Show Preview | Scottsdale Art Auction - Southwest Art Magazine

Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
April 9-10

Howard Terpning, Hunting, oil, 20 x 27. Estimate: $275,000-$325,000.

Back in 2005, three highly regarded gallery owners joined forces to start the Scottsdale Art Auction: Brad Richardson of Legacy Gallery, Michael Frost of J.N. Bartfield Galleries, and Jack A. Morris, Jr. of Morris & Whiteside Galleries. Their goal was to create greater value and market share for historical and contemporary western artwork. As dealers in the genre for decades, they knew that demand was high—and that there were some knowledge gaps.

“Visitors to my New York gallery would ask how value was determined for specific western painters and how their prices compared to other artists, or to their own work during different periods,” Frost explains. “Auction settings naturally clear up some of that ambiguity. There’s a level of comfort and security because of pre-published information—provenance, comps to show fair-market value, pre-set estimates—as well as the excitement of live-action bidding, where value and interest are created in real time. We knew this would be an excellent format for the historical and contemporary western artwork we represent.”

: William Gollings, Cheyenne Winter Camp, 1922, oil, 24 x 18. Estimate: $300,000-$500,000.

: John Coleman, He Who Jumps Over Everyone, bronze, h50. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000.

: W. Herbert Dunton, Three Montana Cowboys, oil, 26 x 20. Estimate: $175,000-$225,000.

Bringing more than a century of collective art-market expertise to bear, Richardson, Frost, and Morris began their endeavor together 16 years ago and have since succeeded in creating more education and acquisition opportunities for the serious western art collector. Today the annual Scottsdale Art Auction is one of the largest and best-attended western art events in the country, and it has established hundreds of auction records for artists.

This year’s auction features more than 400 lots in two sessions, with approximately 160 items on the block on Friday, April 9, and approximately 240 items on Saturday, April 10. The 8,500-square-foot showroom above Legacy Gallery’s Main Street storefront can accommodate a large crowd—in years past, averaging about 500 attendees—so it can also facilitate a smaller group’s social-distancing needs. Bidders who choose not to attend can still participate through absentee ballot, via phone, or by watching and bidding live online through the auction’s digital platform.

: Albert Bierstadt, Star King Mountain, oil, 14 x 19. Estimate: $300,000-$500,000.

: Birger Sandzen, Poplars in Moonlight, oil, 30 x 40. Estimate: $125,000- $175,000.

: Charles M. Russell, A Battle at Belly River, oil, 18 ¼ x 22 ½. Estimate: $250,000-$350,000.

No matter how they join in the fun, collectors can expect a full assortment of western, wildlife, and sporting paintings and sculpture. Works by such past masters as Albert Bierstadt, George Catlin, Nicolai Fechin, William Gollings, Clark Hulings, Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, Edgar Payne, and Carl Rungius are joined by pieces from today’s top contemporary western artists, including Bill Anton, John Coleman, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Mark Maggiori, Kyle Polzin, Richard Schmid, Howard Terpning, Morgan Weistling, and many more.

According to Frost, there are notable works available at multiple price points, whether one’s budget is $500 or $500,000. As someone who got his start in art sales in the 1960s alongside his uncle J.N. Bartfield, building a business specializing in masters of the American West, he can’t help but be particularly excited to see rare works by the likes of Remington, Russell, Catlin, and Gollings come to market. Fortunately for western art connoisseurs, there are plenty of those pieces to be found in this year’s auction. –Allison Malafronte