126

VERSO
Label, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana

According to Peter Hassrick, “This was an important early work by Sharp, a signature forerunner for many future outdoor family scenes centered on teepee life as seen from Sharp’s studio window. He painted two interior studies of Indian domestic themes at this time, The Death Spirit and A Gift for Her Brave, but this and Crow Reservation were some of the first known, large open-air camp subjects. Staged just south of Sharp’s Crow Agency studio, an Indian family is pictured standing beside the artist’s cherished Blackfeet buffalo hide teepee that was pitched close at hand and would become a frequently used prop. A small sweat lodge is in the process of being erected on the left, perhaps intended for the child who is being guided by his mother in that direction.”

PROVENANCE
The artist
Charles Bair, Martinsdale, Montana, 1906, gifted to
Billings Chamber of Commerce, Billings, Montana

EXHIBITED
Joseph Henry Sharp and the Lure of the West, C. M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana, 1978

LITERATURE
Joseph Henry Sharp and the Lure of the West, C. M. Russell Museum, 1978, p. 19, illustrated
Forrest Fenn, The Beat of the Drum and the Whoop of the Dance: A Study of the Life and Work of Joseph Henry Sharp, Fenn Publishing Co., 1983, p. 351, listed

Condition ReportSurface is in excellent condition. Canvas is lined. Small spots of inpainting in right-center portion, near the frame’s edge and around top of teepee.

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.