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C.M. Russell (1864-1926), The Broken Rope, oil, 24 x 36. Estimate: $5 million-$7 million.

C.M. Russell (1864-1926), The Broken Rope, oil, 24 x 36. Estimate: $5 million-$7 million.

Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
April 12-13

One of the Southwest’s largest auction houses, Scottsdale Art Auction specializes in American Western, wildlife and sporting art. Taking advantage of their geographic diversity, the auction casts a wide net in the art world to bring together works that prove fundamental to the Western art market each year.

The gavel falls in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona, with the low 17 percent buyer’s premium driving a large crowd—often with the buzz of 500 potential buyers in the room. In 2023, the auction realized $15 million with 98 percent of all lots sold.

One of three co-founders, Brad Richardson (owner of Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale and Santa Fe, New Mexico) shares that over the past 20 years, the evolution of the Scottsdale Art Auction from a one-day to a two-day event has allowed their team to represent a wider range of deeply significant paintings and a higher caliber of artists as they have grown. “The quality of the artwork we have the opportunity to sell keeps collectors coming back each year,” says Richardson. “We’ve been fortunate to have strong offerings of art over the past years, and we are set to do it again this year.”

As for surprises, there are always a few in every auction, but Richardson says that last year “the most pleasant surprise was the Oscar Berninghaus, selling for $1,562,000 with an estimate of $750,000 to $1.25 million. Another great surprise was the number of active bidders.”

Tom Lovell (1909-1997), Cottonwood Gazette, oil, 40 x 30. Estimate: $200,000-$300,000.

Tom Lovell (1909-1997), Cottonwood Gazette, oil, 40 x 30. Estimate: $200,000-$300,000.

Richardson shares that although he has many favorites, a rare Charles M. Russell painting, THE BROKEN ROPE, is a highlight this year. One of only a handful of Russell oils to come to market over the last decades, it is expected to bring $5 million to $7 million, “a result seldom seen in even the bustling Western art market,” Richardson says. Another of the notable lots, Tom Lovell’s COTTONWOOD GAZETTE, is an oil study estimated to fetch between $200,000 to $300,000. Scottsdale Art Auction has always found success in paintings by members of the Cowboy Artists of America, and this year should be no different.

Also included are works by some of the most in-demand Western artists working today. Mark Maggiori’s THE CROSSING (est. $75,000-$100,000) is a large action scene depicting covered wagons crossing a mountainous Western landscape. Logan Maxwell Hagege is represented by two paintings, including PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (est. $80,000-$120,000), a 52-by-54-inch oil of blanketed figures and riders at the Taos Pueblo. Kyle Polzin’s BUFFALO SHIELD (est. $65,000-$95,000), along with his smaller painting SPIRIT OF THE PLAINS (est. $18,000-$28,000), will surely live up to the hype surrounding these pieces.

The auction also boasts an important Russell bronze titled A BRONC TWISTER, which carries an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. Another bronze, Frederic Remington’s THE CHEYENNE, will cross the auction block with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. Compositions from the Taos Society of Artists will also be represented. A 1914 piece from Eanger Irving Couse titled THE SCULPTOR is expected to fetch $90,000 to $120,000. Nicolai Fechin’s oil CARMELITA is set at $300,000 to $500,000, while Walter Ufer’s A SINGER is estimated at $50,000 to $75,000.

Other historic paintings of note include Maynard Dixon’s PIMA INDIAN, Arizona, 1940 (est. $55,000-$75,000), William R. Leigh’s PACK TRIP (est. $250,000-$450,000), and Winold Reiss’s INDIAN MADONNA (est. $25,000-$35,000).

Both days of the sale, registration and preview begins at 9 a.m., while the auction starts at 11 a.m. —Doreen Manning

contact information
(480) 945-0225
scottsdaleartauction.com

This story appeared in the April/May 2024 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.

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