By John Sloan
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
John Sloan, 'Frankie and Johnnie (also HIM)', 1928, etching, edition 100, (only 50 printed), Morse 236. Signed and inscribed '100 proofs' in pencil. Signed and dated in the plate, lower left; annotated “Frankie and Johnnie” from “HIM”, lower right. A fine impression, on cream, wove paper, with full margins (1 1/2 to 2 1/4 inches); the printer’s tack holes at the sheet edges, in excellent condition. Printed by Peter Platt. Scarce.
“A small chorus singing ‘Frankie and Johnnie’ crowds the tiny stage of the Provincetown Players Theatre in MacDougall Street. An episode from E.E. Cummings’ intelligent and entertaining production, HIM.“ –John Sloan, from the catalogue Raisonné 'John Sloan's Prints', Peter Morse, Yale University Press, 1969.
‘Frankie and Johnnie’ is a traditional American popular song. It tells the story of a woman, Frankie, who finds her man Johnny making love to another woman and shoots him dead. Frankie is then arrested; in some versions of the song she is also executed. The song was inspired by one or more actual incidents of murder due to jealousy. At least 256 recordings of "Frankie and Johnny" have been made since the early 20th century. Singers include Big Bill Broonzy, Mississippi Joe Callicott, Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke, Frank Crumit, Bob Dylan, Lena Horne, Mississippi John Hurt, Lead Belly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Van Morrison, Fats Waller...
Category
1920s Ashcan School John Sloan Figurative Prints