Frank Tenney Johnson 1874 - 1939

Acquired from Fenn Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1985

New York, National Academy of Design, 110th Annual Exhibition, March-April 1935, no. 61
New York, Grand Central Art Galleries, Paintings of Western Life by F. Tenney Johnson, N.A., March 1938, no. 21

Lined. Under UV: There is scattered inpainting along all four edges to address frame abrasion, and a few scattered spots in the sky. There is one small spot of inpainting to the right of the figure in the landscape, and one 1 by 1 ½ inch area of inpainting at left center in the sky.
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Frank Tenney Johnson was born on a ranch near Council Bluffs on the Missouri River in Iowa. In 1902 he went to New York to study art under Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase at the Arts Student League. Johnson spent the summer of 1904 at a ranch near Hayden, Colorado, observing and painting the cowboy life. From there he went to Cheyenne, Wyoming where he witnessed a “Frontier Days” celebration before traveling to the Southwest to see the Navajo Indians and their country. Johnson became famous for his paintings of cowboys and Indians in moonlit landscapes. His 1904 visit to the Indian community of Mauelita, about twenty five miles from Callup, New Mexico, had a long lasting impact on the artist, and many years later he painted a series of pictures, including Where Navajos Tend Their Flocks, inspired by the experience. Melissa Webster writes, “Johnson demonstrated an unflagging commitment to perfecting his craft and achieving his artistic goal to paint the West for future generations. By the 1930s he had arrived…He never stopped painting, never stopped traveling West for inspiration and material. Johnson’s paintings have the sincerity he sought” (Frank Tenney Johnson and the American West, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2000, p. 33).