Western Art Collector - July 2011
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Art & Antiques - October 2008
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Western Art & Architecture - Fall 2007
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Forbes Collector - December 2004
Wildlife Art - November/December 2004
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Western Art Collector
September 2008
While master paintings by Gerard Delano, Charlie Russell, E. Martin Hennings, Frederick Remington, Walter Ufer, Herbert Dunton and Frank Tenney Johnson brought the highest sales at this year’s Coeur d’Alene Art Auction in Reno, Nevada, it was prices for new work by contemporary masters that proved that the Western art market is still going strong. With 278 lots up for sale, this year’s auction brought in $37 million, over $2 million more than last year’s record-setting number.
Artists like Luke Frazier, Andy Thomas, Harley Brown, Ken Carlson, Howard Terpning and Mian Situ saw their paintings go for well over the estimated values, much to the delight of everyone, including auction co-owner Mike Overby.
“One thing I noticed was how strong the contemporary artists were this year,” says Overby. “If I was worried about anything, it was that possibly the contemporary artists wouldn’t do so well, but across the board, they went strong. Artists like Luke Frazier, Ken Carlson, Mian Situ, Andy Thomas and Martin Grelle sold very, very well.”
Gerard Delano’s painting, Navajo, featured prominently on the cover of the July Western Art Collector, sold for an astounding $1.247 million—more than twice its pre-auction high estimate.
“The Delano was a shocker,” says Overby. “If you would have asked me before the sale I would’ve said, optimistically, that it would go for $600,000, but to get a million plus for it was unbelievable. It is such a strong painting, his absolute masterpiece, so I can’t say it totally surprised me with what it brought, but it was nice. The market spoke loudly, and I say it shouted on that painting.”
Nicolai Fechin’s painting, Still Life-Kettle #2, brought some excitement to the auction as three different callers were on phones direct from Russia, resulting in a sale price of $431,250—nearly four times its pre-auction estimate of $80,000-$120,000.
“I was on the phone with one of those guys and he said, ‘Mike, I want you to start it at $200,000’ and I thought that is what he was willing to pay for it, but he said that is what he wanted to start it at,” says Overby. “He wanted to launch a preemptive strike and it did shock people as four of the phones dropped off. But, after a pause of about 10 or 15 seconds, one of the other Russians jumped in and the two battled it out. My guy ended up getting the money and he wasn’t messing around as he wired the complete amount into our account Monday morning.”
The highlight of the auction, Charlie Russell’s The Hold Up, sold for $5,167,000, within the pre-auction estimate of $4 million to $6 million. The price was the second highest amount ever paid for a Russell painting; only the painting Piegans, which sold at the Coeur d’Alene Auction in 2005, went for more. Russell’s bronze, Meat for Wild Men, also sold this year for $4.047 million, the third highest price ever paid for a Russell.
“We sell a lot of art, but our specialty is Russell,” says Overby. “That is what we are best at, so when one comes up, we usually end up getting it. I think eight of the top 10 Russell sales have taken place at our auction.”
On the contemporary side, Luke Frazier set a personal auction record as his piece, Call of the Sea, sold for $54,625. Andy Thomas, who was also prominently featured in the July issue of Western Art Collector, sold his painting Bad Whiskey for $126,500. Ken Carlson’s painting Goat Ledge sold for $103,000, with a pre-auction estimate of $30,000-$40,000 and Mian Situ’s painting, Pacific Carriage Co., San Francisco-1905, sold for $258,750 after a pre-auction estimate of $125,000-$175,000.
