Early Life and Artistic Training Born in 1911, John Sharp began his path as a painter in the American Midwest. His early years were shaped by the academic rigor of the State University of Iowa in Ames. It was here that he first began to develop the technical foundation that would define his later work. His education took him beyond the classroom and into the direct mentorship of Grant Wood in Stone City, Iowa. This period of study allowed him to absorb the specific sensibilities of the regionalist tradition during a formative time in American art. Seeking to broaden his perspective, Sharp e…