Painting of the Day, October 30, 2011

By Donna Poulton

Credit: Scottsdale Art Auction

Frank Tenney Johnson (1874 – 1939), The Night Hawk, 1936, Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. Private Collection

Frank Tenney Johnson is one of the great American artists of the West. He studied with John Twachtman, Robert Henri, William Merritt Chase and he was especially interested in the work of Maxfield Parish and his influence can be seen in the painting, The Night Hawk.  Field and Stream magazine sent Johnson out west and he became one of their most popular illustrators. In 1938 Amon Carter bought every work in Johnson’s exhibition at the Grand Central Art Gallery in New York City.  He died from meningitis on New Years Day in 1939 after "kissing a pretty girl at a dance."