For hundreds of years Santa Fe, New Mexico, has been at the crossroads of the West. First there were Native Americans and the Pueblo People, and later Spanish settlers, cowboys and cattle, and lots of artists from the East Coast. Today, all of these influences have made the City Different one of the great art destinations in the country.
Gerard Curtis Delano (1890-1972), The Orange Cloud. Oil on canvas, 32¼ x 42¼ in. Estimate: $500/700,000
These varying cultures and histories can be seen in the artwork at the Santa Fe Art Auction’s 27th annual Signature Annual Auction, to be held November 14 in Santa Fe. And while the sale tends to have many highlights, including works by women painters of the Southwest and great examples of American modernism that flourished in New Mexico, this year the star of the show is Western painter Gerard Curtis Delano. The Colorado painter and illustrator will have a dozen works in the sale, all from the same Arizona collection and all spectacular, says Gillian Blitch, president and CEO of Santa Fe Art Auction. “These are important and wonderful works by Delano, from people who had an absolute love affair with his work,” she says. “They are truly remarkable pieces.”
Emil Bisttram (1895-1976), Study for Mexican Wake, 1931. Pastel on paper, 17½ x 23½ in. Estimate: $20/25,000
One of the leading highlights is The Orange Cloud, showing two Navajo riders on horses amid a desert landscape. The painting, estimated at $500,000 to $700,000, has a contemporary design with simple cloud forms and a ribbon of watery reflection that runs through the middle of the piece. “The figures are front and center with this one, and they are wearing these beautiful accessories with all these wonderful colors,” Blitch says. “You really get a sense of the family that is being nurtured here, especially by the presence of the small foal in the painting.”
Janet Lippincott (1918-2007), Light From a Distant Shore, 1969. Oil on canvas, 60 x 68 in. Estimate: $20/30,000
Additional Delano works include Desert Thundercloud (est. $300/500,000), Bears in the Moonlight (est. $100/150,000), Vermilion Cliffs (est. $100/150,000) and several rare watercolor works.
Elsewhere in the sale is Leon Gaspard’s 1913 oil Selling Mushrooms (est. $8/12,000), which shows dozens of figures in a wide composition; Janet Lippincott’s 1969 oil Light From a Distant Shore (est. 20/30,000), an abstract work with wonderful color; Maurice Sterne’s oil still life Peaches, Peppers and Corn (est. $10/20,000); Emil Bisttram’s 1931 pastel Study for Mexican Wake (est. $20/25,000); and B. J. O. Nordfeldt’s 1930 oil Reddish Brown House (est. $10/20,000). Other artists represented in the sale include Karl Horst Hödicke, Robert Mallary and Louis Ribak.
Maurice Sterne (1878-1957), Peaches, Peppers and Corn. Oil on Masonite, 24 x 30 in. Estimate: $10/20,000
The live sale will be available online, but Blitch is hopeful that live bidders will also be allowed to be in the room. “Social distancing and New Mexico protocols will be followed, but we’re optimistic in live in-person bidding,” she says. “We’re feeling very strong about the market, especially as we’ve increased our sales. Things are looking very good. We’re averaging a solid 85 percent sell-through rate across our sales, and that is very encouraging for the future.” —
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