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Western Art & Architecture - Summer/Fall 2008
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Western Art & Architecture - Fall 2007
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Forbes - December 2005
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Art & Antiques
October 2008

Just a short ride down Silver Legacy Casino's escalator but a world removed from the ka-ching of slot machines, a well-heeled crowd of 800 or so gathered. They sipped good whiskey, snacked on rare roast beef and viewed hundreds of paintings, drawings and bronzes. They flipped paintings to inspect the faded gallery labels on the back. They checked provenance and talked urgently into their cell phones. This was the preview for the annual Coeur d'Alene Art Auction, which, despite the name, was held in Reno on July 26. Over the past 20 years, it has become the most important annual event for collectors and dealers of Western art.

The sale was fast-paced and the room was noisy. Four spotters helped the auctioneer, pointing out bidders and yelling "yip," "yep" or "hep"—it's a Western thing that originated in the livestock sale barns. The auctioneer, Peter Stremmel, raced through 278 lots in four and a half hours without a break, bringing in $37 million, $2 million more than last year's total. Of the 20 passed lots, Stremmel says at least five sold that very day. "We have noticed some softening at the mid and lower end of the market," he adds, "but the great pieces held up very well, and many of the top items exceeded their highest estimate."

As a group, historic works by Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and the artists of the Taos School fetched higher prices than pieces by living Western artists, although works by Andy Thomas, Martin Grelle and Bob Kuhn were snapped up quickly. Two works by Russell, an iconic painting and a large bronze, brought record prices. Michael Frost from J. N. Bartfield Galleries in New York paid $5.3 million for The Hold Up (est. $4-6 million), a large, multifigured oil form 1899, and $4.1 million for Meat for Wild Men (est. $3-5 million) which at 11.5 by 37.5 by 20 inches was by far Russell's largest bronze. The sculpture, made in 1924, depicts Indians on horseback closing in for the kill on a group of buffalo. "Both pieces are important to a Russell collector," says Frost. "The bronze is cast number one of four and the other three are in museums. We had to buy it or we would never have a chance to own it." The buzz in the room said that Frost was buying for oilman Tom Petrie which would not be surprising since Petrie is widely known to have the top privately held Russell collection in the country.

Interest in Gerard Curtis Delano (1890-1972), long regarded as something of a second-tier artist, blossomed at this auction. The works offered were fresh to the market, including a luminous and colorful oil titled Navajo, almost certainly Delano's masterpiece. Indeed, he refused to sell it during his lifetime, telling his wife this painting was her nest egg. He was certainly right about its value. The painting was snapped up for $1.25 million, a new record for the artist. Ray Harvey, a well-regarded collector of the Taos School, came specifically to add this Delano to his collection. "I was prepared to pay quite a bit," he says, "but I never even got to raise my hand."

The phone banks were busy as well. Eight bidders from Russia vied for a small canvas by Nicolai Fechin, a Russian-born artist who lived and worked in Taos, N.M., and Santa Monica, Calif. Within moments, the bidding for Still Life—Kettle #2 (est. $80,000-120,000), painted in the artist's characteristic bold-and-intense style, shot from $20,000 to $200,000. The painting ended up selling for $431,250.

Still, there were some good deals to be had, among them Remington's bronze Mountain Man (cast #36, circa 1918). It was a late addendum to the auction, wasn't in the catalogue and, therefore, didn't enjoy any presale publicity. The phones were silent. Outside the room no one seemed to know it was being sold. It fetched only $184,000, below its estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.

Another great deal was a set of four small Russell watercolors, each one no bigger than a picture postcard. They were more historically than artistically significant but charming nonetheless. The price for all four was $48,300

Article, "Yip, Yip, Hooray," by Irene Rawlings.