61

VERSO
Titled

An original bill of sale from the Scottsdale Art Auction will accompany the lot.

Johnson biographer 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 stop might be into a badger hole. For a good many reasons important to the cowboys he had become ‘accepted’ into their special fraternity.”

PROVENANCE
Edward Oakley Estate, Hacienda de Los Cerros, Santa Fe, New Mexico, ca. 1930-40s
Private collection, Sonoita, Arizona
Scottsdale Art Auction, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2024
Robert D. Reed Collection, Jacksonville, Florida

Condition ReportSurface is in good condition. No signs of restoration.

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.