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
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