Town & Country Magazine - April 2008
Western Art & Architecture - Fall 2007
The New York Times - August 2007
ARTnews - September 2006
ART+AUCTION - September 2006
National Public Radio - May 2006
Forbes - December 2005
Forbes Collector - December 2005
ART+AUCTION - October 2005
ARTnews - October 2005
Antique West - September 2005
ART+AUCTION - December 2004
Forbes Collector - December 2004
Wildlife Art - November/December 2004
ART+AUCTION - October 2004
ARTnews - October 2004
Persimmon Hill - Autumn 2004
Wall Street Journal - July 2004
Western Art & Architecture
Fall 2007
As bidders raised their paddles at the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction in Reno, spotters quipped "Hup, hup, hup!" and "Hah, hah!" calling out like cowboys on a cattle drive. The audience laughed and continued to bid on the most diverse collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings and bronzes in the auction's 22-year history at the Grand Sierra resort.
Noted as the largest Western art sale in the country, CDAA set a record number for net sales at $35,132,120 — more than an $8 million increase over last year's sum. This year's auction featured 307 works from past and present artists mostly in the Western, wildlife and sporting genres. But in addition to the classic storytellers of the West — Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Charlie Russell, Joseph H. Sharp, Edward Borein, Frank Tenney Johnson — there was an unusual representation of European and Latin American masters. Names of artists such as Paul Signac and Diego Rivera, among others, drew around 850 people to the event and brought bidders onto the phone lines from as far as Israel, Japan and France. The organizers showcased a host of interesting American artists as well, including three generations of Wyeths (N.C., Andrew and Jamie), unusual works from John James Audubon and a touching collection of Mary Cassatt portraits.
The audience hummed when a small bronze by C.M. RUssell entitled Nature's Cattle went for $300,000 at the tap of the gavel and auctioneer Peter Stremmel joked, "Now don't start buzzing — you ain't seen nothing yet!"
Later, another Russell bronze sold for an unprecedented $1 million and another for $950,000. Those weren't the only items setting records, however. For the first time a work from Frank Tenney Johnson, Silent Night, sold for more than $1 million.
The tenor of the show crescendoed during bidding on a coveted Russell painting that started at $500,000 and bounced all over the room beyond the $2 million mark. Ending as the auction's top seller, C.M. Russell's Blackfeet Burning Crow Buffalo Range tied with French neo-impressionist Paul Signac's landscape on the river Seine, Le Ponton de la Felicite, Asnieres, each with a final price of $2,912,000.
Coeur d'Alene also showcased working artists from around the western United States, including Clyde Aspevig, John Banovich, Luke Frazier, Bob Kuhn, Ted Waddell and others.
In the end, the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction stayed true to its Western roots with strong sales. Still it was fascinating to see the diversity in this year's lots, both in style and subject matter, and to know that an old cowboy like Charlie Russell can hold his own against a classic French Master.
Excerpt from, "Holding Strong, Western shows set new standards for collection."
