ORIGINAL J. TENNEY JOHNSON PAINTING (1928)

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/30/2019

Frank Tenney Johnson (June 26, 1874 – January 1, 1939) was a painter of the Old American West, and he popularized a style of painting cowboys which became known as "The Johnson Moonlight Technique". Somewhere on the Range is an example of Johnson's moonlight technique. To paint his paintings he used knives, fingers and brushes. In his early career, he worked primarily as an illustrator. He began working for Field & Stream magazine in 1904. In addition to Field & Stream, he contributed to Cosmopolitan and Harpers Weekly magazines and illustrated the Western novels of Zane Grey. Johnson lived permanently in New York City from 1904 until 1920, making numerous trips to the west to gather source material for his works that were completed in his New York studio. He lived and worked on the Lazy 7 Ranch in Hayden, Colorado for a while, later he went southwest to work on painting Native Americans. In 1920, he moved to 22 Champion Place in Alhambra, California where he shared a studio with Clyde Forsythe. At this point Johnson's easel paintings became more popular than his illustrations so he concentrated in this medium. Together Johnson and Forsythe exhibited in the Biltmore Art Gallery started by Jack Wilkinson Smith at the Biltmore Hotel according to Edan Milton Hughes, Artists in California 1786 – 1940 Between 1931 and 1939, he spent much of his time at his studio in Cody, Wyoming, just outside Yellowstone National Park. Many of his paintings were done there from studies inside the park. This painting was done on board, measures 13x22". It features an old Cavalry Trooper that has left the service with his canteen and is heading west in the moonlight, with spooked horse and revolver drawn, expecting trouble at any second. It is a true representation of his "Moonlight" style. It is hand signed and dated at bottom left. It is in excellent condition and there are no signs of any restoration or in-painting as examined under UV light. The board is hand cut and a little mis-cut on lower right side It is an incredible western image. Johnson's oil paintings have sold for over $600,000 and rarely hit the marketplace. Although no authentication has been documented, this is your chance to get a classic Johnson western watercolor painting. PROVENANCE: Purchased from Skip Chalfant.