PAVANNA and ANGNA ENTERS IN PAVANNA

Sloan, John. PAVANNA. M.244. Etching, 1930. 5 x 4 inches; 127 x 101 mm. Edition of 100, of which only 80 were printed. Titled, signed and inscribed "100 proofs," and dedicated "To my dear friend, Aline Rionie, N.Y. 1930, J.S." A good impression in excellent condition. Together with: Farr, Helen. NO. 2: ANGNA ENTERS IN PAVANA. Etching and aquatint, c. 1930. 6 x 8 inches. Signed in the plate, and signed, titled and inscribed "50 proofs" in pencil in the lower margin. Very good condition. Printed by the artist. The two prints are presented together in a single frame Helen Farr (Sloan), American, born 1911 is best known as the second wife, and widow of John Sloan, primarily because of her writings with and about him, her gifts of his works to museums and educational institutions, and her generous cooperation with Sloan scholars. She is a well regarded artist in her own right, both a painter and a printmaker, her primary subjects being city scenes and the landscape of New Mexico. Farr studied at the Art Students League of New York in the late 1920's, where John Sloan was her drawing instructor. She made notes of his principles and philosophy in the margins of her sketches as he uttered them, which later provided the basis for Sloan's book "The Gist of Art". Farr and Sloan married in 1941, after the death of Dolly Sloan. John Sloan and Helen Farr were friends and admirers of the dancer Angna Enters, and both used her frequently as a subject in their work. The present work is one of a group of prints by Helen Farr illustrating Enters performing various of her works. John Sloan did seven etchings of Angna Enters between 1926 and 1930, two of which he used as his and Dolly Sloan's Christmas and New year's Greeting cards, for 1925-26 and 1927-28. The most notable of the Enters etchings is "The Green Hour" (Morse 245), done in 1930, about which Sloan commented, "I have made several etchings produced under the inspiration of the creative genius of Angna Enters. This one has given me great satisfaction." In the same year Sloan also did an etching of Enters performing "Pavanna" in the same costume she wears in the Helen Farr print (Morse 244). Sloan comments, "This plate has merits, but it lacks the disdainful majesty of Miss Enters' portrayal of a proud, sensual and religious Spanish aristocrat." Interestingly, this very quality comes across very stongly in Farr's pri