Frank Van Sloun

Frank Van Sloun (1879-1938) was a painter, muralist, and etcher, as well as one of the first artists to bring Ashcan School aesthetic sensibilities to the West Coast. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Van Sloun appeared destined to become a baseball player — he even signed to a professional team — but at 22 he dropped that dream to pursue art instead, enrolling at the Art Students League in New York City. He studied under Robert Henri there, and with William Merritt Chase at the Chase School. In 1910 he helped organize the first exhibition for the Society of Independent Artists alongside Henri. Shortly thereafter, he moved to San Francisco permanently.

Van Sloun became a beloved teacher (at both the California School of Fine Arts and UC Berkeley) and muralist sought after for his visualizations of California history, working on commissions for the mayor of Oakland, the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Mark Hopkins Hotel (a co-commission with Maynard Dixon, the initial sketches for which were done on a restaurant menu). Although best known for his associations with the Ashcan School, Van Sloun’s handling of brushwork and color also drew heavily from Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and his most frequently-cited influence for his etchings was Rembrandt.