2026 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction12 / 24  •  View Catalog  •   • 

Frank Tenney Johnson (1874 – 1939)
Riders of the Purple Sage
oil on canvas
20 × 30 inches
27 × 37 × 3 inches (framed)
signed lower right

A copy of The Mysterious Rider by Zane Grey will accompany the lot.

Biographer Harold McCracken noted that Johnson’s artistic aims set him apart from Remington and Russell: “While Frank Tenney Johnson portrayed very much the same subjects as Remington and Russell, his purpose was to add a strong aesthetic beauty to the paintings he created, which carried his work considerably beyond that of the others. He also avoided violence, with only an occasional scene in which powder is burned and horses plunge.… There is a high note of romance, pathos, and poetry in this artist’s work. In the opinion of many qualified critics, he was a superb draftsman; portrayed the horse as well or better than any; and the nocturnes he put on canvas have never been equaled by any other American artist.”

LITERATURE
Zane Grey, The Mysterious Rider, Grosset & Dunlap, 1921, cover, illustrated

Frank Tenney Johnson

1874 – 1939

Riders of the Purple Sage
oil on canvas
20 × 30 inches
27 × 37 × 3 inches (framed)
signed lower right
$60,000 – 90,000
Condition ReportSurface is in good condition. Canvas is lined. Spots of inpainting lower-left corner and upper-right corners. Spots of inpainting on lead horse. Spot of inpainting lower-right corner, below the signature.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders and reflect educated opinions, not facts. All painting frames are sold “as is.” The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions.