Frank Tenney Johnson (1874 - 1939)
Night Sentinel (The Warrior), 1931
oil on canvas
16 x 12 inches
22.25 x 18.25 inches (frame)
signed lower right: F Tenney Johnson 1931
verso: titled (on stretcher); label, Thomas Nygard Gallery, Bozeman, Montana

"Night Sentinel" [or] "The Warrior", painted in 1931, is an excellent example of the artist’s well recognized Moonlight Painting Technique. In this beautiful painting, the Native American brave is sitting on his white horse under the stars in the moonlight contemplating what comes next. Any significant Western art collection would be incomplete without a Frank Tenney Johnson nocturne.

The canvas is flat and plane with no distortions.  It has been lined with natural linen and stretched to a replacement wood stretcher. A cutting from the original stretcher inscribed (The Warrior) in pencil is attached to the verso.  Under UV light, the various colors all fluoresce as individual layers which is consistent for painting from this period.  There are small, localized lines of inpainting in the upper left, which was likely done to minimize the appearance of craquelure.  An additional small area of inpainting in the lower left was a small loss.  The signature in the lower right is clearly visible and looks unaltered under UV light.  The painting restoration was expertly done and is appropriate for a painting of this quality.  The existing frame has minor losses to the finish but is also in excellent condition.

This painting is in pristine condition with no visible condition issues.