Who’s buying whose art they first saw in this magazine.
Western Art Collector magazine has changed the way artists, galleries and collectors connect. It has closed the gap that previously existed in the Western art market. Spectacular and instant SOLD! stories keep rolling in. On this page you can read just some of the feedback pouring into ouroffice from coast to coast on sales and connections achieved. And now that the Virtual Version of the magazine launches up to 10 days before the Printed edition arrives, collectors can find new art even faster.
1. Glenn Dean stuns collectors with large-scale work
On March 12, Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, presented its annual Painted West group show. In attendance for the opening were C. Michael Dudash, G. Russell Case, Tom Browning, Matt Smith and Glenn Dean, who brought his work Pale Moon Riders, a large 40-by-60-inch painting showing two riders. Not only did the work sell during the opening night, it had many collectors bidding on it during the by-draw sale. Overall the show realized more than $600,000 in sales.
2. John Moran Auctioneers turns in big numbers with basketry
On March 15, John Moran Auctioneers offered bidders selections from the James M. Cole Collection of American Indian Art. The sale presented 310 works, and all 310 works sold—a white-glove sale. The primary focus of the sale was Cole’s extensive collection of Native American baskets, including 150 lots consisting of examples mainly from the Yokuts tribe and the California Mission, Washoe, Mono, and Pomo, but also from the Southwest and Northwest United States. The top lot was a polychrome California Mission rattlesnake basket. Estimated at $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $28,125.
3. Copley’s Winter Sale brings in a record sale for a decoy maker
Realizing nearly $3.5 million in sales and selling 94 percent of the lots, Copley Fine Art Auction’s Winter Sale produced a number of noteworthy records on March 4 and 5. One record was a pair of duck decoys by Charles “Shang” Wheeler (1867-1956).
The decoys came from the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller, who would display the pair on their mantle in their Maine home. Estimated at $100,000 to $200,000, they sold for $216,000.