North American Auction Company
Live Auction

New Year January Western Collector Sale

Sat, Jan 23, 2021 11:00AM EST
Lot 299

The Trail Herd by Frank Tenney Johnson Painting

Estimate: $400 - $800

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
Included in this lot is "The Trail Herd" by Frank Tenney Johnson, painted in 1938. This is a framed lithograph. Frank Tenney Johnson (June 26, 1874 – January 1, 1939) was a painter of the Old American West, who popularized a style of painting cowboys that 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 founded the Biltmore Art Gallery at the Biltmore Hotel. 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. Johnson died from spinal meningitis in 1939 in Pasadena, California. This piece is in good shape and has been placed in a wooden frame. The frame measures 22 1/4" by 26 1/4".
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