Reno, NV
Grand Sierra Resort, July 26-27
LaVerne Nelson Black, Taos, oil, 28 x 36. Estimate: $100,000-$150,000.
This story was featured in the July 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
THE COEUR D’ALENE Art Auction’s superlatives speak for themselves. Now in its 34th year, it stands peerless as the nation’s largest auction house devoted to western and American art. It has set more than 160 world-record prices to date, including those for a painting by Frederic Remington ($5.625 million), a bronze by Charles M. Russell ($4.047 million), and a work on paper by Maynard Dixon ($163,800). An industry-best average of 96 percent of lots consigned have been sold, netting clients more than $325 million in the last 15 years alone.
As many as 600 collectors are expected to attend this year’s auction in person at Reno’s Grand Sierra Resort, with several hundred more joining in with phone, Internet, or absentee bids. Works go on view at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 26. That evening features a lavish cocktail party and dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. The next morning, sales kick off earlier than usual, with a special 10 a.m. session devoted to 28 paintings from the William P. Healey Collection of canvases by John Fery. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fery painted impressive scenes of the West for the Great Northern Railway; prices are expected in the mid-five-figure range. The main auction follows at noon, with more than 350 works going on the block.
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- Rosa Bonheur, Bison in the Snow—Migrations de Bison Amerique, pastel, 44 x 74. Estimate: $300,000-$500,000.
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- John Clymer, John Colter Visits the Crow—1807, oil, 24 x 48. Estimate: $400,000-$600,000.
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- Frederic Remington, Casuals on the Range, oil, 18 x 26. Estimate: $800,000-$1,200,000.
While the overall quality of artwork on offer is high, anticipation is especially great for almost 20 paintings from the estate of John J. Mitchell, cofounder of United Airlines. “They haven’t seen the light of day since he purchased them in the 1930s and ’40s,” notes Mike Overby, auction principal along with partners Peter Stremmel of Stremmel Gallery in Reno and Stuart Johnson of Settlers West Galleries in Tucson. Among these paintings is CREASED, a full-sheet watercolor-and-gouache on paper by Russell, estimated to hammer at $800,000 to $1.2 million. “The authenticity of the action is what [Russell is] known for, and this high-drama piece has got it in spades,” says Overby.
Equally impressive, and holding the same sale estimate, is CASUALS ON THE RANGE, a finely detailed work from “the mature impressionistic period” of Remington. Also noteworthy from Mitchell’s collection is what Overby describes as being among “the rarest of the rare”: BISON IN THE SNOW by famed 19th-century French realist Rosa Bonheur. “She never traveled to America,” Overby says, “but she became friends with Buffalo Bill Cody when he took his Wild West Show to Europe.” The painting’s large format and highly detailed realism, he adds, “absolutely puts it in masterpiece territory.”
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- Charles M. Russell, Creased, watercolor/gouache, 28 x 23. Estimate: $800,000-$1,200,000.
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- Joseph Henry Sharp, Crow Encampment, oil, 30 x 36. Estimate: $400,000-$600,000.
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- Mian Situ, Golden Spike Ceremony, oil, 44 x 72. Estimate: $250,000-$350,000.
Such superb works by historic artists are joined by contemporary masters. It’s a diverse group that includes Mian Situ’s highly realistic GOLDEN SPIKE CEREMONY, depicting the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and Andy Warhol’s neon-hued silkscreen TEDDY ROOSEVELT. “We may be known for specializing in western and sporting art,” says Overby, “but that doesn’t limit us to cowboys and Indians. You see a lot of genre crossover among collectors now, and artworks like these really show the breadth of the auction.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information
208.772.9009
www.cdaartauction.com
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- Andy Warhol, Teddy Roosevelt, silkscreen print, 36 x 36. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000.
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- Victor Higgins, Taos in Winter, oil, 24 x 30. Estimate: $400,000-$600,000.
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- Edgar Payne, Riders in Canyon de Chelly, oil, 25 x 30. Estimate: $200,000-$300,000.
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- Carl Rungius, Near Summit Lake, British Columbia, oil, 30 x 40. Estimate: $250,000-$350,000.
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- Walter Ufer, The Song of the Olla, oil, 12 x 11. Estimate: $80,000-$120,000.
This story was featured in the July 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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