Running Horse

Joseph Henry Sharp, Running Horse, 1897, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1985.66.209,417
Joseph Henry Sharp, Running Horse, 1897, oil on paperboard, 13 349 58 in. (34.924.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1985.66.209,417

Artwork Details

Title
Running Horse
Date
1897
Dimensions
13 349 58 in. (34.924.5 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — Running Horse — bust
  • Indian — Pueblo
Object Number
1985.66.209,417

Artwork Description

Joseph Henry Sharp painted Running Horse in Taos, New Mexico, where he made idealized portraits of Native Americans for his Cincinnati patrons. In a letter to John Ewers in August 1948, Sharp noted that he painted this portrait “years ago before they began to paint and dress up with feathers and stuff for tourists. This fellow is [now] a big fat 200-pounder & has a curio store!” Sharp’s comment indicates that many of his models, though pictured in “authentic” costume and seemingly untouched by the modern world, had become assimilated into a culture that regarded them as marketable curiosities. (Watkins, “Painting the American Indian at the Turn of the Century: Joseph Henry Sharp and His Patrons, William H. Holmes, Phoebe A. Hearst, and Joseph G. Butler, Jr.,” PhD diss., 2000)

Works by this artist (2 items)

Anne Currier, Rollway, 1992, hand-built and glazed earthenware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, 1997.53A-B
Rollway
Date1992
hand-built and glazed earthenware
On view
Anne Currier, Verte Complacere, 1984, earthenware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Helen Williams Drutt English and H. Peter Stern in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, 2007.47.9
Verte Complacere
Date1984
earthenware
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Beatrice Wood, Small Plate from the Yellow Luncheon Service for Six, 1951, earthenware and glaze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Howard Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art, 2008.5.8
Small Plate from the Yellow Luncheon Service for Six
Date1951
earthenware and glaze
Not on view
Beatrice Wood, Ceramic Service for Eight (64 pieces with 10 serving pieces), ca. 1979, earthenware with lusters, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of George C. Zachary in memory of Beatrice Wood's centennial birthday and in memory of John Waller, 1993.64.1-74
Ceramic Service for Eight (64 pieces with 10 serving pieces)
Dateca. 1979
earthenware with lusters
Not on view
Beatrice Wood, Vase, ca. 1978, earthenware with lustres, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jane Warren Larson, 1991.140
Vase
Dateca. 1978
earthenware with lustres
On view
Beatrice Wood, Large Plate from the Yellow Luncheon Service for Six, 1951, earthenware and glaze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Howard Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art, 2008.5.1
Large Plate from the Yellow Luncheon Service for Six
Date1951
earthenware and glaze
Not on view