2014 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 213269 / 302  •  View Catalog  •   • 

213
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859 – 1953)
The War Chief
oil on canvas
18 × 14 inches
signed lower left

According to Marie Watkins, a Joseph Henry Sharp scholar and associate professor of art history at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, “‘Fine for figure compositions,’ Joseph Henry Sharp observed of his Taos models, ‘but very few have the interesting faces & history of the old plains fighters.’ The painting, however, is more complex than an image of a long ago Plains war chief holding a spear and medicine shield, ostensibly Southern Cheyenne from all the trappings.

“Sharp, too, commented subtly on contemporary life in Taos in this loosely-painted and boldly colored composition. Looking closely, one sees the realism of exposure to the sun from tan lines on the model, the dark face and lower right arm opposed to the lighter upper body that has worn a shirt. This is an artist’s model at work. Sharp is addressing the artifice in his painting. He, too, is challenging the Indian stereotype. Is it the viewer’s perception of Indians or Sharp’s crafting of the appearance which deceives? In Sharp’s painterly composition there is more than meets the eye in this portrait of an ‘old plains fighter.’”

PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, Hewlett Bay Park, New York
Property from a Private Collection

LITERATURE:
Forrest Fenn, The Beat of the Drum and the Whoop of the Dance: A Study of the Life and Work of Joseph Henry Sharp (Santa Fe, NM: Fenn Publishing Co., 1983), page 256, illustrated

213

Joseph Henry Sharp

1859 – 1953

The War Chief
oil on canvas
18 × 14 inches
signed lower left
Sold at Auction: $85,000
Condition ReportPainting has been lined. Surface condition excellent. Thin horizontal line of inpainting across top of painting just below edge of frame. Three-quarter inch diameter spot of inpainting upper left corner. Thirteen spots of inpainting along top edge near edge of frame. Ten spots of inpainting along right side near edge of frame. One inch by two and a half inch spot of inpainting in lower right corner. Broken horizontal line of inpainting along bottom edge of painting near edge of frame. Eight spots of inpainting along bottom edge. Three quarter inch by one quarter inch spot of inpainting lower left corner (below and to left of signature, signature is clean). Ten spots of inpainting along left side near edge of frame. Multiple spots of inpainting to right of Chief’s arm, above and to the right of his shield. Three spots of inpainting near Chief’s chin.

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.