03 Jan AUCTION BLOCK: OPEN TO INTERPRETATION

Western American art continues to captivate collectors and enthusiasts, with nationwide auctions and events showcasing artwork that honors the region’s culture, history, and diverse voices. From depictions of cowboy life on the ranch to groundbreaking Native American artistry and contemporary interpretations of Western life, the fall 2024 season brought together exceptional works, robust sales, and engaged audiences.

The annual Cowboy Artists of America Exhibition & Sale celebrated the enduring legacy of traditional Western art, while results from the Santa Fe Art Auction’s 30th Anniversary Signature Sale underscored a growing appreciation for early Western female artists such as Dorothy Eugénie Brett. Bonhams’ Modern Native American Art and Jewelry Sale showcased masterful craftsmanship with intricate pieces surpassing estimates, and their 20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale saw a Georgia O’Keeffe painting sell for $4.4 million. Such exhibitions, auctions, and artist awards highlight the enduring allure of the West, a place that’s open to artistic interpretation.

58th Annual Cowboy Artists of America Exhibition & Sale

November 1 – 2, 2024
Total: $1.1 million+

The 58th annual Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) Exhibition & Sale generated more than $1.1 million in sales this past November. Western art collectors and enthusiasts from across the U.S. gathered at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, to view and bid on more than 100 pieces, from sketches to sculptures and watercolors to oils. Sixty-four percent of the available artworks sold.

This year’s event featured the work of 23 CAA artists, along with guest artists Glen Dean, Kevin Red Star, and Jim Rey. Highlights included Jack Sorenson’s The Board Meeting, which sold for $44,000, and Martin Grelle’s Cheyenne Regalia, which garnered $36,000.

Awards are presented to CAA artists for their outstanding artistic achievements. This year, Gold Medals were awarded to Teal Blake for Coiled in Mixed Media and Rocketman in Water Soluble; Tyler Crow for A Cry for Mama in Drawing; Bruce Greene for Where the Ancients Ran in Sculpture; and Dave Santillanes for The Day Begins in Oil Painting.

Silver Medals went to Mikel Donahue for Arizona Cowboy in Mixed Media; Wayne Baize for Weaning Time in Drawing; Bruce Greene for Home to a Nighthawk in Water Soluble; Dustin Payne for What Man Can Conceive in Sculpture; and Grant Redden for Winter’s Arrival in Oil Painting.

Dave Santillanes, The Day Begins | Oil | 12 x 24 inches | Anne Marion Best in Show and Gold Medal for Oil Painting Awards

The Anne Marion Best of Show went to Santillanes for The Day Begins. The Colorado-based artist painted a serene oil of a lone cowboy on horseback with his herd of cattle, a soft sunrise in pastel pinks and purples rising in the distance and reflected in a small creek below.

Additional honors included the Ray Swanson Memorial Award, presented to Todd Connor for Bearers of the Legacy. The award is given to the artwork that best captures a moment in time, and Connor’s piece depicts the CAA’s essence. As the artist explains, “I was unknowingly documenting the closeness and bond we share. The piece became a visual premonition of the emotions that would unfold at the close of our show and our year together.”

Mike Donahue, Knot Tying 101 | Acrylic | 27 x 40 inches | Sold: $28,500

The inaugural R. Watson Boots True West Award, which highlights authenticity in Western life and was selected by working cowboy Joe Leathers from the 6666 Ranch, went to Mike Donahue for Knot Tying 101.

Additionally, Alvin Marshall won the Artists’ Choice Award, and Tyler Crow won the Patrons’ Choice Award.

Attendees also had an opportunity to view selections from the private collection of honorary CAA members John and Charlotte Kimberlin, who have hosted CAA Trail Rides. And eight finalists from the youth art contest for artists aged 5 to 17 exhibited and sold their work, raising $10,000 for their future creative efforts.

Founded in 1965 by Joe Beeler, Charlie Dye, John Hampton, and George Phippen, the CAA has upheld its mission to “authentically preserve and perpetuate the culture of Western life in fine art.” The Joe Beeler Foundation, established by the CAA, supports the next generation of Western artists through workshops, mentoring, and scholarships that are funded in part by the proceeds from this annual event.

