The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 106

F-8 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRERSunday, August 10, 1980 1 i3 On The Trail Of J. H. Sharp JLf I in GREEN CORN DANCE, a J.H. Sharp painting at the Cincinnati Art Museum paying the Santa Fe railroad for his tickets with paintings. THE CATALOG of Sharp's paint lngs in Fenn's book will contain at ROOKWOOD POTTERY WANTED least 4,800 paintings and Fenn est! mates that Sharp made 10,500 dur lng his lifetime.

"Since I've started tracking them down a lot of new I if I ones have turned up. I get about 10 letters a day from people who have information about Sharp or his mtu FORREST FENN paintings." "In Cincinnati Closson's Gallery and the Ran Gallery have been very BY OWEN FINDSEN Enquirer Art Critic SANTA FE Among the artists who painted the Old West, Cincinnati artists are held In high regard. The paintings of Henry Farny, John Hauser and Joseph Henry Sharp are as avidly sought in the Western states as they are In here. Farny Is the leading light, of course, but Joseph Henry Sharp Is a close second, particularly In Santa Fe, N.M. and nearby Taos, where he made his home for many years.

man who knows more about Sharp than any one else Is Forrest Fenn, director of the Fenn Galleries IAA. in Santa Fe. He Is in the process of writing a book on Sharp which Will be an especially lavish volume, even as art books go. I "I'm going to publish It myself so that I don't have to make any compromises. The book will have gilt edges, leather binding, expensive end papers.

There hasn't been a book like that published in this country In 75 years. Of course, I expect to loose money on It." FENN, A Texan who Is a retired fighter pilot and an ex-CIA agent, came to Santa Fe seven years ago to "slow down," but so far he has been too successful to relax. The Fenn Gallery Is one of the most prestigious in the Southwest, showing the work of Thomas Hart Benton, N.C. Wyeth, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, as well as Cincinnati related artists like Sharp, Farny, Duveneck, Mea-kln and Wlnold Relss, who did the Union Terminal murals as well as many Indian portraits. "I got so Involved In the stories of the old Cincinnati artists that I went to Cincinnati to try to relive some of the scenes I knew about Except for the Art Academy and the Art Museum, there Is nothing left.

The place on 4th Street where Sharp and Farny shared a studio Is now the Federal Reserve bank," Fenn said. Sharp was born In Bridgeport, Ohio, In 1859, two years before the Civil War started. He died in Pasedena, In 1953, after the Korean War had ended. "That he lived he saved all the notes. He would tell people that a certain painting was his favorite and was not for sale.

That was the one they would negotiate for and he would always give in." SHARP FIRST went west in 1883 at the suggestion of Henry Farny. When he saw the Taos pueblo he told other artists about it and they established an artists' community there, although Sharp himself didn't build a house there until 1913. The reputation that the artists gave to Taos has made it Into a tourist nightmare, but when Sharp first saw the town it was a wild frontier village where the few whites who lived there were In constant danger from the surrounding Indian and Mexican populations. By the time Sharp moved to it had become an art center with Sharp and nine other painters forming the Taos Studio to protect their sales against the other artists who were moving In. Writers such as D.H.

Lawrence also made Taos their home. Today Taos is a clutter of art galleries and craft shops surrounded by bumper to bumper recreational vehicles. SHARP ALWAYS referred to Cincinnati as the mother city. Before he settled permanently In the West he would return from his Western trips to teach at the Art Academy. "He was always getting involved in tableaus In Cincinnati.

He would get together with artists like Potthast, Nowottny and Meakin to put together these elaborate costume pieces. The scenes would build to the point where the performers froze In a pose which would duplicate some famous painting. Sharp would watch the other people's lips to know when to speak his lines. He was so good at It that no one could tell that he was deaf." Sharp's Indian portraits brought him enough sales to quit the Art Academy In 1902 and to move West permanently, although he continued to return for his frequent exhibitions here. He began to divide his time between Taos and Pasadena, co-operative and the Art Museum has really been supportive.

