Walt Johnston "The Right Spur" — Presentation Proof, Ed. 150, 1983

"The Right Spur" is a masterwork of Western American printmaking — a large-format black-and-white lithograph by Walt Johnston, dated 1983. The image depicts a cowboy at rest, hat bowed, boots and spurs catching the light, saddle and bedroll at his feet. Johnston's draftsmanship is photographic in its precision: every stitch of denim, every gouge in the leather fender rendered with the discipline of a master hand. The edition of 150 is inscribed in the plate, dedicated in the artist's hand "for Lou & [Mameta]," and signed and dated lower right "© Walt Johnston 1983."

What separates this impression from a standard edition copy is documented in a handwritten note included with the lot, signed by Johnston. He identifies this as a "presentation proof" — a classification he places on par with an artist's proof — and notes that artist's proofs from this edition opened at $1,200, double the closing price of the regular edition. The print is presented in a silver-finish metal frame with white mat, behind glass.

Artist Biography

Walt Johnston (1932–2018) was an Albuquerque-based contemporary realist whose draftsmanship was so exacting his paintings are routinely mistaken for photographs. Born in Washington, D.C., the son of an architect, he learned to draw early — not to describe the world but to find the truth in it. During World War II the family relocated to Illinois, where Johnston studied at the Chicago Art Institute and earned national recognition before the age of sixteen, taking a prize at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh in 1948. He later studied and taught alongside Eliot O'Hara NA, one of the foremost American watercolorists of the twentieth century. Johnston settled in New Mexico and became one of the state's most respected contemporary voices, producing oils, watercolors, and lithographs across subjects ranging from Albuquerque cityscapes to ranch and cowboy life. His work entered the permanent collection of the Albuquerque Museum through three separate commissions and has appeared in exhibitions at the National Academy of Design, the Boston Printmakers Annual, and the Society of American Graphic Artists at Kennedy Galleries in New York. His prints and paintings are held in museums and private collections worldwide.

CONDITION

Very Good. The image is clean and bright with no foxing, tears, or visible toning to the sheet. Frame and mat present with no remarkable damage.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (framed): 21.75" H × 25.25" W × 1" D
• Visible (sight): 15.75" H × 19.5" W
• Medium: Lithograph, black and white
• Title: "The Right Spur"
• Artist: Walt Johnston (American, 1932–2018)
• Date: 1983
• Edition: Ed. 150 — Presentation Proof (ranks with artist's proof per artist's handwritten note)
• Inscription (center margin): "Ed 150 – for Lou & [Mameta]" ⚑ confirm dedication name
• Signature: © Walt Johnston 1983 (lower right margin)
• Frame: Silver-finish metal, white mat, glazed
• Included: Original handwritten note signed by the artist authenticating proof status