Santa Fe Art Auction’s 30th Anniversary Signature Sale

November 8 – 9, 2024
Total: Nearly $2.5 million

The Santa Fe Art Auction’s Signature Live Sale commemorated 30 years in November 2024, drawing a crowd and robust bidding. The two-day event brought nearly $2.5 million in sales, with 94 percent of the 450 lots sold.

Session One, on November 8, offered a selection of Gene Kloss artist proofs and drawings, followed by works by Gustave Baumann and Edward Curtis, fine works on paper, multiples, and jewelry by many important Native and Southwest artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The following day, Session Two included Native American pottery, textiles, and basketry, and notable paintings and bronzes by the Cowboy Artists of America from the Patsy P. and William L. Hutchison Collection. Session Three brought a selection of works by Dorothy Eugénie Brett, Billy Schenck, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Quincy Tahoma, Howard Cook, Alan Houser, William Penhallow Henderson, and offerings from the Gregory Warren Nelson Collection.

The top-selling lot was William Herbert Dunton’s On the Mesa, which brought $49,200. (Prices include buyer’s premium.) The oil on canvas, estimated to bring between $50,000 and $70,000, was painted by one of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists in 1916 and shows all of the characteristics of Dunton’s plein air style inspired by the Southwest, with its bright prismatic colors and heavy impasto, according to Western art historian Michael R. Grauer. On the Mesa was exhibited at the Taos Society of Artists’ second annual exhibition at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe in 1916.

Dorothy Eugénie Brett, Indian Women Watching Horse Race | Oil on Board | 17.625 x 21.375 inches | Sold: $43,050

A work by Dorothy Eugénie Brett, Indian Women Watching Horse Race, was the second top-selling lot at $43,050, more than double its high estimate of $20,000. Brett lived at the D.H. Lawrence Ranch when she painted the work in 1927. A horse race, a symbol of entertainment and spiritual vitality, is the focal point for many of the women depicted in the painting, except for one who makes eye contact with the viewer. Brett’s use of vibrant colors and flowing forms underscores her interest in capturing such events’ rhythmic movement and communal energy.

An untitled work created in 1984 by New Mexico artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith (French-Cree/Shoshone/Salish, b. 1940) sold above its high estimate of $25,000 for $33,825 as the third top-selling item. The artist had a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2023. Her work also belongs to the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Billy Schenck, Klagetoh Canyon | Oil on Canvas | 29.625 x 51.75 inches | Sold: $33,825

Billy Schenck’s Klagetoh Canyon also sold for $33,825, above its high estimate of $25,000. Schenck (b. 1947) used his characteristic Pop sensibility of flattened color planes and bold shadows to depict a woman on horseback, herding a flock of sheep through a rugged Southwestern landscape at sunset.

Auction president Gillian Ash Blitch adds that The Couse Foundation won a self-portrait by Catherine Carter Critcher, the only female member of the Taos Society of Artists, for the permanent collection at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site in Taos, and several more Bretts went to other Western art institutions. Blitch notes the growing interest in adding early Western women artists to permanent collections.

Bonhams’ 20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale

November 20, 2024
Total: $12 million+

Bonhams’ 20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale on November 20 drew a packed audience to the New York City saleroom, with significant interest from both in-person attendees and phone bidders. The auction brought just over $12 million in sales (including buyer’s premium).

Georgia O’Keeffe, White Primrose | Oil on Canvas | 26 x 20 inches | Sold: $4.4 million

A work by Georgia O’Keeffe was the top-selling item that evening, bringing $4.4 million for the rare work White Primrose. One of only two paintings O’Keeffe would complete in 1947, following the death of her husband Alfred Stieglitz, White Primrose is an aesthetic translation of her emotional experience into an object for contemplation. The cropped scale and palette used in O’Keeffe’s flower paintings were initially jarring to viewers; however, her first large-scale flower in 1924, Petunia No. 2, became an instant sensation amongst critics and the public.

