This is the first recorded painting Sharp sold to his Montana patron and friend, Charles Bair. Sharp’s sales ledger for March 1905 states that Trout Stream, Pryor sold for $300. (Sharp Papers)Another version of this work, A Trout Brook in Winter, was painted the same year. (related image, # 309)
It is clear that this canvas was intended to lure Bair over to his favorite fishing hole. The ripples in the lower left corner of the composition suggest that a trout is feeding and ready to be caught.
Pryor Creek
Alternate Title: Trout Stream, Pryor
Record ID: 312
Date: 1905
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 18 x 30 in.
Signature / Inscription: LL: J.H.SHARP. 1905
Owner: Bair Family Museum, Martinsdale, MT
Provenance:
The artist; Charles Bair, Billings, MT, 1905; Bair family by descent; present owner
Related