UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Palmer Museum of Art’s acclaimed exhibition, "From the Rooftops: John Sloan and the Art of a New Urban Space," will be closing at the Palmer on May 12 and traveling to The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York, where it opens on June 15.
This major loan exhibition, which opened on Feb. 3, offers the first in-depth examination of artist John Sloan (1871–1951) and his career-long fascination with the life of the urban rooftop. The show expands on the visual culture of “the city above the city” by bringing together nearly 30 of Sloan’s paintings, prints and drawings, as well as 30 additional works by many of his notable peers, such as William Glackens, Charles Hoffbauer, Cecil Bell, Louis Ribak, Hughie Lee-Smith and others.
Sloan’s preoccupation with the New York City rooftop manifested in many etchings, drawings, and paintings of intimate outdoor scenes at skyscraper height. The setting provides the backdrop to some of his most iconic and well-known works, many of which focus on immigrant and working-class subjects. “These wonderful roofs of New York City bring me all humanity,” Sloan was quoted as saying in 1919. “It is all the world.”
The exhibition has received national media coverage in a number of distinguished publications, including American Fine Art Magazine, The Magazine Antiques, and American Art Review.
"From the Rooftops"was generously sponsored by Steven and Stephanie Wasser. Additional support was provided by the Terra Art Enrichment Fund, the George Dewey and Mary J. Krumrine Endowment, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Organized by the Palmer Museum of Art, the exhibition was accompanied by a publication with an essay by Adam Thomas, Curator of American Art and Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at Penn State. The catalogue will remain on sale in the Museum Store.
Be sure to view the exhibition before it closes on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12.
About the Palmer
The Palmer Museum of Art on the Penn State University Park campus is a free-admission arts resource for the University and surrounding communities in central Pennsylvania. With a collection of 9,200 objects representing and spanning a variety of cultures and centuries of art, the Palmer is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Areas of strength include the museum’s collection of American art from the late eighteenth century to the present; Old Master paintings; prints and photography; ceramics and studio glass; and a growing collection of modern and contemporary art. The museum presents ten exhibitions each year and, with eleven galleries, a print-study room, a 150-seat auditorium, and an outdoor sculpture garden, the Palmer Museum of Art is the leading cultural resource for the region.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, and 6 to 9 p.m. Third Thursdays. The museum is closed Mondays and some holidays.
The Palmer receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
For more information on the Palmer Museum of Art or for the calendar of upcoming events, visit palmermuseum.psu.edu.