Brian Lebel’s Cody Old West Show & Auction
After a stellar debut in Santa Fe, Brian Lebel returns with another Cody Old West Show & Auction.
Santa Fe, NM
It wasn’t long into last year’s Cody Old West Show & Auction in Santa Fe, New Mexico, before show owner Brian Lebel knew him and his team had made the right move to the Land of Enchantment. But then, as the show progressed, it was confirmed further by the collectors and dealers who had connected with each other during the two-day show. It made the choice to return to Santa Fe a “no brainer.”
“We’re feeling very good about returning to Santa Fe. Business is poppin’. We’re getting lots of phone calls. There are more than 100 dealers on our waiting list. Everything is looking really good,” says Lebel. “And we get to take what we learned last year and improve on it. For instance, now that we know our space a little better we have more dealers this year. We’ve squeezed them into places we didn’t know about last year.”
The Cody Old West Show & Auction will take place over June 22 and 23 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in the heart of Santa Fe’s downtown area near the famous Plaza. Once again location is everything. Walkable cities are key to visitors, Lebel has often said
about the locations he sets up shows. When people have easy access to the best hotels, restaurants, galleries and cultural destinations, they are more likely to come to the show and feel more engaged with the city around them while they are attending. “This is what Santa Fe is known for,” Lebel adds. More than 150 dealers will be set up in booths for the dealer show, which runs both days. They will be offering nearly every conceivable Western item imaginable, everything from bits and spurs to vintage firearms to exceptional paintings and bronzes, as well as countless other items such as sheriff’s badges, original Old West whiskey bottles, Western wear, carvings, books, jewelry, weavings and a wide selection of Native American materials.
The dealer show will bookend the evening auction on June 22, during which hundreds of Western lots will cross the auction block. One
major highlight in the sale is Eanger Irving Couse’s The Pipe Maker, an oil on board piece estimated at $125,000 to $150,000. The work comes with a letter from Virginia Couse Leavitt, the artist’s granddaughter and author of a new book on the famous Taos painter, who writes that it is one of the finest firelight paintings by the artist she has ever seen. The piece comes out of an Arizona collection, and although it was shown at least once at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, it has not been widely seen and will be fresh to the market.
Another key auction lot includes a Mandan/hidatsa men’s quilled shirt from the Upper Missouri River area from the mid1800s. It is estimated to sell for $200,000 to $250,000.
Other top Western lots are an Edward Borein ink drawing on paper titled California Rider (est. $10/12,000), an Edward H. Bohlin silver parade saddle (est. $25/30,000), a John Wade Hampton bronze titled Vaquero (est. $3/5,000), the Olaf Wieghorst painting Rider in the Canyon (est. $5/7,000) and Roy Rogers’ custom Stetson hat (est. $1,5/2,500) that features an iconic crease that the singer and actor was known to wear in his hats.
One of the unique aspects of Lebel’s sales is the variety of materials that cross the auction block. “You really don’t know what you’re going to see next,” he says. “That’s what we love about the sale, and the dealer show as well, is the wide range of materials. We offer an eclectic sale, that’s for sure.”
In addition to the show and sale, Lebel is bringing in new partnerships with venues like the Couse-sharp Historic Site in nearby Taos, and also Rodeo de Santa Fe, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary the same weekend as the show. “We’ve made adjustments to the show map to make space for more dealers, and we’re working on hosting a book signing, as well as an onlineonly benefit auction,” he says of his new partnership with the Couse-sharp Historic Site. “[With Rodeo de Santa Fe] we’re working together to find creative and effective ways to introduce rodeo fans to our event, and introduce our vendors and shoppers to the Santa Fe Rodeo. It’s a natural fit.”