Joseph Henry Sharp New Mexico/California (1859-1953) JUST PURCHASED oil on canvas board, framed, signed: lower right, J.H. Sharp, signed & inscribed in pencil: verso, Composition sketch for large canvas H6 3/8" W8 3/8" *Artist biography: Sharp was born in Bridgeport, OH on Sept. 27, 1859 and was raised in Ironton and Cincinnati. He began art studies at the Cincinnati Art Academy at age 14. In 1882 he was a pupil of Charles Verlat in Antwerp; the following year he made his first trip to the West to sketch the Indian tribes of New Mexico, California, and the Columbia River. In 1886 he again was in Europe accompanied by Frank Duveneck. While in Munich, he was a pupil of Karl Marr and had further study with Laurens and Constant in Paris. Sharp taught at the Cincinnati Art Academy from 1892 until 1902 and then resigned to devote full time to painting. Summers were spent in Montana at Crow Agency in a cabin and studio at the foot of the Custer Battlefield. As well as a home in Pasadena, he also had a studio in Taos, NM which was opposite Kit Carson's old home. During the 1930s he made several painting trips to Hawaii. Sharp died in Pasadena, CA on Aug. 29, 1953. Eleven of his paintings of famous Indians were purchased by the U.S. Government in 1900 and now hang in the Smithsonian Institution. A collection of 80 Indian portraits and pictures were purchased by Phoebe Hearst in 1902 for UC Berkeley. Member: Cincinnati Art Club; PM Club of LA; Salmagundi Club; AFA; SWA; Taos Society of Artists; Calif. Art Club. Exh: Pan-American Expo (Buffalo), 1901 (silver medal); Cincinnati Art Club, 1901 (1st prize); Panama-Calif. Expo (San Diego), 1915 (gold medal); Southwest Expo (Long Beach), 1928; Calif. Artists, Pasadena Art Inst., 1930 (1st prize). In: Houston Museum; Orange Co. (CA) Museum; Butler Museum (Youngstown, OH); Southwest Museum (LA); Museum of NM (Santa Fe); Cincinnati Museum; Herron Art Inst. (Indianapolis). Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940" American Art Annual 1919-33; Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers (Fielding, Mantle); Who's Who in California 1929; Who's Who in American Art 1936-47; Artists of the American West (Doris Dawdy); Artists of the American West (Samuels); Southern California Artists (Nancy Moure); Artists and Illustrators of the Old West (Robert Taft). *Note: This painting is a composition sketch for a larger canvas, which measures 30" x 36". Both paintings are listed in Forrest Fenn's book, J.H. SHARP, THE BEAT OF THE DRUM AND THE WHOOP OF THE DANCE, p.329, No. 2303 and 2304. *Provenance: Private Collection, California.