What do you think?
Rate this book
An Age of Barns
LARGE HARDCOVER QUARTO-12" W X 10.75" TALL
1 pages, Hardcover
First published March 12, 1980
1 person is currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Eric Sloane
100 books58 followersEric Sloane (born Everard Jean Hinrichs) was an American landscape painter and author of illustrated works of cultural history and folklore. He is considered a member of the Hudson River School of painting.
Eric Sloane was born in New York City. As a child, he was a neighbor of noted sign painter and type designer Frederick W. Goudy. Sloane studied art and lettering with Goudy. While he attended the Art Students League of New York City, he changed his name because George Luks and John French Sloan suggested that young students should paint under an assumed name so that early inferior works would not be attached to them. He took the name Eric from the middle letters of America and Sloane from his mentor's name.
In the summer of 1925, Sloane ran away from home, working his way across the country as a sign painter, creating advertisements for everything from Red Man Tobacco to Bull Durham. Unique hand calligraphy and lettering became a characteristic of his illustrated books.
Sloane eventually returned to New York and settled in Connecticut, where he began painting rustic landscapes in the tradition of the Hudson River School. In the 1950s, he began spending part of the year in Taos, New Mexico, where he painted western landscapes and particularly luminous depictions of the desert sky. In his career as a painter, he produced over 15,000 works. His fascination with the sky and weather led to commissions to paint works for the U.S. Air Force and the production of a number of illustrated works on meteorology and weather forecasting. Sloane is even credited with creating the first televised weather reporting network, by arranging for local farmers to call in reports to a New England broadcasting station.
Sloane also had a great interest in New England folk culture, Colonial daily life, and Americana. He wrote and illustrated scores of Colonial era books on tools, architecture, farming techniques, folklore, and rural wisdom. Every book included detailed illustrations, hand lettered titles, and his characteristic folksy wit and observations. He developed an impressive collection of historic tools which became the nucleus of the collection in the Sloane-Stanley Tool Museum in Kent, Connecticut.
Sloane died in New York in 1985, while walking down the street to a luncheon held in his honor.
Sloane's best known books are A Reverence for Wood, which examines the history and tools of woodworking, as well as the philosophy of the woodworker; The Cracker Barrel, which is a compendium of folk wit and wisdom; and Diary of an Early American Boy: Noah Blake-1805, based on a diary he discovered at a local library book sale. His most famous painted work is probably the skyscape mural, Earth Flight Environment, which is still on display in the Independence Avenue Lobby in the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.
Eric Sloane was born in New York City. As a child, he was a neighbor of noted sign painter and type designer Frederick W. Goudy. Sloane studied art and lettering with Goudy. While he attended the Art Students League of New York City, he changed his name because George Luks and John French Sloan suggested that young students should paint under an assumed name so that early inferior works would not be attached to them. He took the name Eric from the middle letters of America and Sloane from his mentor's name.
In the summer of 1925, Sloane ran away from home, working his way across the country as a sign painter, creating advertisements for everything from Red Man Tobacco to Bull Durham. Unique hand calligraphy and lettering became a characteristic of his illustrated books.
Sloane eventually returned to New York and settled in Connecticut, where he began painting rustic landscapes in the tradition of the Hudson River School. In the 1950s, he began spending part of the year in Taos, New Mexico, where he painted western landscapes and particularly luminous depictions of the desert sky. In his career as a painter, he produced over 15,000 works. His fascination with the sky and weather led to commissions to paint works for the U.S. Air Force and the production of a number of illustrated works on meteorology and weather forecasting. Sloane is even credited with creating the first televised weather reporting network, by arranging for local farmers to call in reports to a New England broadcasting station.
Sloane also had a great interest in New England folk culture, Colonial daily life, and Americana. He wrote and illustrated scores of Colonial era books on tools, architecture, farming techniques, folklore, and rural wisdom. Every book included detailed illustrations, hand lettered titles, and his characteristic folksy wit and observations. He developed an impressive collection of historic tools which became the nucleus of the collection in the Sloane-Stanley Tool Museum in Kent, Connecticut.
Sloane died in New York in 1985, while walking down the street to a luncheon held in his honor.
Sloane's best known books are A Reverence for Wood, which examines the history and tools of woodworking, as well as the philosophy of the woodworker; The Cracker Barrel, which is a compendium of folk wit and wisdom; and Diary of an Early American Boy: Noah Blake-1805, based on a diary he discovered at a local library book sale. His most famous painted work is probably the skyscape mural, Earth Flight Environment, which is still on display in the Independence Avenue Lobby in the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 1, 2021
I have no idea how I came to own this book, but I truly love it. The illustrations are incredible and I love reading it. I've read it a pretty absurdly high number of times?! A book about barns!?! I know! But it's really lovely.
February 1, 2019
I found this book on the shelf in Brad Eaton’s office in 1999, and immediately became enamored with the authors stories and illustrations. I am collected all of his published works. I can read this book and feel the pride welling up from deep inside me. Pride for the combination of brains and brawn within the craftsmen. Pride for the strength of character and immense capacity for resilience found within the early New Englanders. Pride for the superior beauty and profound appeal of the environment surrounding my home.
May 4, 2013
I read this book 20 years ago and re-read it last week. Loving reminiscence. Authenticity of the past. Inspirational line drawings. Meaningful text. Sentiment that isn't too sentimental. For someone who loves the smell of corn silage and who's drunk Grain Belt Beer while sitting on top of 4000 bushels of barley headed for the brewery, this was my kind of book. I went out and bought some drawing pencils after this one.
September 16, 2008
Wonderful, if only for the details he sketched.
August 10, 2012
A sentimental favorite. Sloane has a beautiful pen and ink technique, which I devoted a good part of my youth to imitating.
July 21, 2018
Although this book contains drawings of old barns, I did learn a few things about them. Not exactly a history book of barns, it does have some interesting facts about their shapes and uses.
June 14, 2024
Focused almost exclusively on barns of New England area.
January 24, 2015
I haven't actually 'read' this whole book but in paging through it, I know that this is an excellent barn reference book. I have recently come to appreciate the detail and authenticity in Eric Sloane's books and illustrations. You know when looking at Sloane's books that he not only had a deep love for his farming heritage, but also had a keen eye for detail. I first picked up his Diary of an Early American Boy somewhere and I'd actually like to have his whole collection, they're that good!
Read
January 28, 2016This is such a beautiful book of text and drawings. If you've ever been curious about how barn design evolved in this country, and the structure of different styles of barns, this is a great book. The drawings are detailed and beautiful, and Sloane has provided comprehensive labels to explain not only the construction techniques, but also the tools used. This is a book I plan to purchase.
September 18, 2016
Lovely book, wonderful illustrations, well detailed and researched. The historical notes were interesting and informative but I mostly enjoyed looking through this book more than reading. It would be a great coffee table book and I can think of several friends and family members who would greatly enjoy this too.
December 27, 2010
Beautiful book of barns. More illustrated and less wordy than many of his other books. The illustrations, both drawings and oil paintings, are amazing.
May 5, 2016
I enjoyed reading this book.
Read
January 27, 2016Notes to self: Was looking for this book when we were writing "Helderberg Hilltowns"--finally found it at Belfast libe. Beautiful pen&ink drawings, not too much text.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews