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Bull Thigh

This portrait of Chief Bull Thigh was purchased by Joseph G. Butler, Jr. in 1904 according to Sharp's sales ledgers,. In a letter to Butler (2/15/04), Sharp confided in his patron that Bull Thigh was his "favorite character among the Cheyennes aside from Little Wolf." (Sharp Papers)  

 

There is other known, extant oil portraits of Bull Thigh, (Gilcrease Museum, #s425 and 478) On the verso of #425 Sharp mentions a profile version which was exhibited in 1900 in the American section of the Fine Arts Exhibit at the Paris Exposition. It was  titled simply Head of Cheyenne. The original of that version's whereabouts in not known, but there is an engraving of  Bull Thigh's profile portrait in the collections of the Cincinnati Art Museum. (related image, # 327a)

Bull Thigh

Alternate Title:

 Bull Thigh -- Cheyenne

Record ID: 327

Date: ca. 1903; [1897-98]

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: 14 x 10 in.

Signature / Inscription: UL: BULL THIGH. UR: CHEYENNE. LR: J.H.SHARP.

Owner: Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH

Accession Number: 913-O-504


Provenance:

The artist; Joseph G. Butler, Jr., Youngstown, OH, 1904; present owner by purchase, 1913

Related

Created concurrently with Peter Hassrick's 2018 Whitney West publication The Life & Art of Joseph Henry Sharp, this online catalogue highlights more than 700 works by J.H. Sharp that are held in public collections.