Auction Preview | Santa Fe Art Auction

Santa Fe, NM
Peters Projects, December 3-4

E. William Gollings, Night Hawk, oil, 24 x 34. Estimate: $250,000-$350,000.

This story was featured in the December 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art December 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Art buyers and sellers take delight this month at one of the Southwest’s largest and most anticipated auctions of the year, the 23rd annual Santa Fe Art Auction. Sponsored by Gerald Peters Gallery and held at Peters Projects, the auction is one of the largest annual auctions of classic and contemporary western and southwestern art in the United States. The bidding wars commence at 1:30 p.m. on both December 3 and 4.

The auction has been a foundation of the art community for over two decades; this year it’s particularly notable for its approximately 450 masterworks for sale throughout the two-day event. Auction previews take place at Peters Projects from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, December 2, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 3. This year, you can register to attend the auction in person, submit bids in advance or by telephone, or participate online through Bidsquare.

Since 1994, the Santa Fe Art Auction has consistently featured a carefully curated selection of stellar paintings, drawings, and sculptures, with a special focus on wildlife and sporting art, paintings by the Taos Society of Artists and the Santa Fe Art Colony, and paintings and bronzes by the Cowboy Artists of America. Adam H. Veil, the auction’s executive director, says he is excited about “what is proving to be a diverse, yet balanced fall sale. The 2016 auction features a generous contingent of paintings by Victor Higgins, E. Martin Hennings, and other artists of the Taos Society.”

: Gustave Baumann, Procession, woodblock print, 13 x 13. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000.

: Catherine Carter Critcher, The Artist’s Studio, Taos, oil, 17 x 18. Estimate: $100,000-$150,000.

: Gerard Curtis Delano, Land of the Dineh, oil, 20 x 24. Estimate: $50,000-$80,000.

: Frank Tenney Johnson, Mountain Meadows, oil, 45 x 56. Estimate: $750,000-$1,500,000.

: Catherine Carter Critcher, Indian Drummer, oil, 18 x 17. Estimate: $125,000-$200,000.

: Fremont F. Ellis, Las Lomas Encantada, oil, 22 x 32. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000.

One of the most anticipated offerings is a pair of canvases by Virginia-born Catherine Carter Critcher [1868-1964], the only female member of the all-male Taos Society of Artists. INDIAN DRUMMER and THE ARTIST’S STUDIO, TAOS are expected to sell for between $125,000-$200,000 and $100,000-$150,000, respectively, when placed on the block.

Leading the way in wildlife art is a major painting of African elephants by 85-year-old British painter and conservationist David Shepherd. KICKING UP DUST, a dramatic 28-by-66-inch oil composition featuring an elephant herd, is estimated at $100,000 to $150,000.

Frank Tenney Johnson’s MOUNTAIN MEADOWS is expected to draw big numbers—up to $1.5 million. Johnson [1874-1939] was known for his paintings of the American West in which the focus was on cowboys lit solely by the moon and stars. Additionally, Johnson was known for completing an underpainting and then setting aside the canvas for a year or more, which some say accounts for the depth and luminosity of his finished masterpieces.

Other highlights include paintings by Ernest Blumenschein (who has set auction records here), a watercolor by John Marin, a set of 43 etchings by Carl Rungius, a masterful rendering of an Alaskan brown bear by Bob Kuhn, and a monumental horse sculpture by Deborah Butterfield. —Katie Askew

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