When finish the book I intend to donate Pi ft 13 some of the Sharp materials that I have acquired to the Art Museum." Fenn's address, for anyone In Cln cinnatl who might have information on Sharp Is, Fenn Galleries I I rl it 1 1075 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501. The book is scheduled to be In an edition of about 6,000 copies early in 1981. Fenn has 23 of Sharp's etching plates and hopes to finance his book with the sale of prints from the plates. He has not 92 years that was not as important as what happened to change the world In those 92 years," Fenn said. "SHARP WAS a 17-year old student at the Cincinnati Art Adademy in 1876 when Custer was killed at Little Big Horn, and although the newspapers were filled with accounts of Indian savagery, Sharp had a very romantic view of the Indian.

He lived on the Custer battleground from 1902 to 1913 and painted portraits of hundreds of the Indians who fought against Custer. He painted many of the Indian leaders like American Horse, Deaf Bull and Two Moons who led the Cheyenne nation against Custer. And yet he never painted a single painting of a trooper." Fenn has acquired all of the photographs of Indians that Sharp took, some 8,600 of them. He has Sharp's scrap books of newspaper clippings, letters and hundreds of notes that the artist saved from his conversations. "He was as deaf as a stone so people who came to buy paintings had to communicate In writing and decided on the title of the volume yet.

Examples of Rookwood Pottery I want to purchase Rookwood Pottery and any related items. Will buy one piece or a collection. Also want pottery, bronzes, furniture, water-colors and oil paintings by Rookwood and other Cincinnati artists. Personal and credit references available. Inquiries kept confidential.

Please call for an appointment: 321-6742. DON TREADWAY P.O. BOX 8924 CINCINNATI, OHIO 45208 -(513)321 -6742 "Sharp wrote a few pages of an autobiography once. He was going to can it i eepee omoice, so i mignt use that. But I have another idea, Once he was asked if his deafness had ever been a burden.

He answered 'The only thing that I regret is that I have never heard the beat of the drum and the hoop of the I may call the book The Beat of the Drum and the Hoop ot the vance." MAKE MONY PREPARING 1KGQY TAXES. China's Bronze Age A Majestic Show Enroll in the Block Income Tax Course now. Make money during tax time. Comprehensive course taught by experienced Block instructors begins soon in your area. Send for free information.

Classes begin Sept. 8 and will be held in 30 area locations. Contact our nearest office. BLOCK WHO COULD DE A BETTER INCOME TAX TEACHER? EASTERN 128 Mala, Mllford 83I-S538 WESTERN 8453 Whiten, Rrt.twood 729-S800 SOUTHERN 3OTS Dili Erlanq.r, Ky 341-71 SO Please send me free information about your tax preparation course, and how I can make money. Name Address City "1 BY ELLEN BROWN Entertainment Reporter One of the most visible signs of the normalization of relations with China during the past decade has been an American discovery If not rediscovery of Chinese art and design motifs.

The Oriental Influence has been pervasive in Interior design, clothing fabrics and styles, and the artworks China have experienced a popu- larity as well. In 1975 the first major show of archaeological discoveries from China toured this country and was appropriately dubbed the first of the blockbuster art shows. The lines queued up In cities from Washington to San Francisco to see, for the first time in this country, the treasures being unearthed during China's extensive archaeological program. THE THRUST of that show was to highlight exquisite Jades and a remarkable "flying horse." And many aficionados of Oriental art believed that the works had reached the pinnacle of examples. But that Is not so.

The second show of tomb finds touring this country it opened at the Metropolitan Museum In New York In April and will open Aug. 20 at the Field Museum of Natural History In Chicago- is, if anything, more refined and majestic than that show five years ago. Made possible by grants from The Coca-Cola Company, the National Endowment for the Humanities and private foundations, the show demonstrates the heights the Bronze Age artists could attain artistically. The works are as sophisticated and subtle as those in the last exhibition, but there Is more of an emphasis on the quality of the work rather than the elegance of the materials. THE WORKS In the exhibition-more than -Zip.

