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Johnson biographer Harold McCracken wrote, “The Frank Tenney Johnson nocturne was something he developed to the point of perfection where it can be considered pretty much his own art form. The most difficult aspect of his nocturne was to achieve the proper simulation of the natural colors of subject and landscape under the glow of moonlight or starlight; colors that varied in density from the close foreground into the farthest depth of the background, as well as the shifting values of light and shadows.”

The artist wrote, “Out in New Mexico, far from the haunts of civilization, and surrounded by veritable desert, with lava fields from extinct volcanos and drifting sands, there stands an ancient Indian Pueblo, perched upon a rocky promontory, with a sinuous, alkali-tainted stream at its base. During the rainy season this stream becomes a raging torrent and overflows the lowlands on which the Indians from the Pueblo plant and raise meager crops of corn, squashes and other vegetables, upon which they subsist, just as they have for many, many generations. After the white man came a railway was constructed around the base of the village, but it has since been removed, and continues through a cut-off many miles to the north, so this sleepy old Adobe Village has regained its tranquility of past generations.”

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Texas
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, Reno, Nevada, 2006
Private collection, Wyoming

Condition ReportSurface is in good condition. Canvas is lined. Two spots of inpainting in sky in top-center portion. Small spots of inpainting in lower-right corner, near edge of frame. Specks of inpainting in figure, around the doorway, and oven in the lower-left corner.

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.