The Governor and Family

Artist Joseph Henry Sharp (American, 1859 - 1953)

Datec. 1929

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions30 1/8 x 20 1/8 inches (76.5 x 51.1 cm)
Frame: 37 5/8 × 27 5/8 × 2 1/2 inches (95.6 × 70.2 × 6.4 cm)

Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965

Object number31.25.55

ClassificationsPaintings

DescriptionVertical oil painting depicting four American Indians next to an adobe wall with hills and mountains in the background. The main figure had a long white cloth draped over their head and wears a long blue shirt, yellow buckskin trousers, and pink moccasins. Behind this figure, three figures cluster closer to the wall, one in a pink dress draped with a blue blanket sitting on a wooden ladder propped against the wall, one sitting against the wall wearing a green dress and a light blue cloth draped over their head, and one standing against wall wearing a yellowish shirt and a white cloth draping over their head which they hold slightly out to the side. All four human figures look towards the viewer.

Label TextSharp depicted a Governor of Taos Pueblo with his family. He places the Governor in the position of prominence. A landscape is his background, perhaps to indicate his role in the larger community. Three family members are included. Their background is the adobe house, the domestic sphere.

ProvenancePurchased October 12, 1955 through (Jane Hiatt, La Fonda Art Gallery, Taos, New Mexico) by H.J. Lutcher Stark; bequeathed September 2, 1965 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art

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