Description:

FRANK TENNEY JOHNSON (American 1874-1939) "The Santa Fe Trail," CIRCA 1928,
oil and gouache on canvas.

  • Provenance: Commissioned by Robert E. Callahan, Los Angeles, 1927; Christopher Webster, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1984; Private Collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2002.
  • Dimensions: 96 x 259 in. (243.8 x 657.9 cm.)
  • Notes: Frank Tenney Johnson is celebrated for his idyllic western paintings portraying rugged cowboys, trail rides, and Native Americans within dramatic desert landscapes. As a young man, he studied under Richard Lorenz in Milwaukee, and in his late twenties enrolled in the Art Students League of New York under the tutelage of Robert Henri. After completing his studies, Johnson moved out west, ultimately settling in California in the 1920s, where he opened a studio with his close friend and fellow artist, Clyde Forsythe. In 1927, Robert E. Callahan of Los Angeles commissioned Johnson to paint "The Santa Fe Trail" for a Native American themed tourist attraction he was building called Ramona Village. Johnson's painting is monumental in proportion and is inspired by the landscape in northern Arizona and New Mexico. Callahan intended "Santa Fe Trail" to serve as a backdrop for theatrical performances based on the novel "Ramona," published by Helen Hunt Jackson in 1884. "The Santa Fe Trail" was displayed at Ramona Village (later renamed Mission Village) until 1965 when the site was demolished. Johnson rarely painted at this scale. The only other known comparative example is "Donner Party Crossing the High Sierra," a painted curtain created for Carthay Circle Theater in the mid 1920s.
  • Condition: There is a small loss at center left and scuffs at upper left and upper center. There is also some scattered craquelure. There are signs of previous repair. The painting has been lined, restretched, and varnished. Conservation was performed in 1984 by the art services of Christopher Webster.

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