First-timers at a Western sale might think it’s all cowboys and cattle, and while there are plenty of works that show that part of the American West, there are also lots of other works that show the whole array of Western art, from mountain landscapes and scenes of Native American culture in the Southwest to wildlife and sporting art. Western art is an umbrella that shelters many genres. 
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Star King Mountain. Oil, 14 x 19 in. Estimate: $300/$500,000
This is abundantly clear at a sale like Scottsdale Art Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. This year’s sale, held over two sessions on April 9 and 10, will feature nearly 400 lots, all of which speak to the abundance of material that relates to the West.
“This year’s sale is looking really great, especially because we have a great cross section of pieces, going way back to George Catlin all the way up to Frederic Remington and Charlie Russell, and into the Taos Society of Artists, and then even up to some of the great living artists working today,” says auction partner Michael Frost, who runs the auction alongside longtime Western dealers Brad Richardson and Jack Morris. “We’ve always been very satisfied with what we bring in and this year is no exception.”
William Herbert “Buck” Dunton (1878-1936), Three Montana Cowboys. Oil, 26 x 20 in. Estimate: $175/225,000
Some of the key highlights in the sale include five works by Albert Bierstadt, including Star King Mountain (est. $300/500,000), which shows one of Yosemite National Park’s most distinguishing natural landmarks. The work is likely to draw interest from bidders who have seen Mount Starr King, Yosemite, a major work by the artist in the permanent collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The works bear a striking similarity, both in their subject and grandeur.
Another artist who will be represented by multiple works in the sale is William Herbert “Buck” Dunton, one of the founders of the Taos Society of Artists, the influential group of painters who set up studios in Taos, New Mexico, and painted the people, the Pueblos and surrounding region. Their works range from classic Western to outright modernism. 
E. William Gollings (1878-1932), Cheyenne Winter Camp, 1922. Oil, 24 x 18 in. Estimate: $300/500,000Dunton’s pieces in the sale will run the gamut, from the high-action scene Three Montana Cowboys (est. $175/225,000) to more modern landscapes and the moody campfire scene Evening Meal – The Hunter’s Supper (est. $45/85,000).
A major E. William Gollings work, Cheyenne Winter Camp, from 1922, will also be available to bidders. The piece was painted during a bittersweet period for the artist, who was living in Sheridan, Wyoming, at the time. Gollings was going through a painful divorce, but he was also creating some of the best work of his career. 
Carl Rungius (1869-1959), Grizzly Bear. Oil, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
One of the rarer works in the auction is a large oil from action painter Charles Schreyvogel. The work, A Close Call, shows two Native American riders on a horse as they cross paths with a military scout. Schreyvogel, famous for painting guns pointed right at the viewer, paints two revolvers in A Close Call and though they never threaten the viewer, the painting suggests mortal danger is just seconds away. The New Jersey artist had a relatively short career and produced fewer than 100 studio works before his death at 51 years old. Action scenes of this quality and size are rare at auction, Frost says. “They just don’t come up very often at all,” he adds. “Smaller ones are more frequent, but this one is a very nice size.”
Carl Rungius (1869-1959), Old Men of the Ram River. Oil, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
Two Carl Rungius wildlife works, Grizzly Bear and Old Men of the Ram River, will be in the sale with each being estimated at $200,000 to $300,000. The works are classic Rungius: magnificent renderings of the animals in their natural habitats, gorgeous color and his modernist brushwork in the landscape. Rungius was known for his long summer trips into the West, where he would hunt, fish and hike his way through rough country in hopes of having wildlife encounters. He would return to the East Coast to paint during the winter, usually with lots of field sketches to help guide his large studio works. Today he is widely regarded as one of the great American wildlife artists.
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), Conversations. Oil, 22 x 27 in. Estimate: $125/175,000
Other works include Joseph Henry Sharp’s Conversations (est. $125/175,000), Charles M. Russell’s chaotic war scene A Battle at Belly Creek (est. $250/350,000), a pair of George Catlin watercolor works (est. $30/50,000) and Edgar Payne’s Burning the Hogan (est. $200/300,000), which appeared in the book Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey. “…Payne offered an unusual narrative component. A gentle reminder of a perceived passing culture, the oil portrays three riders looking back over their shoulders at a twilight horizon. A column of smoke rises from the base of a rock escarpment as a Hogan burns in the distance,” Peter Hassrick writes in the book. “The Navajo had a custom that when a man died in his Hogan, he would be cremated there by his family and friends. For Payne, this was no rhetorical gesture; it was heartfelt reverie that deserved what was, for him a rare narrative portrayal.”
Edgar Payne (1883-1947), Burning the Hogan. Oil, 28 x 34 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
Like many auctions, the Scottsdale Art Auction saw a high volume of online and internet bidders at their 2020 sale, and they anticipate seeing that trend go up again this year, even as they hold a live, in-person bidding in addition to online, phone and absentee bidding. “In this day and age, people like to have the option to bid that way, especially as they sit at home and look at the art on their walls,” Frost says. “We’ve been fortunate to always have a strong online presence, and we’re excited to see it grow year after year.” —
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