"Up the Line, Miss?"
John Sloan (1871-1951), “Up the Line, Miss?”, etching, 1930, signed, titled and inscribed 100 proofs [also signed in the plate]. Reference: Morse 243, fifth state (of 5). In excellent condition, with full margins (slightly irregular lower edge, typical for the older paper favored by this printer, see note below). On an old laid paper with a circles in shield watermark. 5 1/2 x 7, the sheet 9 1/2 x 12 inches. Archival mounting.
A fine impression.
Only 80 impressions of the edition were printed.
This impression is printed on an old laid paper, of the sort the printer and artist Ernst Roth collected and sometimes used for printing Sloan’s prints. Sloan remarked on this: “Roth is using some wonderful old paper he brought from Europe some years ago. This is very kind of him, as he is a first rate etcher himself.” This sheet may have been pulled from a book of old paper, accounting for the rough bottom edge.
Although this etching was made in 1930, it has the look of one of Sloan’s New York etchings, done much earlier. In fact, it is based on a 1907 drawing Sloan made, and was done when his dealer (Kraushaar) suggested he do some etchings based on his earlier New York drawings.
Sloan’s 1945 note on this etching: “A young lady of Greenwich Village who is about to treat herself to an afternoon drive on Fifth Avenue.”