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild | Oil on Canvas | 24 x 24 inches | Sold: $1.5 million

“Still — in a way — nobody sees a flower — really — it is so small — we haven’t time — and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time,” O’Keeffe wrote in 1939. “If I could paint the flower exactly how I see it no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to myself — I’ll paint what I see — what the flower is to me but I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it — I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.”

Andy Warhol, Farrah Fawcett | Synthetic Polymer Paint and Silkscreen Ink on Canvas | 40 x 40 inches | Sold: $1.5 million

Other top-selling artworks include Abstraktes Bild by Gerhard Richter (b. 1932), which sold for $1.5 million. And generating considerable buzz leading up to the auction was the renowned Andy Warhol’s work Farrah Fawcett, one of only two in existence, with the other residing in a museum. This piece soared past its high estimate of $500,000, bringing $1.5 million.

Lone Star Art Auction

October 12, 2024
Total: $4.3 million+

The annual Lone Star Art Auction took place this fall in Dallas, Texas. The auction was the third event for the Texas auction house in the last 24 months, catering to both new and seasoned collectors of American, Western, and Texas fine art. With a combined sales total of $14 million for the three auctions, the Lone Star Art Auction is positioning to be the largest fine art auction in Texas.

According to Lone Star owner Phil Berkebile Jr., this year’s October auction set an in-person attendance record, and the number of telephone, absentee, and online bid registrants significantly increased over 2022 and 2023. Bidding for the more than 200 lots was competitive, with a sell-through rate of 93 percent. The auction achieved just over $4.3 million in sales.

Howard Terpning, Trail in the Bitterroots | Oil on Canvas | 40 x 48 inches | Sold: $384,000

The top-selling item during the event was Howard Terpning’s Trail in the Bitterroots. The 40-by-48-inch oil painting, estimated to sell for $400,000 to $600,000, sold for $384,000. (Totals include buyer’s premium.)

“This scene shows part of the old Lolo Trail used by the Nez Perce Indians when they left their home country in Idaho in 1877 and crossed over the Bitterroot range into the Bitterroot valley, heading East in their attempt to reach Canada,” explains Terpning. “The trail was extremely rough and dangerous, and yet hundreds of people managed to cross the mountains, including old people and children, with all their horses and goods. It was an amazing accomplishment. I could paint this portion of the trail with some authority since I spent two days riding the trail on horseback in the summer of 1985. It was this adventure that inspired me to do the painting.”

Nicolai Ivanovich Fechin, Self Portrait | Oil on Canvas | 14.75 x 11.5 inches | Sold: $348,000

The second top-selling lot was Self-Portrait by Nicolai Ivanovich Fechin, which brought $348,000 above its high estimate of $175,000. Once owned by Fechin’s daughter Eya, the painting provides an intimate view of the artist and is listed in Harold McCracken’s 1961 catalogue. A smaller version of this self-portrait hangs in the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House.

Andy Warhol, Bald Eagle | Screenprint on Lenox Museum Board, AP 8/30 | 38 x 38 inches | Sold: $228,000

A screenprint on board by Andy Warhol, Bald Eagle, was the next item, bringing $228,000, above its high estimate of $225,000. According to the auction house, Bald Eagle is the most sought-after screenprint from Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species Portfolio, completed in 1983. Like other pieces in the 10-part series, it features an animal then considered to be endangered or under imminent threat of extinction by habitat destruction, overuse of commercial or sporting purposes, or other manmade or natural causes.

Tom Ryan, The Big Gather (Four Sixes) | Oil on Board | 24 x 48 inches | Sold: $168,000

Tom Ryan’s The Big Gather (Four Sixes) was the fourth top-selling lot, bringing $168,000 amid estimates of $150,000 to $200,000. The painting depicts a gathering of cattle led by George Humphreys, Four Sixes Ranch foreman. “The year is 1968. George had informed me that there was going to be a big gathering of cattle in the Pitchfork Flats area on the 6666 Ranch. This would be the last opportunity to participate in a large gathering of cattle to be worked in the old ways. To do a painting in the scope of The Big Gather would take weeks of work; therefore I was as thorough as possible, giving my utmost attention to every activity that transpired,” Ryan says.

