Hunter Museum of American Art

Jul 4th - Sep 13th, 2009

Frederic Remington and Frank Tenney Johnson are both well known for their paintings of dramatic night scenes of the American West. The Hunter Museum will feature a small focus exhibit on two paintings by these artists in conjunction with the exhibition Window on the West: Views from the American Frontier--The Phelan Collection.

Remington’s Indian Scouts in the Moonlight and Johnson’s Singing Em to Sleep are featured in Night Visions: The Art of Frederic Remington and Frank Tenney Johnson. Both of the paintings are from the Private Collection of Summerfield K. Johnston, Jr. The exhibition will explore the nocturne as an art form and specific themes articulated in these paintings.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Frederic Remington became one of the most influential interpreters of the American West. In 1880s, his illustrations for magazines and books made his fame and fortune. He turned to sculpture in 1890s and created some of the most recognized sculptures of the West, including the The Bronco Buster. In the early 20th century, he started painting night scenes, or nocturnes, which are considered among his most haunting and successful paintings.

Frank Tenney Johnson is often seen as taking up the mantle of Remington in the next generation. After studying art in New York, in 1904 Johnson traveled to West on assignment for Field and Stream magazine. This trip solidified his interest in Western subject matter, which became the focus for the rest of his career in his paintings and illustrations.

Night Visions will be on view in Gallery 12 on the top floor of the Hunter mansion from June through August 2009.

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