1907

Sixth Avenue and Thirtieth Street, New York City

John Sloan

American, 1871 - 1951

This painting, which depicts an intoxicated woman crossing a street in a state of confusion and disarray, illustrates John Sloan’s compassionate, nonjudgmental approach to the squalor and misery he encountered in the Tenderloin district of Manhattan. The poor woman is framed by the dynamic elevated train and the commercial thoroughfare, which seem to heighten her sense of disorientation.

Two young, fashionably dressed women jeer as they pass by, while the men on the corner look on with smug indifference. Sloan later commented that “this canvas has surely caught the atmosphere of the Tenderloin: drab, shabby, happy, sad, and human.”