Charlie Dye’s Cutting Out Mexican Cows was another top item at $138,000, selling above its high estimate of $100,000. Dye, born in Canon City, Colorado, found his calling as a Western painter after a formative encounter with Charles Russell’s work while recovering from a horse-related injury. Starting as a cowboy across Colorado, Arizona, and California, he later studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy.

Frank Tenney Johnson’s Down the Canyon Floor rounded out the top-selling items, bringing $120,000. The oil on canvas was estimated to sell for between $125,000 and $175,000. In his day, Johnson was considered the foremost painter of the West, recognized for picking up where Frederic Remington and Charles Russell had left off. Known for his “Johnson moonlight technique,” the artist’s evocative paintings earned global recognition before his death in Pasadena, California.

Bonhams’ Modern Native American Art and Jewelry

October 13 – 23, 2024
Total: $400,000+

A gold and multi-stone cuff bracelet by Jesse Monongya (Diné (Navajo)/Hopi [1952–2024]) led Bonhams’ Modern Native American Art and Jewelry sale in October 2024. The online auction offered 314 lots, with a sell-through rate of 85 percent, achieving more than $400,000.

Jesse Monongya, Gold and Multi-Stone Cuff Bracelet | Coral, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Acoma Jet, Gold-Lip Pearl Oyster, Opal, and 14k gold | 2.5 inches tall, Inner Circumference 5 inches with 1 inch Gap | Sold: $64,000

Monongya’s gold and multi-stone cuff bracelet sold for $64,000, far exceeding its high estimate of $18,000. A Day in the Life of Monument Valley is an angled gold cuff displaying cosmic imagery and the iconic landform depicted in inlaid stones, including coral, turquoise, lapis lazuli, Acoma jet, and gold-lipped pearl oyster.

Denise Wallace, Transformation Necklace | Sterling Silver, 14-karat Gold, Walrus Tusk | 19.25 inches long | Sold: $17,920

Another top-selling item was Transformation Necklace by Denise Wallace (Chugach Aleut, b. 1957), which sold for $17,920, above its high estimate of $12,000. The silver and 14-karat gold necklace, made in 2003, includes 14 fossilized walrus tusk segments, each carved with either a seal or human face.

Denise Wallace, A Bird Mask from Kodiak Pendant/Pin | Sterling Silver, Variscite, Fossilized Walrus Tusk, Painted and with Multi-Stone Inlay | 2.75 x 3.75 inches | Sold: $10,240

Other top-selling lots include Denise Wallace’s (Chugach Aleut, b.1957) A Bird Mask from Kodiak Pendant/Pin, which brought $10,240, above its high estimate of $6,000. The sterling silver, variscite, and fossilized walrus tusk pendant is painted and includes multi-stone inlay. And a turquoise leaf necklace by Leekya Deyuse (Zuni, [1889–1966]) sold for $10,240, amid estimates of $8,000 to $12,000.

Heritage Auctions: Art of the West Showcase Auction

October 29, 2024
Total: $200,000+

This fall, Heritage Auctions presented their Art of the West Showcase Auction, offering notable pieces by esteemed artists such as Maynard Dixon, G. Harvey, Michael Coleman, Leon Gaspard, Allan Houser, Frances Gearhart, Fremont Ellis, and Eyvind Earle. The auction offered 90 works and brought more than $200,000 in sales.

“With three successful online sales this year, the October Art of the West auction concluded with outstanding results and an impressive array of captivating artworks,” says Alissa Ford, Heritage’s vice president of American and Western art. “Designed to be accessible to collectors of all levels and price points, Art of the West spotlights artists who were deeply inspired by and worked within the Great American West.”

Eyvind Earle, Golden Autumn | Oil on Board | 16 x 20 inches | Sold: $17,500

The top-selling item was a 1975 painting by Eyvind Earle, Golden Autumn, which sold for $17,500. Earle is best known for his work at Walt Disney, which included designing and painting backgrounds for “Sleeping Beauty,” part of “Lady and the Tramp,” and other films. Earle’s early work was realistic, but by age 21, he had developed his own style: stylized but recognizable forms and fantastic landscapes. His skilled use of light and dark, intense color, and elegant drawing abilities continue to influence artists today.