State Phone 11 FACE OF A SOLDIER from terra cotta army tp r- rJ i r-' MARK PUMA PRESENTS Friday, August 15th The -JL- II TT a r-- 100 bronzes, Jades and terracottas are arranged chronologically from the flowering of the culture, sometime around 2,000 BC, to its final flowering In the second century BC, the early Han dynasty. The exhibition leads to one of the most astonishing discoveries ever excavated an army of life-size terracotta figures from the burial complex of the First Emperor of Qln (221-210 BC). The grouping of eight warriors and horses were found In 1974, and large photomurals behind the Installation show them In situ with other artifacts found In the tomb. By the Bronze Age, Chinese culture was already well developed. There was a distinctive form of writing, cities with palatial architecture and a highly stratified society ruled by kings.

The tenets of the religion placed the ancestors of the kings as Intermediaries with the gods, and they Interceded on behalf of the people with elaborate rituals and sacrifices. THE MAJESTIC bronzes In this exhibition were Integral parts of those ceremonies, and were burled with the kings, as accouterments of everyday life were entombed with the pharoahs In Egypt. In the Shang period, mainly mythological, royal tombs were furnished with not onlv ritual Mr Mm i i now GILT BRONZE LAMP a Chinese masterpiece the added dimension of providing references on ancient Chinese dress. THE STIFFNESS and smoothness of the bodies Is a contrast with the minute renderings of such details as the hair and texture of the cloth uniforms. The artists were capable of real-Ism, and we must assume that the lack of musculature In the figures demonstrates either a lack of knowledge about human anatomy, or a stylistic convention.

But the figures are a novelty. The technical and artistic accomplishments of early Chinese civilization Is epitomized by the more than 70 bronzes. Bronze casting Is an exacting process that relied on both technical knowledge and a high degree of organization. In the Shang dynasty, the bronzes contained a great sense of formal power, reflecting their Importance to the rituals of the state. The lines upon them are tautly controlled, and the shapes are symmetrical.

Birds, dragons and other animals formed the basis for the rich and organized decoration. By the later periods, refined gold and silver Inlaid decoration were common. In some ways the Zhou bronzes appear to pre-date the Shang; they are typically graceful shapes and reflective of the sophistication of the era, but the pure geometric shapes and decoration lack the dynamic power of the earlier works. IN ADDITION to the bronze ritual vessels, there Is a set of bells, done with a pairing of metals so that each creates two tones when hit in different sections. They are executed in graceful shapes In the same pattern in a diminishing size.

Evtr-one comes away from an exhibition like this one with a favorite object one to which each visitor returns many times, and looks at one last time before leaving the show. In this show, It is a gilt-bronze oil lamp that conveys an extraordinary degree of psychologlal realism. Also a technical triumph, the figure holds an oil lamp, the smoke from which escapes up the sleeve of her gown. The face was modeled with a serenity and delicacy that epitomizes the Bronze Age culture of China. I I works; 'f BAND vessels and offerings of food and wine, but also with the human retinue of the deceased his concubines, bodyguards and horses who were all ceremonially killed at the burial site.

Buy one pair of Witf? JS or Sf Straight leg blue denim leans for gals and get the second pair for onlySl. Or mix and match jeans, shirts, tops, 'j belts, jackets and many other items. Over 30 of our inventory is included in this sale. Make your back tc school- By the late Zhou period Chou for all those Tickets: 9.00 8.00 Available at (gflWETRON'' Outlet! at Sean Roebuck and Shillito Box Office (513) 241-1818 Door Open at 6:30 P.M. who learned about Chinese art before the new transliterations system was developed the human sacrifices were replaced by life-size terracotta figures.

There Is a dynamism to the poses and a degree of precision in the finished surfaces that belies the date of their execution. For sure, the figures might have been up to twice the size of $1 go farther at Levitation. CONCERT EVENT WIN A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF A FREEFALL PRESENTATION. LTD Riverfront Coliseum CINCINNATI. OM 4U0Z It 11 24! 1111 the humans on which they are modeled, and there is a great degree of styllzatlon in the musculature and costuming.

But we must assume that the different costumes were taken from those of the soldiers, and the figures have GET DETAILS AT ANY LEVITATION STORE.