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CA,Alhambra-,Oil Painting of Nocturnal Coyote Study in Style of Frank Tenney Johnson

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Historical Memorabilia Start Price:5,000.00 USD Estimated At:10,000.00 USD and UP
CA,Alhambra-,Oil Painting of Nocturnal Coyote Study in Style of Frank Tenney Johnson
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Holabird-Kagin Americana Office
3555 Airway Drive Suite#309
Reno, NV 89511
Thursday August22, 10am-6pm
* Preview also available by appointment

Live Auction
Friday & Saturday
August 23 & 24, 2013
9am PDT starting time, both days

Location
Atlantis Casino & Resort
Grand Ballroom #4
3800 S. Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89502

Lot Pick Up
Holabird-Kagin Americana Office
3555 Airway Drive Suite #309
Reno, NV 89511
Sunday August 25, 10am-1pm

c1900-Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939) was an American artist revered among the art world for his depictions of western life, and credited with developing “The Johnson Moonlight Technique” of painting noctural scenes. He studied at the Milwaukee School of Art as of 1893, where he studied under the well-known western artist, Richard Lorenz. Johnson relocated to New York in 1895 and studied at the Art Students League of New York under John Henry Twachtman. Johnson died in 1939 in Pasadena, California of spinal meningitis. He was very well known for evening-lit scenes of cowboys and western landscapes, and his signed works set record prices at auction. He garnered a great deal of success by producing the illustrations for “Field and Stream” and the popularity of his canvases soon outshone his illustrations. At a gallery show at the Grand Central Art Galleries at the Biltmore Hotel in New York, the entire show sold out on opening night to one man: Amon Carter. The painting featured in this lot is a nocturnal study of a coyote that appears in the style of Johnson. Although unsigned, the piece is very familiar to his works, and it is possible, though not certain, that this could be an undocumented artist study he produced. Or perhaps another painter undertook this work as a nocturnal study in the style of Johnson. The oil painting on canvas measures 40” x 30”, and the carved wooden frame measures 47” x 37”. The painting depicts an evening landscape, with a coyote facing the viewer from the right third of the painting. The brushwork is fine, with many broad strokes to emphasize the lack of fine detail in the pale light. The coyote bears finer details, emphasizing its presence in the scene. There is one small spot of missing paint in a cloud in the upper left of the painting, but the canvas and artwork are otherwise in mint condition. There is no signature apparent. Interestingly, his wife Vinnie is known to have had a pet coyote, with which she has been photographed and documented. Also, a similar unsigned but verified Frank Tenney Johnson work titled “Coyote Moonrise” now hangs in proud display at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming. Given Frank Tenney Johnson’s familiarity with coyotes and skill with depicting nocturnal scenes, this could be a fantastic opportunity to own a choice painting from a leading artist. This very painting sold at auction in 1997 and was attributed to Frank Tenney Johnson under the title “Coyote Nocturne”. HKA#64913