Waiting for the Mail

Artist Frank Tenney Johnson (American, 1874 - 1939)

Datec. 1934

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions27 1/4 × 22 inches (69.2 × 55.9 cm)
Frame: 35 1/4 × 30 1/4 inches (89.5 × 76.8 cm)

Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965

Object number31.22.20

ClassificationsPaintings

DescriptionUnfinished

Label TextJohnson tackled a theme of cowboy life that several artists used for imagery. Frederic Remington, N.C. Wyeth, and others painted versions of the cowboy at a mailbox. The mailbox was usually a solitary object in a rugged landscape. The paintings conveyed the idea that the cowboy yearned for communication in the lonely West. That imagery counteracted the idea of the cowboy as a rowdy, uncultured character. Johnson may have intended a twist on this subject in his unfinished work. The mass of hair under the hat and the slender figure indicate Johnson painted a cowgirl, who is likely to receive a letter on the incoming stage.

ProvenancePurchased July 8, 1958 through (C. Bland Jamison, Santa Fe, New Mexico) by H.J. Lutcher Stark [1887-1965]; bequeathed September 2, 1965 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art

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