Mother of the First King
Sloan's first attempt at printing a lithograph.
The subject was based on the below poem of the same title found in Sloan's files. No author or source for the poem has been discovered - it is possible that it was written by Sloan himself, see: Morse 1969, p. 159.
The Mother of the First King
(manuscript copy by John Sloan)
Long, long ago when Earth and Life were young
When Motherhood into the World brought Love
To stir ambition in the human heart
She sat upon her solitary rock
And dreamed again her dream of coming years
No longer men were struggling for themselves
But led by one more wise, more strong than they
Were joined in bonds of common loyalty
And Selfish Love which left her sitting lone
Gave place to Love for Others, Ah how long!
How long was he upon his conquering way –
This man, the Nation builder of her dreams!
The man child foaled in her ambition stirred
Upon her lap – but she – she saw him not
Nor knew that she was mother to the King.
The subject was based on the below poem of the same title found in Sloan's files. No author or source for the poem has been discovered - it is possible that it was written by Sloan himself, see: Morse 1969, p. 159.
The Mother of the First King
(manuscript copy by John Sloan)
Long, long ago when Earth and Life were young
When Motherhood into the World brought Love
To stir ambition in the human heart
She sat upon her solitary rock
And dreamed again her dream of coming years
No longer men were struggling for themselves
But led by one more wise, more strong than they
Were joined in bonds of common loyalty
And Selfish Love which left her sitting lone
Gave place to Love for Others, Ah how long!
How long was he upon his conquering way –
This man, the Nation builder of her dreams!
The man child foaled in her ambition stirred
Upon her lap – but she – she saw him not
Nor knew that she was mother to the King.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mother of the First King
- Artist: John Sloan (American, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania 1871–1951 Hanover, New Hampshire)
- Date: 1908
- Medium: Lithograph
- Dimensions: Sheet: 15 3/16 × 19 3/4 in. (38.5 × 50.2 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1924
- Object Number: 24.13.10
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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