The Ordinary, Observable World

Two New Mexico artists shared a vision across three centuries.

One, the Ohio-born Joseph Henry Sharp, heralded from the second half of the 19th century, known as the Positivist Age. It was a time when people believed knowledge from the sciences would solve all human problems. Painters reflected this by rejecting the Romantic subjectivism for the Realist: an objective portrayal of the observable world. Henry first brought New Mexico to life upon visiting the pueblos in 1883. He eventually rose to fame as one of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists.

The other artist, Clark Hulings, is a Spaniard born during the 20th century and still sharing his art with us to this day. When Hulings moved to New Mexico, the brilliance of its sunshine brought back impressions of his Spanish childhood and led him to begin painting in the 1940s. His focus encompasses the Southwest.

Such realism was the high sell for the Altermann Galleries auction on October 22, 2005, and held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sharp brought in the highest bid and was closely followed by Hulings’ works and a non-Western, but realist, G. Harvey oil on canvas. The auction brought in over $3 million in bids.

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*Chant to the Rain Gods* by Joseph Henry Sharp sold for a $200,000 bid. Sharp differs from Hulings in that his subjects are more intimate, as one can see the lifelines across their faces.

*Chief Washakie-Shoshone* by Joseph Henry Sharp was a late addition to the auction. It sold for a $145,000 bid.

The Ordinary, Observable World
*Covered Market*, Guanajuato, Mexico by Clark Hulings sold for a $145,000 bid.
*–Notable Western Art Lots Included (All images courtesy Altermann Galleries)–*

*Flower Market Aix en Provence* by Clark Hulings sold for a $175,000 bid. This artist is best known for his market scenes. Hulings fills his subjects with verve by stepping back and portraying the hustle and bustle of life.

The second highest seller at auction went to a Westerner but not for a Western depiction. G. Harvey of Fredericksburg, Texas, painted *Twilight in the City*, which sold for a $195,000 bid. Harvey’s work ranges from scenes of New York City to his cowboy and Western art.

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Meghan Saar is the former editor of True West, the world’s oldest, continuously published Western Americana magazine. She has worked in niche publication content development since 2002, and she has a B.S. in Journalism and Creative Writing from the University of Arizona—Tucson.

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