One more #MuseumTourTuesday post featuring art from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Today it's a painting by Frank Tenney Johnson.
Johnson
was trained as an illustrator and became known for his moonlight
technique. Even though most of his paintings appear to be night scenes,
my guess is that he painted them from models lit by daylight, altering
color temperature and saturation to make the scene appear to be a
nocturne.
In
this particular piece, what strikes me most is the relaxed pose of the
rider, clearly in a moment of respite as he drapes both legs over one
side of the horse. While he is most likely rolling a cigarette, he could
just as easily be checking his phone if this were a modern day scene. - Patrick Saunders
 |
"Night Herd" • Frank Tenney Johnson • Oil on Canvas • 1936 |
Painting photo by Saunders Fine Arts.
©
Patrick and Kimberly Saunders, Saunders Fine Arts, 2021.
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