Eric Sloane Sea and Sky — Squall Line Oil, ca. 1950
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GUEST:
This came to me from my mother. I inherited it from her. I was the one sailor in the family. I sailed professionally for five years.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And, and so I was fortunate enough to, to receive it. It certainly speaks to me as a sailor and, and somebody who loves being outdoors.
APPRAISER:
Wow.
GUEST:
The sky and the water. The two crew members are le, leaning out, hiking, trying to help keep the boat level.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
GUEST:
You can see the, the shoreline here, I imagine they're running to the harbor here.
APPRAISER:
Right. And when did you acquire it?
GUEST:
About 20, uh, 20.
APPRAISER:
Eric Sloane, the American painter...
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
...who was born in 1905 and died in 1985, was very much known for painting New England barns and rustic scenes and footbridges and that sort of thing. He did, however, have a whole body of paintings dedicated to sky and seas.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
He was born in New York. He worked on the East Coast, but he also had a home near Santa Fe. This is an original oil-on-Masonite painting. This would have come to your family around what year?
GUEST:
My mother was visiting my great-grandfather in Greenwich, Connecticut, I believe.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
Um, and it would have been in 1952, I believe, when she was 16 years old. And Eric Sloane must have known my great-grandfather, who was an executive in, in New York.
APPRAISER:
I see.
GUEST:
Um, and he came to visit my great-grandfather, and said, "I want to go out west skiing at Sun Valley, Idaho."
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
"Could I interest you in a painting?" And my mother happened to be there, and he, my grand, my great-grandfather, turned to her and said, "Julia, pick out, which one do you like? And this is the one she picked out.
APPRAISER:
Eric Sloane was very prolific, said to have painted about 15,000 works...
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
...in his lifetime, which is pretty incredible.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Started out as an early sign painter.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Traveling the country. Ultimately comes back to New York and is enrolled in the Art Students League.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
And one of his teachers was John Sloan, the well-known American Ashcan painter. And he was advised to change his name. His name was not originally Eric Sloane.
GUEST:
Oh, I didn't know that.
APPRAISER:
The "Sloane" came from John Sloan.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The "Eric" came from America. And this painting, while not dated, is very clearly signed.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
On the lower right.
GUEST:
Yep.
APPRAISER:
And it's titled, and the title, “Sea and Sky-- Squall Line." The painting bears the initials of what was Eric Sloane's actual proper name.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Before he became Eric Sloane: Everard Jean Hinrichs. E-J-H, above the name Sloane. The painting, I think, probably dates to about 1945 or 1950. Has the painting ever been appraised, or do we know what it was first... The, the cost when it was first acquired?
GUEST:
Enough to get s, get to Sun Valley, Idaho, to go skiing. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, this...
GUEST:
(laughing): I don't know what that would've been back then.
APPRAISER:
Okay. I think the auction estimate would be in the range of $15,000 to $20,000.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
I would look to a figure of around $35,000 for insurance purposes.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
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