Western art returns to Reno, Nevada, on July 25 when the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction kicks off once again as it offers nearly 300 lots of art in many categories. The popular annual event will mark the return of art for many collectors after a lengthy quarantine from March to May.

“I think people are excited to return to events, including sales like ours,” says auction partner Mike Overby. “We are monitoring the health situation very carefully and we will adhere to all of the regulations that are in place, but we’re ready for bidders. People enjoy the live audience aspect of a sale, so we want to make them feel safe and comfortable.”Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Green River, Wyoming, 1883. Oil on canvas, 13¼ x 20 in. Estimate: $1/1.5 million

To complement the in-person bidding, as well as absentee and telephone bidding, the auction will once again utilize a number of online bidding platforms to help buyers who prefer to bid from their homes. “We expect to see a lot of remote bidding—it will be a big part of this year’s sale,” Overby adds.

One of the highlights of the 2020 sale is Henry Farny’s 1902 oil on canvas Nomads, showing several Native Americans moving camp using horses and a travois. Major works from Farny do not come to auction frequently, and when they do prices often soar. “This one should definitely set a world auction record for Farny,” Overby says, adding that Farny’s current record was set in 2008 for $1.4 million. “There has been nothing like this at auction for some time, and his oils of this size are very rare. When they come around you have to get a bid in because you just never know when you’ll see another. And best of all, this one has never been to auction before.” Nomads has been estimated at $1.5 to $2.5 million.Henry Farny (1847-1916), Nomads, 1902. Oil on canvas, 22 x 40 in. Estimate: $1.5/2.5 million

Another major work being offered is Thomas Moran’s 1883 oil Green River, Wyoming, which shows one of Moran’s most iconic subjects in magnificent orange and gold light. “This is one of Moran’s most desirable subject matters, and this one has this very nice luminescence in the beautiful coloration in the sky and on the cliffs,” Overby says. “If you’re collecting Moran, you have to get your hands a Green River painting, and this one really wonderful.” The painting is estimated at $1 to $1.5 million.

The 300-lot sale will offer several works by Charles M. Russell, including three watercolor pieces: Blackfeet War Party (est. $200/300,000), Planning the Attack (The Wagon Train) (est. $150/250,000) and With a Good Hoss Under Him (est. $150/250,000). Some of Russell’s contemporaries will also be presented to bidders, including several exceptional Olaf C. Selter works and Edgar S. Paxson’s 1906 gouache Buffalo Hunt (est. $60/90,000).Victor Higgins (1884-1949), New Mexico Zinnias. Oil on canvas, 30 x 26 in. Estimate: $200/300,000

Another high-dollar lot is an original and complete set of Edward S. Curtis’ masterwork The North American Indian, which includes two 20-volume sets, one set with text related to his research over 30 years, and another set of portfolios featuring his photography. The set came out of the University of Texas and went to a New York collector. It’s numbered 83; fewer than 270 exist today. The set comes with Curtis’ Gustav Stickley cabinet, which was made specifically for The North American Indian’s two sets of books and portfolios. The lot is estimated at $1.5 to $2.5 million.

Elsewhere in the sale will be William Gollings’ 1924 oil The Red Man’s Directions (est. $250/350,000), which shows two figures and a pack of grazing horses in front of a stunning landscape near sundown; Gerard Curtis Delano’s The Mountain Man (est. $250/350,000), which shows a striking and colorful figure atop a horse; and Carl Rungius’ Herd Bull (est. $200/300,000), featuring an elk in a clearing with several fallen trees and majestic mountain peaks fanned out in the background.Edgar Payne (1883-1947), Mountain Lake. Oil on canvas, 28 x 34 in. Estimate: $40/60,000

Like previous sales, this year’s Coeur d’Alene Art Auction will once again highlight a number of works from the Taos Society of Artists. Three works by Eanger Irving Couse will be available, with The Tobacco Bag leading the way with estimates of $100,000 to $150,000. E. Martin Hennings will be represented with Indians Crossing a Stream, Taos, New Mexico, estimated at $80/120,000, while Victor Higgins’ New Mexico Zinnias will be offered at $200,000 to $300,000.Harvey Dunn (1884-1952), Midnight Posse [or] Hungry Bandidos, 1908. Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in. Estimate: $60/90,000

“The room is going to explode when New Mexico Zinnias comes across the block. We’ve already fielded a number of calls about it,” Overby says, adding that the auction broke Higgins’ world auction record at last year’s sale. “It’s going to be fun watching this one sell because it might be ones of Higgins’ best still lifes. He was quite fond of zinnias.”

Other Taos works include Joseph Henry Sharp’s Blackfeet Reservation (est. $25/35,000) and William Herbert “Buck” Dunton’s The Cowpuncher (est. $100/150,000). Although he was not a member of the Taos Society of Artists, Leon Gaspard did create many of his greatest pieces in Taos, including Taos Drummers, which will be offered with estimates of $30,000 to $50,000.Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Blackfeet War Party, ca. 1896. Watercolor and gouache on paper, 15 x 22 in. Estimate: $200/300,000

Other noteworthy lots are Harvey Dunn’s Midnight Posse [or] Hungry Bandidos (est. $60/90,000), Frank Tenney Johnson’s Moonrise Over the Mesa (est. $150/250,000), Tom Lovell’s Trouble on the Overland Telegraph (est. $100/150,000), and two Edgar Payne works: French Fishing Boats (est. $20/30,000) and Mountain Lake (est. $40/60,000).

Bidding will take place July 25, but the artworks are available for preview now, by appointment only, through Stremmel Gallery in Reno. Bidders are encouraged to check the website, www.cdaartauction.com, for updates related to the sale. —

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