#278 • Johnny Johnson "Top Gun", "Frozen Eden" & "King of the Loons" Photographs

Part of The Johnny Johnson Estate Auction (timed auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

Starting at $5.00

Status: Available

Bidding closes Nov 3, 2026 7:32 PM AKST

Category: Art

Three signed photographs by Alaska wildlife photographer Johnny Johnson (1947–2025). The first work is entitled "Top Gun," c.2005, numbered 451/950. Johnson describes the scene: “A picture of power, grace and speed, Alaska's top 'fly' fisherman snatches his prey from the tranquil waters of an unnamed bay. An Athabascan legend portrays bald eagles as the deliverers of people from famine. The myth goes that a prince who gave an eagle a salmon during time of plenty was repaid in the lean year that followed by grateful eagles who first dragged salmon, then sea lions and eventually a whale to shore in gratitude for the prince's kindness. The bald eagle was chosen June 20, 1782 as the emblem of the United States of America.” The second photograph is entitled "Frozen Eden" c.1998, numbered 25/450. Johnson describes the scene: “To make this photo of an emperor penguin rookery, nestled on the fast ice between huge tabular icebergs, I traveled by Russian icebreaker through the Indian Ocean from Capetown-South Africa to Perth-Australia. During this 7000 mile, five week voyage I photographed several colonies of emperor penguins along Antarctica's wild and rarely visited eastern coastline. Emperor penguins breed on sea-ice, in the coldest conditions endured by any bird. The juveniles are carried out to sea as the ice breaks into floes. Fully independent, the young must moult to the diving plumage of an adult coat before their ice floe disintegrates, dumping them into the sea to dive for their own fish. In this picture some chicks have begun to moult to adult plumage - can you spot them?” The third photograph is "King of the Loons," c.1992, numbered 43/450. Johnson describes the scene: “A yellow-billed loon in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge prepares to shift the eggs in the nest. This photo was taken at 3 a.m. in June. The yellow-billed is the largest of all loons. They nest in lakes and ponds along the Arctic Coast.” All are signed, dated, and numbered in gold leaf ink and printed on Fuji Crystal Archive Supergloss paper. The photographs are shrink-wrapped on board; the largest measures approximately 20.5" x 24.5".