creating a marker sketch on the flyleaf page.

Born February 27, 1905, Everard Hinrichs – who later changed his name to Eric Sloane – was raised in a wealthy household to parents he describes as “…harboring the least artistic tastes”. The family summered on Halsey Island, Lake Hopatcong (New Jersey), and it seems clear that it was there that Eric’s artistic intuition began to flourish.

Eric’s sister Dorothy recalled Everard as “…mischievous and careless with his possessions (his own and other’s), but in the end he was lovable and always eager to please”.
It would seem that a future of familial wealth and relative leisure would grace George Jr., Everard, and Dorothy, but that was to be an illusion of “The Roaring Twenties” – the Great Depression that followed erased the family fortune, scattering the siblings and leaving Everard destitute.

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.

Very grateful that the state of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development saw fit to hire Andrew Rowand to be the literal face and spirit of the Eric Sloane Museum. Andrew has worked tirelessly to make the museum a premier destination for visitors to the Kent and Northwestern Connecticut areas. I was able to experience first-hand Andrew’s engagement with museum visitors – his knowledge and enthusiasm makes him an incredible asset to the state.

Also happy to donate a printing block of one of Eric Sloane’s pen and ink illustrations – the one I had was one that the museum did not. With my gratitude to Randy Castellini, a true gentleman and Sloane fan who helped to make this all possible.

Looking forward to the weeks, months, and years to come at the Eric Sloane Museum under Andrew’s leadership. I have no doubt that the visitor experience will be better than ever!

“Noonday” pen and ink illustration by Eric Sloane, N.A.