Western Hits
Paintings by leading Western artists cross the block during Heritage Auctions’ December 3 sale of American art.
Auction,
bidding online,” says Alissa Ford, director of Western art at Heritage. “I think learning how to bid online has opened the doors to many collectors, old and new.”
Leading the Western lots in this sale is Leigh’s The Best in the Bunch, a 1941 painting that arrives to auction from the estate of Philip R. Jonsson of Dallas. Jonsson was the consignor of the recordsetting Leigh painting Home, Sweet Home, which Heritage sold in 2011 for $1.195 million. The Best in the Bunch was originally purchased by Eric Jonsson, who was the mayor of Dallas from 1964 to 1971, before it descended in his family. The painting, featuring many of the artist’s most popular themes, is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000.
A rare landscape painting sans figures by Gerald Curtis Delano is also an interesting item available in the auction. Titled Afternoon in Autumn, the painting is a large-scale work carrying an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. Describing the piece, Ford says, “It was done in Colorado when he had a studio there. He was working on illustrations for Western Story magazine…it feels so serene to me, and the light in it is so majestic.”
Other notable paintings in the sale include Thomas Moran’s Mountain Lion in Grand Canyon (Lair of the Mountain Lion) (est. $500/700,000); Oscar E. Berninghaus’ Open Country, which has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000; and Laverne Nelson Black’s painting Fiesta in Taos, estimated at $40,000 to $60,000, which s being sold to benefit the Couse-sharp Foundation. A small-scale pastel by Julian Onderdonk titled Bluebonnet Field will also be available in this sale with an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
There are a number of Western bronzes hitting the market led by Leigh’s Buffalo (est. $15/25,00), Joe Beeler’s Chief Goes to Washington (est. $12/18,000) and Dave Mcgary’s Not Afraid of Pawnee, which has an estimate of $10,000 to 15,000.