Out West
Western classics fromthomas Moran,albert Bierstadt and others bring in $13.2 million at the Scottsdale Art Auction
With a packed house and consistent bidding in the room, online and on the phones, the Scottsdale Art Auction racked up more than $13.2 million in sales across two sessions on April 6 in Scottsdale,arizona. For auction partner Brad Richardson, the sale was a tremendous success.“we’re very pleased.when we can have more than $13 million in sales with 94 percent of lots sold, and some still selling now after the sale, that’s one of our best sales,” he says.“and we
had 500-plus people in the room with lots of action in the room, as well as on the phones and internet. Everything brought good dollars with some great runs.and the auction records were really great as well.”
Top lots in the sale were
Thomas Moran’s Castle Rock, Green River, WY (est. $3.5/4.5 million) that sold for $2.75 million;albert Bierstadt’s postcard-sized Sunset – Salt Lake (est. $150/250,000) that sold for $315,900; Henry Shrady’s Elk Buffalo bronze (est.
$200/300,000) that sold for $380,250, a world record for the sculptor; E. Martin Hennings’ Across the Valley (est. $20/40,000) that sold for $105,300; and two works from cowboy artist Frank Tenney Johnson, Smoke of a .45 and Beneath the Western Moon, that sold for $672,750 and $222,300.
In addition to historic
Western art, the sale also features works from contemporary painters, a number of whom set new auction records, including Logan Maxwell Hagege and Mark Maggiori.another noteworthy aspect of the auction is its first session, every piece of which was offered with no reserves. One first-session artist to perform strongly was Cowboy Artists of America co-founder Charlie Dye, whose work Cutting Out a Stray sold for $58,500, well above the $30,000 high estimate.
“Overall, the market is in a good place as people are out there chasing the best paintings,” Richardson says.“we feel very optimistic about the market.”