The son, grandson, and nephew of engravers, William Sartain also entered the profession, learning the use of the burin from his father, John, after completing high school in Philadelphia. By 1867, however, he had enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, working under Christian Schussele. Intent on becoming a painter, he left for Paris the following year, studying with L‚on Bonnat and Henri Fr‚d‚ric Adolphe Yvon at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. While in Paris, he spent much of his time with Thomas Eakins and Edwin H. Blashfield; Sartain and Eakins traveled to Spain with H. Humphrey Moore in the winter of 1870. After a tour through England, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Italy, Sartain made a brief trip to the United States in 1871, returning soon after to Bonnat's atelier. In 1874, he spent the winter in Algeria with Charles Sprague Pearce. Arab genre scenes became a favorite subject for Sartain.
Except for a trip home to see the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Sartain remained in Paris until autumn 1877. Returning to New York, he became active in the Society of American Artists. A year later, he began a long tenure teaching life class at the Art Students League. He also instructed at the Cooper Union. Sartain spent his summers on Buzzard's Bay, MA (he became known for his New England coastal views), the New Jersey shore, and a home he built across the Hudson River from Manhattan. He returned to Europe several times, in 1884, 1886, and 1901. In 1894, Sartain was briefly dropped from the list of Associates for failure to exhibit in an Annual. He was soon reinstated, and in 1903, he and his daughter Emily donated to the Academy a set of NAD catalogues belonging to John Sartain.
