Frank Tenney Johnson
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Frank Tenney Johnson (26 June 1874–1 January 1939) was a painter of the 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.
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[edit] Early life and education
Johnson was born in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, on his family's farm along the old Overland Trail near a town then called Big Grove and now known as Oakland. Johnson's mother died in December of 1886, and by 1888 the family had moved to Milwaukee. There, in 1893, he enrolled in the Milwaukee School of Art (absorbed by Milwaukee State Normal School in 1913), where he studied with a well-known painter of western subjects, Richard Lorenz. In 1895 he moved to New York City where he studied with John Henry Twachtman at the Art Students League of New York. [1]
[edit] Career
In his early career, he was primarily an illustrator for Field & Stream magazine. He lived permanently in New York 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 on a ranch in 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 his easel paintings became more popular than his illustrations so he concentrated in this medium. Together they 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.
He died 1939 of Spinal Meningitis in Pasadena, California.
In addition to Field & Stream , he also contributed to Cosmopolitan and Harpers Weekly magazines.
[edit] Johnson's vision of the Old West
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One of his paintings is called "Riders of the Dawn" 1935 which was probably inspired by the cowboys on the cattle ranch in Colorado. This painting shows five cowboys riding to some destination. This painting shows how Johnson understood the old west:
The five men are cantering their horses across the top of a mesa, four of the men are wearing white shirts with brown vests, chaps and brown low brimmed hats. The man in the far left sits tall and straight in the saddle; he is on a dapple grey horse with a black mane and tail. The horse has a wild look in his eye and his mouth is open. Even though the horse looks as if it wants to unseat the man, the cowboy looks undisturbed. The horse next to the grey one is a light bay color with a star on his forehead. The horse’s rider is younger than the cowboy on the grey horse, but sits just as tall and straight in the saddle. The two nearest horses are separated by a string of rocks from the other three riders. The three riders on the other side seem to be having trouble with their mounts. The one nearest to the bay horse is a buckskin; his head is thrown up in the air with his mouth open like his rider has jerked his head back. The man on the buckskin is looking over to the right at the man on the white horse, who is half hidden. This man is also dressed in white with a light tan hat. It also looks as if the white horse is running into the dark grey horse, which is furthest away from everyone. The grey horse’s eyes are wild with fright and his mouth is also open; his forelegs are thrown out in front of him and his rider’s face is obscured. These men are surrounded by rocks, sagebrush and sky. In the background there are canyons and mesas with a suggestion of a cliff next to the dark grey horse.
This scene adds extreme tension to the painting. You can feel the suspense come from the painting as the horses are ramming into one another. The tall mesas and the suggestion of a sharp drop off causes you to feel nervous. The rocks are in the way of the horses and they are not small by all means but rather large, you hate to think of what could happen if a horse tripped on those.
This painting is not considered fine art by some, but others would have a different opinion. It might not have won awards or be hung in a theater like The Donner Party but it holds true to the western heritage and one of Johnson's finer paintings, like most that were painted in 1935.
Johnson is also known for his horses. They almost have a life like appearance. The horses are a big part of "Riders of the Dawn" and most of Johnson’s paintings. The horses in all of Johnson’s paintings look almost life like. They are a big part of his paintings, almost all of his paintings have horses in them and horse anatomy is hard to draw, let alone paint. The joints and legs of the horse are hard to get in proportion; it is also hard to draw the horse balanced. Johnson has this talent. The horses look like they are about to jump off of the painting. In Riders of the Dawn, you can see the wild look in the grey horse’s eye.
Johnson showed how the west was won and the adventure that someone could feel when they hear or see a picture of the west. The mystical way he shows the horses running, working cattle or just standing there almost gives you an eerie feeling. His night scenes give you a sense of calm and his paintings of cowboys running their horses gives you a sense of urgency. After looking at a Frank Tenney Johnson painting who would not want to saddle up their horse and go on an adventure?
