Vintage Wood Block Print of Native American Village by Joseph Henry Sharp, visual measures 4.25'' x 2.25'', signed J.H. Sharp and signed in lower left corner, Artist Bio: Born in Bridgeport, Ohio, Joseph Sharp was regarded as the ''father of the Taos Art Colony,'' and was known for his Indian figure and genre painting as well as for exquisitely colorful landscapes. He was one of the first Caucasian artists to visit New Mexico, arriving in Santa Fe in 1883. He was also a visitor to Alaska, being one of the early artists who visited there after the purchase of the Territory. Although Sharp was completely deaf from a childhood accident, he reportedly had a cheerful nature and was an avid traveler, always seeking learning experiences about other cultures.In 1893, Joseph Sharp first went to Taos, and his sketches from that trip were published in Harper's Weekly. He began making summer trips West to sketch Indians, and in 1902, he painted in Arizona, California, Wyoming, and Montana. An admiring President Teddy Roosevelt had a studio built for Sharp at the Custer Battle Field site. From there Sharp traveled throughout the Plains to paint about 200 portraits of living Indians who had been in that battle. To achieve these paintings, he endured much severe weather and physical hardship. By 1912, Sharp was a permanent resident of Taos, living across from Kit Carson's homesite and painting many of the Pueblo Indians in their daily activities. His longtime close friend and model was Jerry (Elk Foot) Mirabal, who, dying in 1980, lived to be 110. Sharp continued to travel, going frequently to Hawaii and California during the winters where he completed numerous floral landscapes. He also stayed in close touch with his hometown of Cincinnati, where he relied upon friends in the Cincinnati Art Museum for canvas and certain types of paint, and in December, 1915, he held the first of fifteen annual Christmas exhibitions there. He died in Pasadena on August 29, 1953.