MS 022 - Joseph Henry Sharp Collection, 1889-1992 | McCracken Research Library

The JHS collection consists of three (3) record storage boxes, eight (8) photograph boxes, and two (2) negative boxes. The collection occupies about nine (9) linear feet of shelf space. The JHS collection contains correspondence, exhibit catalogs, scrapbooks, clippings, photographs taken by JHS and friends, photographs of JHS' paintings, telegrams, notes on paintings, cancelled checks, ephemera, and other miscellaneous materials. The order of the materials is based on Mr. Fenn's arrangement. Photographs have been pulled and placed in separate boxes; however original location has been noted and cross referenced.

Negatives and photos with the same number after the P or N designation are the same image.  However, some indication is given about the extent of the copies. Many of the photographs cannot be reproduced by the BBHC as the original image or artwork is owned by another person or institution.

This material was assembled by Forrest Fenn in the course of researching his book on [JHS]. It came from many different sources and is untraceable. It was given to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in 1986. The photographs in Box 17 were purchased in 1961 from Carolyn Reynolds Riebeth.

Sharp, Joseph Henry

Joseph Henry Sharp (1859 – 1953) was an important Western painter and a founding member of the Taos artist colony. Sharp spent several years on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana recording on canvas scenes of Indian life. Much of the material in this collection consists of the research files of Forest Fenn, who wrote Sharp's biography. In addition to Fenn's working files, he also collected J.H. Sharp original papers from a wide variety of sources. Original Sharp manuscripts include correspondence, sales records, memorabilia, and several hundred original and copy photographs. The collection covers Sharp's years in Cincinnati, Montana, and Taos.