JOSEPH HENRY SHARP (American 1859-1953). Bawling Deer, circa 1924 -1946. Oil on canvas. 16 x 13 inches (40.6 x 33 cm). S...

Description

JOSEPH HENRY SHARP (American 1859-1953)
Bawling Deer, circa 1924 -1946
Oil on canvas
16 x 13 inches (40.6 x 33 cm)
Signed lower right: JHSHARP
Titled on stretcher bar on verso in artist's hand
Inscribed versro: Francis Taos Indian

Provenance:
Forest Fenn;
Dorothy and William Harmsen, Sr.,(Denver, Colorado)

Bawling Deer is one of numerous portraits Sharp painted of Frank Martinez (who was known both as Bawling Deer and Pâh Wélah) between 1924 and 1946. Here Martinez is wrapped almost entirely in what appears to be a government-issued commercial blanket. Only his wonderfully expressive face and moccasins are exposed. The portrait reflects the growing emphasis on pictorial concerns in Sharp's workit is as much a character study as a study of color, light, form and texture. Sarah E. Boehme has noted that as early as 1905, Sharp's portraits were becoming 'not character studies or records of famous warriors, but studies of pictorial effects, of light falling on subjects. Not only did he pose his subjects, he also probably suggested clothing for them to wear' ('The North and Snow: J. H. Sharp in Montana,' Montana 49 [Autumn 1990]: 43).

More information about JOSEPH HENRY SHARP. See also: Sharp, Joseph Henry, Joseph Henry Sharp, Sharp, J. H. Artist.

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