JOSEPH HENRY SHARP (American, 1859-1953). Landscape of Glacier, 1905. Oil on canvas. 18 x 12 inches (45.7 x 30.5 cm). Si...

Description

JOSEPH HENRY SHARP (American, 1859-1953)
Landscape of Glacier, 1905
Oil on canvas
18 x 12 inches (45.7 x 30.5 cm)
Signed lower right: J.H. Sharp
Dated lower left: 1905

Joseph Henry Sharp was not the first member of the Taos Society of Artists to move to New Mexico, but he was the first to visit the region. It was Sharp who urged fellow artists Bert Phillips, Ernest Blumenschein, and E. I. Couse, to visit the region to take advantage of its rare quality of light and the Native cultures found there. His stories of the region led Phillips and Blumenschein to make a paiting trip there in the late nineteenth century. Phillips established a home and studio there after that initial trip and the other artists, including Sharp, eventually joined him as a full-time residents of Taos.

Sharp was one of the most prolific of the Taos artists and most successful. Prior to his move to Taos, he had already developed a following for his portraits of Native Americans at home on Montana reservations. Sharp actually established a studio near the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn with assistance from President Theodore Roosevelt. While there he produced over 200 portraits of Plains Indians, 80 of which were purchased by newspaper heiress, Phoebe Hearst. While in Montana, Sharp also focused on the depiction of the grand scenery of Montana and the Rocky Mountains.

Landscape of Glacier, is from that period in Sharp's long career. It is a classic example of his skill at depicting the colors and light of the Montana landscape, an area that he would continue to return to even after his permanent move to Taos.

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

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