The Sunset Dance, Taos

Artist
Joseph Henry Sharp
Date
ca. 1924; [1910]
Catalogue Number
493
Medium
oil on canvas
Inscriptions

LR: J.H.SHARP.

Penciled on dust cover: The Sunset Dance, Taos / J.H.Sharp / 20"x24"/ Bin 11 - (2) - B.B.
 
Inscribed on paper attached to dust cover: Taos Pueblo Fiesta, Sept. 29th & 30th Sunset Dance After solemn ceremonies in the church they parade & dance in front of each pueblo building and other points as the sun goes down - In the 1890s (and before) there were two guards with guns at the church door, who made periodical shots to keep the devil and evil spirits away - Concession to the church and own belief.
 
Dimensions
20 x 27 3/4 in.
Credit Line
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK. Gift of the Thomas Gilcrease Foundation, 1955.
Accession Number
0137.341
Subjects
Taos, ceremony, dance, group

The artist; [?]; Dr. Philip G. Cole, Tarrytown, NY; Thomas Gilcrease, Tulsa, OK, 1947; The Thomas Gilcrease Foundation, Tulsa, OK; present owner by gift 1955

For exhibition history, see Sunset Dance - Ceremony to the Evening Sun (#239).
 
Sharp produced another nearly identical scene, Sundown Dance and Hunting Son at this time. Sharp's model, Hunting Son, blocks most of the mountain in the distance, but the pueblo and many of the celebrants are visible. (Record 673)