Gifts from Apaches

Generously provided by Cincinnati Art Museum

Sharp was able to express his special affection for the Native crafts and art of his time through this work. As the two figures here, Crucita and her son Francisco, reverentially ponder some Apache items that Sharp has accumulated, the artist is able to convey his own esteem for the objects as transferred through their appreciative gaze. Two decorated Apache baskets, a lush string of beads and a basket water jar are the items that have evidently been received from some Apache guests whom Sharp has somehow ingratiated through his gentle and welcoming demeanor.

This scene of cross-cultural connections is a touching tribute to Sharp’s sensitivity to a broad range of creative responses expressed by the Native people of the Southwest. The painting also recognizes the devotion that Sharp had for any handcrafted objects. He and his wife lived, for example, with Craftsman furniture in their homes.

Peter H. Hassrick

Artist: Joseph Henry Sharp
Date: 1914
Catalogue Number: 273
Medium: oil on canvas
Inscriptions: LR: JHSHARP.

Dimensions: 36 1/8 x 29 1/8 in.
Credit Line: Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Accession Number: 1978.337
Subjects: Apache, Crucita

The artist; Walter J. Wichgar, Cincinnati, OH, 1917; Mr. and Mrs. Walter J. Wichgar; present owner by bequest, 1978

The Wichgar family purchased this painting from Sharp through the Traxel Art Galleries in Cincinnati in November 1917 for $800. (sales ledger, Sharp Papers)