Painter, etcher, and illustrator John Sloan was a leading figure in the Ashcan School, a group of turn-of-the-century urban realists who used dark palettes and heavy brushwork to paint the grittier side of New York life. In 1892, while working as an illustrator at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sloan enrolled in evening classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and co-founded the Charcoal Club, a group of local artists who met for informal discussions and sketching sessions in Robert Henri’s studio. Sloan followed Henri to New York City, where he became associated with ‘The Eight.’