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| Welcome to the studio! I am fortunate to be one of a long line of artists who have worked and played here since it was built by John Sloan in the 1920's. As the plaque shown here attests, this is a historic place, and it feels like it when inside. Most of the original features that Sloan built are still here, though somewhat weathered by time. Santa Fe in the early twentieth century would be unrecognizable today but for places like this. Back then the streets were packed dirt and dusty, there were no movie theaters or television sets to entertain people. The Sloan studio was a locus of activity for early Santa Fe artists and their friends. I learned a lot about life here from Louise Tamotzu (recently deceased), who was married to Sloan's friend Chuzo Tamotzu. Louise told me they had big parties here and the studio doubled as an evening gambling hangout. I have evidence of this from the dice painted on the front door and the closet door. Folks spent a lot of time on the roof viewing the clouds, and my guess is that many of the best known names in American Art came here to visit, as Sloan was the unofficial dean of Santa Fe/New York contemporary painters. Being here is a real privilege; and painting with so much history is a special experience. |
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