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An Idle Dreamer - Frank Tenney Johnson - Oil Painting suits both traditional and modern interiors. As a fine art oil painting, it works as a standalone focal point or as part of a hallway gallery wall, and unlike a print it is genuinely hand painted in oils.
1938
Oil on canvas
24 x 30 in. (61.6 x 76.8 cm.)
Frank Tenney Johnson's paintings of the American West capture an intimate portrait of the vanishing frontier. Born in Big Grove, Iowa in 1874, he witnessed the great western expansion of the United States and became aware of how rapidly the vast, open territories were disappearing. These early life experiences had a profound effect on Johnson's life and the direction of his artwork.
Johnson received formal artistic training in Milwaukee and New York, and began his career as a magazine illustrator. In 1904, sponsored by Field and Stream Magazine, he made his first trip to the Southwest and was awed by the exotic landscape. Johnson wrote to his wife about the trip, "I never saw a more beautiful night. The adobe houses shown up so clear and white in the approaching moonlight that I wanted to paint them." Johnson's paintings of these adobe dwellings drenched in moonlight won him critical acclaim. He became a master of depicting the moonlit territory by developing a distinctive technique that employed deep shades of blue to emulate the evening colors of the landscape. Johnson was celebrated for his nocturnal scenes of the Southwest, and his easel painting became so popular that he was able to stop illustrating and turn his full attention to the fine arts. Rather than focusing on the animated and high-spirited points of a cowboy's routine, Johnson has chosen to convey the peace, solitude and loneliness of life on the range. Frequently found in his painting is the isolated cowboy tending his herd, or the Native American traveling at night through luminous, moonlit canyons. In An Idle Dreamer Johnson portrays the lonely cowboy, his horse his only companion, as they rest against a rugged and vast landscape. He juxtaposes the broad, rapid brush and rich palette in the distant land, against careful handling and fine details of the cowboy and horse, bringing them into focus. The scene is illuminated by the soft, fading light of dusk in the distant sky.
Collectors often choose this fine art image when searching for fine art oil painting that feels substantial rather than decorative or disposable.
From primer to varnish, the work is done manually on artist-grade canvas. The absence of digital printing is deliberate: it keeps the fine art brushwork visible and gives the vintage oil painting wall decor a museum-like finish.
As hallway wall art, this canvas brings color and texture without visual noise. It scales well from a small study to a large hallway feature wall, and it is a reliable choice when shopping for fine art oil painting as a gift.
Browse our Frank Tenney Johnson Paintings selection for related fine art canvases, or commission this fine art image in a custom size. Every order is a hand painted oil painting, never a printed poster.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 24 in | $87.98 |
| 24 X 36 in | $134.48 |
| 30 X 40 in | $185.98 |
| 36 X 48 in | $238.48 |
| 48 X 72 in | $481.48 |
The sizes shown are the reproduction canvas sizes we paint to order. The dimensions given in a work's description refer to the original artwork and will differ from the sizes offered here. Not sure? Read the size guide or e-mail us.
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Every canvas is painted by hand in oils on artist-grade stretched canvas, with an extra blank border left for framing. How to care for your painting.
Measurements are on the size guide, or e-mail [email protected] and we reply within one business day.
