John Sloan moved to New York City in 1904 and began painting urban scenes. He and several other artists became dubbed the "Ash Can School" because of the gritty realism of their urban subjects and their preference for dark colors.

Sloan painted Ferry Slip, Winter when he was still new to New York. He sacrificed detail to lend a sense of immediacy to the scene. Sloan tended to paint quickly from memory, after walking city streets and "soak[ing] in something to paint."

Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966.em>