Born Everard Hinrichs in 1905, Eric Sloane experienced his first commercial success in hand lettering signs, window panes, and menus. He worked his way across America as a “barn painter” of sorts. As Wil Mauch writes in Symbols of American Spirit: 50 Years of the Eric Sloane Museum:
“No matter the size required, Eric Sloane was a master artist of hand lettering. He honed his unique style early in his career, attributing his skills to his experiences with painting Mail Pouch and Bull Durham signs on barns of the Midwestern United States. He did so freehand and with 4″ and 6” wide house painting brushes.
When Eric created all of the signs and descriptive labels for the exhibits in the Eric Sloane Museum, he turned to his love of fine lettering to create a unique and instantly recognizable style that has become emblematic of the man. So much so that the Scriptorium created a series of Eric Sloane fonts for use in the private and commercial printing fields.”
“The free swing of arm necessary to ‘brush in’ a big Bull Durham highway sign or to make the ten-foot letters atop the Steeplechase Amusement Park roller coaster at Coney Island gave me confidence and sureness of stroke that I still know.” – Eric Sloane
By the late 1920s, Eric Sloane was creating more pen and ink illustrations and taking fewer lettering jobs, embarking on a long and successful career as an illustrator. He never, however, left his love of hand lettering, as can be seen in some of the examples we have for sale.
Outdoor Cooking by Eric Sloane. Original pen and ink 3.5″ tall x 7.50″ wide, 10.75″ tall x 13.75″ wide. Newly framed using acid free materials and under UV glass. Possibly created for an enamelware piece of cookware released by Delano Studios of East Setauket, Long Island, New York. Eric Sloane was one of many artists that contracted with Delano throughout the 1950s and 1960s. A charmer for $625.00. Sold.
George Washington’s Coffee Mill, 1790 by Eric Sloane. 8″ tall x 6″ wide, 10.75″ tall x 8.75″ wide framed. Newly framed in a wonderful “presidential” frame under UV glass. I have yet to track this particular illustration down, but was almost certainly used in a publication given Eric’s use of correction fluid. A handsome illustration, and Sloane’s lettering style is crisp and superb. As beautiful as the drawing is, the lettering is equally as beautiful. Superb addition to your kitchen and perfectly sized. $650.00.
Pennsylvania Barn Hoods by Eric Sloane, N.A. This original pen and ink illustration appears on page 33 of Eric Sloane’s Recollections in Black and White (Walker and Company, New York, 1974). Extensively re-framed using acid-free materials and placed under U.V. glass, this charming illustration is ready to hang in your home.
A signed copy of Recollections in Black and White, presented to the original owner by Eric Sloane, accompanies this delightful piece. Image approximately 6.25″ wide x 10.25″ tall, framed dimensions 12.75″ x 16.75″. $850.00
Treenware by Eric Sloane, N.A. Original pen and ink illustration. Image size approximately 11″ tall x 12.5″ wide, 19.5″ tall x 20.5″ wide in frame. A charming, larger scale illustration Eric made for Seasons of America Past (1958, Funk & Wagnalls). Treenware appears on page 135 of Seasons of America Past. Signed Eric Sloane, N.A., lower left. Extensively re-framed, saving the original, hand made “liner” by Eric Sloane, upon which the artist wrote “Illustration Seasons of America Past”, in all acid free materials and double matting – all housed under conservation glass. Frame is brand new and a wonderful accompaniment to the illustration. $975.00.
Smoke Houses by Eric Sloane, N.A. Original pen and ink illustration. Image size approximately 10″ tall x 16″ wide, 16″ tall x 21″ wide in frame. A charming, larger scale illustration Eric made for An Age of Barns (1967, Funk & Wagnalls). Smoke Houses appears on page 82 of An Age of Barns. Signed Eric Sloane, N.A., and dated 1966, lower right upon the lined French mat Eric created expressly for this work. Extensively re-framed, saving the original, hand made “liner” by Eric Sloane – all housed under conservation glass.
