On September 17 and 18, Jackson Hole Art Auction will offer more than 300 works of art to bidders when it returns to Wyoming for its 15th annual auction. The sale, known for its rich variety of Western material, is a favorite among bidders and should see considerable interest with art collectors who are once again flocking to Jackson Hole and the surrounding national parks such as Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874-1952), Taos Field of Workers. Oil on canvas 25 x 30 in. Estimate: $300/500,000“People are feeling great and they’re ready to come back into Jackson Hole. We’re seeing some really great energy coming into town, and it’s building with each passing day,” says Jackson Hole Art Auction partner Roxanne Hofmann Mowery. “One of the things we’re hearing a lot from some of our biggest supporters is how excited they are to celebrate with us for out 15th year. Many of them have been with us every year since we started, but then couldn’t attend our 14th sale last year. Everyone is ready to come back and see each other again.”
E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), Untitled. Oil on canvas, 30¼ x 30¼ in. Estimate: $600/900,000
Carl Rungius (1869-1959), Above the Treeline. Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $300/500,000The auction, presented by Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery, will take place across two sessions on September 17 and 18 at Center for the Arts in Jackson Hole. The two sessions, both of which start at noon, will feature more than 300 lots that pull from every facet of the West: wildlife, landscapes, cowboys and Native Americans subject matter, still life, bronze and much more.
Works from two major Western collections will be offered: 30 pieces of art from the famous T. Boone Pickens Collection, and 28 works from the Corporate Collection of Eddie Basha. Both Pickens and Basha were prominent and colorful collectors who sought out the best artwork from many of the top artists. The Pickens material, which is being offered under the name The Frontier Spirit: Western Works from the T. Boone Pickens Collection, should be especially thrilling to bidders because the collector had a discerning eye and frequently purchased major examples from artists he liked. 
John Clymer (1907-1989), We Take All. Oil on canvas, 24 x 48 in. Estimate: $100/200,000
Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865-1926), Waterbuck. Oil on canvas, 18 x 30 in. Estimate: $20/30,000
Allan Houser (1914-1994), Dance of the Mountain Spirits I, 1989. Bronze, ed. 4 of 6, 68 x 50 x 26 in. Estimate: $40/60,000
“Pickens was a maverick and an icon, and he felt the history of the American West was particularly rich because of the strength of the individuals who lived it. He collected Western art in hopes that it would preserve the values he believed in—honor, duty, country and others,” Mowery says. “You see some of those qualities with Eddie Basha. One of the things that made his collection special was he was close friends with so many of the artists, including Joe Beeler, John Clymer and James Reynolds. Eddie was a student of history, so he collected artists that reflected his interests.”
Dean Cornwell (1892-1960), Who Hired You? Oil on canvas, 30 x 46 in. Estimate: $30/50,000
Key lots in the sale include major paintings by Taos Society of Artists members. One is an E. Martin Hennings untitled work showing two blanket-clad figures under New Mexico clouds. “It has never been on the market and we are absolutely thrilled to have it,” says Mowery, who adds that one of Hennings’ sponsors chose the painting after a 1917 exhibition. “And it’s been descending through his family ever since. It’s even in the original frame. It’s a magnificent painting that has everything you could want with a Hennings painting, including those dreamy clouds in the sky under those central figures. It’s a powerful painting.” The untitled work is estimated at $600,000 to $900,000.
Other Taos material includes Oscar E. Berninghaus’ Taos Field of Workers (est. $300/500,000) and Joseph Henry Sharp’s The Drummer (est. $60/90,000).
John Clymer will be well represented in the sale with five works—four from the Basha Collection and one from the Pickens Collection—that show his strength as a storyteller. We Take All (est. $100/200,000) is certainly a key highlight since it shows a tense standoff amid Native Americans and trespassing outsiders who have staked out buffalo hides after a hunt. It’s classic Clymer with a complex composition, riveting story and numerous figures within the painting. Other Clymer works include Buffalo Hunt (est. $100/200,000), Buffalo Scouts (est. $60/90,000) and High Crossing (est. $70/100,000).
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), The Drummer. Oil on canvas, 20¼ x 24¼ in. Estimate: $60/90,000
William R. Leigh (1866-1955), Patient. Oil on canvas, 22 x 28 in. Estimate: $60/90,000
Wildlife is a popular category at the sale every year, and this year will feature works by wildlife masters Carl Rungius and Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert. Rungius will be represented in the sale with Rainbow Ram (est. $70/100,000) and Above the Treeline (est. $300/500,000), while Kuhnert’s Waterbuck (est. $20/30,000) will be offered.
Additional lots include pieces from Hermann Herzog, Clark Hulings, Tom Lovell, James Reynolds, William R. Leigh, Robert Lougheed, Melvin Warren, W.H.D. Koerner, Allan Houser and many others. A Charlie Dye painting, The Mustangers (est. $50/75,000), should also draw considerable interest, as should Dean Cornwell’s Who Hired You? (est. $30/50,000), both of which show the two artists’ unique painting styles.
All of the artwork will be available to preview at the auction’s showroom, which is just a few blocks from the town square. For more information, visit
www.jacksonholeartauction.com.—
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