Christie’s American Art Auction
New York, NY
Christie’s May 22 sale of American art features Western works ranging from a striking early 20th century Grand Canyon landscape by Thomas Moran to more contemporary works by Gerard Curtis Delano and Fritz Scholder.
Moran’s Grand Cañon after a Storm is estimated to achieve between $800,000 and $1.2 million when it crosses the block. Moran had been captivated by the Grand Canyon since his first visit to Arizona Territory in 1873, and the area inspired much of his later body of work. Paige Kestenman, Christie’s junior specialist in American art, notes, “One of the most fascinating aspects of the canyon for Moran was its ever-changing appearance due to the effects of weather and light. In Grand Cañon after a Storm, we can see Moran delighting in the mists and clouds as they conceal and mystify some aspects of the landscape and highlight others.”
In The Proud People (est. $300/500,000), Delano depicts two Navajo figures sitting tall in their saddles. “The painting not only exhibits
Delano’s ability as a colorist, with its warm canyon walls in the distance contrasted by the cooler tones in the shadows of the foreground,” Kestenman says. “It also features a highly textured foreground that helps to further transport the viewer into this high-key, almost mystical landscape.”
An N.C. Wyeth illustration titled Breaking the Log Jam carries an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. Painted in 1943, it was used as the main image in the educational poster for the “Our America” series, commissioned by the Forbes Lithograph Mfg. Company and distributed by Coca-cola. The sale will also feature multiple works from Oscar E. Berninghaus, which are being sold to benefit the Saint Louis Art Museum’s acquisitions fund. Cowboy Mess Camp (est. $70/80,000) demonstrates the artist’s skill as both an illustrator and easel artist. His Old Faithful, Yellowstone has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000.
A coinciding online auction will take place May 15 through May 22 and will also feature an array of Western paintings and sculptures. Harvey Dunn’s That’ll Be About Enough, Dusty, which was published in Country Gentleman alongside the W.M. Raine short story “Iron Heart,” has an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000, and Fritz Scholder’s Indian With Coup Stick is estimated to achieve between $20,000 to $30,000.