Frame is original to the work and was lightly restored. A wonderful opportunity to obtain a large-scale Eric Sloane illustration used in one of his most iconic books for $1,200.00. Sold.
Closing Fast, Republic Guardsman by Eric Sloane. C. 1945
This powerful and evocative rendering is housed in all new modern gunmetal gray steel framing, including acid free materials and museum UV protective glass. Image size approximately 16″ tall x 13.5″ wide. Framed dimensions approximately 22.5″ tall x 19.5″ wide. Pen and ink, gouache and colored pencil. Wonderfully detailed pen and ink (the most detailed I have ever seen) of three Republic Guardsman aircraft in a diving formation. Fantastically bold and dramatic, the sense of speed and movement is palpable.
In exceptional original condition. $2,000.00
Then a Farmyard Palace, by Eric Sloane. Image size approximately 14″ tall x 16.5″ wide, 23.75″ tall x 25.75″ wide in frame. Original pen and ink illustration Eric created for his seminal work on the subject, An Age of Barns (1967, Funk & Wagnalls). An Age of Barns is unpaginated, but this illustration fell on what would have been page 20. There are several aspects of this particular illustration which make it unique. The first is the amount of descriptive titling Eric includes throughout the work, titling that is executed in Sloane’s best manner. The lettering alone is a tour de force for this American artist.
Because of the two views of this traditional Pennsylvania German Bank Barn, the viewer is treated to a “one stop shop” of Sloane’s illustrative talents – the more loose, almost painterly way the artist drew the exterior view of the south face of the barn, and the nearly architectural rendering of the interior space. An unusually large illustration for Sloane. As Sloane was more than familiar with creating ‘camera ready’ illustrations for commercial applications, he usually created his book illustrations close to actual size for publication. Then a Farmyard Palace is rendered much, much larger than the finished product. It is possible this is related to yet another reason why this is such a unique illustration – Eric was transitioning from quickly rendered drawings with limited depth used throughout all of his previous publications, to occasionally employing more fully rendered drawings inclusive of a great many details. It would seem that as the aesthetic “scale” of Sloane’s drawing were enlarged, so too was the mathematical scale. An Age of Barns is itself reflective of Eric’s ability to illustrate on another level – no other book of Sloane’s before or after An Age of Barns matched its stunning breadth of large, fully rendered pen and ink illustrations by the author/artist. A signed, first edition copy of An Age of Barns that Eric presented to the original owner accompanies this wonderful piece. Offered at $2,000.00.
Pennsylvania Bank Barn by Eric Sloane, N.A. A wonderful and iconic view of a Pennsylvania bank barn with a stone spring house in the foreground by Eric Sloane, N.A. Well-sized at approximately 12″ tall x 10″ wide. Signed Eric Sloane, N.A. at center. On heavy artist board.
In excellent, original condition, we decided to give the unframed original pen and ink a bit of a more modern look with all new, archival materials. It now looks charming and exceptional in its new frame, a wonderful addition to your home at $1,500.00.
American Ruin by Eric Sloane, NA. Original pen and ink illustration. Image size approximately 13″ tall x 17″ wide, 21″ tall x 25″ wide in frame. Fantastic large scale illustration Eric made for Recollections in Black and White, an important book in which the artist reflects on the significant role of black and white lettering and illustration as standalone forms of his artwork. American Ruin appears on page 51 of Recollections in Black and White. Signed, lower right, in the artist’s typical red marker.
American Ruin is in excellent, original condition and completely re-framed in all acid free materials and double matting – all housed under conservation glass and within a great new textured wood frame that sets just the right tone @ $2,500.00.
Untitled rural scene by Eric Sloane, N.A. Probably New Preston, Connecticut. Original pen and ink illustration. Image size approximately 13″ tall x 16.75″ wide, 20″ tall x 23.75″ wide in it’s original Walter Skor frame. Signed Eric Sloane, N.A., lower left. Extensively re-framed in all acid free materials and double matting – all housed under conservation glass and a charming addition to your home at $2,200.00