Maynard Dixon, Sacred Rock, Walpi | Crayon on Paper | 13.875 x 16 inches | Sold: $11,250

The next top-selling lots were by Maynard Dixon: a crayon-on-paper work, Sacred Rock, Walpi, which brought $11,250, and I Wander in the Desert, an ink wash, which also sold for $11,250.

Sacred Rock, Walpi was created by Dixon in 1923 while he was visiting the Hopi reservation in Arizona. He stayed at Walpi, on First Mesa, for four months, painting and drawing the people, the landscape, and their ceremonies despite suffering from bouts of pneumonia. Sacred Rock is a relatively small yet monumental-feeling drawing depicting a 22-foot-tall and nearly freestanding rock on the top of First Mesa, which has played an important part in Hopi religious practices.

Dixon created I Wander in the Desert, an ink wash, in 1896, most likely for Overland Monthly. At the time, he was producing numerous illustrations. The figure of an exhausted man sitting on the ground surrounded by an empty desert demonstrates Dixon’s ability to tell a story.

Frances Gearheart, Untroubled Waters | Woodcut Print in Colors on Paper | 12.75 x 1.5 inches | Sold: $10,312

Another top-selling lot was a woodcut print by Frances Gearhart’s Untroubled Waters, which sold for $10,312. The artist is known for her colored woodcut and linocut prints of American landscapes, especially of California’s coasts and mountains.

Michael Coleman, Indian Encampment | Oil on Masonite | 24 x 30 inches | Sold: $6,875

Works by Michael Coleman (b. 1946) were also among the top-selling items, with The Vanquished bringing $8,750 and Indian Encampment selling for $6,875. Coleman became a prominent Southwestern artist in 1978, at the age of 32, when he had his first retrospective at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Today, his works belong in the private and public collections of Clint Eastwood, President George H.W. Bush, the Anschutz Collection in the American Museum of Western Art, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and many others.

Heritage’s next Art of the West auction takes place on March 25.

Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West

March 22 – September 1, 2024
Total: $800,000+

For the last 19 years, Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West has turned the spotlight on women’s voices and perspectives of the region. The 2024 annual show was no different, drawing art enthusiasts to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona.

Georgia Rowswell, Thunderhead off Happy Jack Road | Textiles | 36 x 22 x 3 inches | Best of Show

Winning artworks from the 2024 juried competition include Thunderhead off Happy Jack Road by Georgia Rowswell. The work, created by the Cheyenne, Wyoming, artist using textiles, won Best of Show and depicts a landscape of whirling clouds and windmills. It was priced at $4,900.

Liz Wolf, Dreams in Flight | Bronze | Edition of 15 | Sold: $36,000, Museum Purchase Award

Dreams in Flight, a large bronze by Liz Wolf, won the Museum Purchase Award and was added to the permanent collection for $36,000.

High Plains Drifter, a charcoal and graphite piece by Crystal Orlando, was chosen for the Best Two Dimensional on Canvas Award. Her work was also selected for the museum’s permanent collection for $5,200.

Dolores Purdy, Take it to the Limit One More Time | Colored Pencil on Antique Paper | 18 x 22 inches

Spirit Brothers by sculptor Rosetta earned the Best Three Dimensional Award and was for sale for $8,900. And Who Will Get the First One?, a colored pencil drawing on antique paper by Dolores Purdy, won the Best Two Dimensional Works on Paper Award and sold for $2,900.

Additional awards included: Director’s Choice Award, Karen Clarkson’s Diné Royalty; Western Art Collector Editor’s Choice Award, Sharon Standridge’s What in the Blue Blazes is that Greenhorn Doin’ Now; and Artists’ Choice Award, Harper Henry.

More than 4,000 votes were cast for the People’s Choice Award, and the top three artists were separated by a single vote, with Rowswell’s textile work Red Canyon Rim ultimately earning the award.

The 20th anniversary Cowgirl Up! Art from the Other Half of the West begins on March 28 and runs through May 25.