2024 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 1414 / 404 • View Catalog •
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Sharp biographer Forrest Fenn wrote, “Many of the Indians loved Sharp dearly, almost always preferring to pose for him rather than the other artists, and they were greatly amused by one of his habits. When working on a painting, Sharp would dab some paint on the canvas, then dance or hop backwards six or eight feet to view the result. The Indians who often gathered in the studio thought this was very funny and would laugh and mimic him behind his back. Their actions weren’t disrespectful, though; they were instead a sign of acceptance and regard for the artist.”
When asked why he painted Indians, Sharp replied, “I was always interested even as a small boy. I guess it was Fenimore Cooper who first attracted me to the Indian. It was the romance of youth, of boyhood, I suppose. Then when I came to know them I liked them for themselves. Perhaps they attracted me as subjects to paint because of their important historical value as the first Americans.”
PROVENANCE
Closson’s Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Ernest H. Huenenfeld, Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1915
Present owner, by descent
