Old War Bonnet by Joseph Henry Sharp

Old War Bonnet (1916) by JH Sharp is a vintage fine art American West portrait painting. A Native American Indian with his war bonnet. Feathered war bonnets (also called warbonnets or headdresses) were worn by Plains Indians during battle. The eagle was considered by the Indians as the greatest and most powerful of all birds and thus, the finest bonnets were made out of its feathers. About the artist: Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953) was a painter credited with influencing the creation of the Taos, New Mexico Society of Artists. Sharp may have been the first artist to discover Taos when he visited in 1883. He painted American Indian portraits and cultural life, and Wild West Western landscapes.