221

VERSO
Label, Fenn Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
Label, Jim Fowler’s Period Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Label, The John F. Eulich Collection of American Western Art, Dallas, TX
Exhibition label, National Cowboy Hall of Fame

According to Rick Stewart, “Before Sharp established himself as a painter in Taos, he achieved a national reputation as a painter of the Plains Indians. In 1899, he traveled to Montana, outfitted a wagon as a studio which he nicknamed the ‘Prairie Dog,’ and painted portraits and genre scenes of the Indians, particularly the Sioux and Crow, who had figured in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Sharp’s paintings were purchased by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt directed the Indian Commission to erect a cabin as a studio for the artist which was located south of the confluence of the two Bighorn rivers. From 1901 to 1916, Sharp spent his winters among the Indians, studying every aspect of their appearance, traditions, and beliefs.

“He worked prodigiously and produced some major paintings, such as Crow Encampment, Montana, a large oil that clearly demonstrates the artist’s technical brilliance. The landscape is bathed in vivid colors; the lush reds and rich greens of the sky contrast with the resonant lavenders of the craggy mountains. Sharp achieved his romantic light effects by utilizing a careful network of short criss-crossed strokes that blend, when viewed from afar, into a luminous whole. At the same time, there are loosely painted areas, as in the dark greens of the pine trees, that contrast with brighter, more carefully painted areas. The golden orange light that emanates from the central tepee reinforces the scene’s romantic feeling.”

PROVENANCE
Mr. and Mrs. Dale F. Dorn, Midland, TX by 1977
Tucker Dorn, Denver, CO
Rosenstock Arts, Denver, CO
Collection of James S. Fowler, Period Gallery West, Scottsdale, AZ
Private Collection 1983
Private Collection

EXHIBITED
Dixie Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN
Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, Peoria, IL
Joseph Henry Sharp and The Lure of the West, C. M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, MT 1977
Legendary Artists of the Frontier: The John F. Eulich Collection, National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, OK, Sept 18 - Nov 15, 1992
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Montgomery Art Museum, Montgomery, AL
Hunter Museum of Arts, Chattanooga, TN
Telfair Academy of Art, Savannah, GA
Norton Gallery and School of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR

LITERATURE
Dr. Carl S. Dentzel, Joseph Henry Sharp and The Lure of the West (Great Falls, MT: C. M. Russell Museum, 1977), p 50, illustrated
Dr. Rick Stewart, The American West: Legendary Artists of the Frontier (Carmel, IN: Hawthorne Publishing Company, 1986), pp 118-9, illustrated
Forrest Fenn, Teepee Smoke, a new look into the life and work of Joseph Henry Sharp (Santa Fe, NM: One Horse Land & Cattle Co., 2007), p 206, illustrated

Condition ReportSurface condition is excellent. Painting has been lined. Multiple specks of inpainting in sky; top of teepees, along left side; center teepee; to right of center teepee, in trees; and near horse’s nose.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.