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In The Frank Tenney Johnson Book Harold McCracken wrote, “As with so many other young men who came out into the great West, the free and rugged life on the open cattle range in the Colorado back country appealed strongly to Frank Tenney Johnson. He was reluctant to leave. There is little doubt that he could have become a good working cowboy or eventually a successful cattleman. He had all the qualifications and instincts inherited from his ancestors and own boyhood on a small Iowa farm. He liked the Colorado cowboys and their bosses; and he had a ‘way with horses’ that comes naturally to some people. He thoroughly enjoyed riding a spirited horse and had no fear of sending his horse at full speed in pursuit of a bovine bolter through brushy places where the next step might be into a badger hole. For a good many reasons important to the cowboys he had become ‘accepted’ into their special fraternity.”

PROVENANCE
Collection of George Montgomery, Los Angeles, CA
Autry National Center, Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA
[The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, July 30, 2005, Lot 112]
Private Collection, 2005

LITERATURE
George Montgomery and Jeffrey Millet, The Years of George Montgomery (Los Angeles, CA: Sagebrush, Inc., 1981), page 242, illustrated

Condition ReportPainting has been lined. Surface condition is good. Several hairline cracks in sky. Slight bar mark along left side. Five spots of inpainting (approximately 2” in diameter) in sky. 1” spot of inpainting to left of horse’s hind leg.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.