On July 27, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction will bring major Western art to the auction block in Reno, Nevada. The 400-lot sale will include selections from the Red McCombs Collection, which features examples by Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, John Clymer and many others. “Between the Red McCombs Collection and the rest of the lots, we are seeing a wide variety of art in this year’s sale. It’s definitely spread out and not overloaded in any particular category,” says auction partner Mike Overby. “[I]t’s a strong sale with really great material throughout.”
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), A “Wind Jammer,” 1896. Oil on canvas, 30 x 18 in. Estimate: $400/600,000
The Remington lots will include an oil, a black-and-white grisaille and two bronzes. A “Wind Jammer,” the oil, with estimates of $400,000 to $600,000, is already generating some buzz from high-level collectors. The grisaille is Boots and Saddles, which shows a group of soldiers preparing to mount their horses. It’s estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. Finally, the bronzes are The Broncho Buster (est. $100/150,000) and The Rattlesnake (est. $200/300,000). Both bronzes are lifetime casts with exceptionally low cast numbers: Broncho Buster is cast No. 33 and The Rattlesnake is cast No. 21.
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Longs Peak, Colorado. Oil on paper mounted on canvas, 14 x 19 in. Estimate: $150/250,000
Russell will be represented in the sale by an even wider range of material: an oil painting, The Ambush (est. $400/600,000); a watercolor and gouache, The Breaks (est. $100/150,000); a watercolor, Bronc Rider (est. $150/250,000); an illustrated letter (est. $80/120,000); and what is certainly Russell’s rarest bronze, The Combat (est. $80/120,000). “We know of two or three casts of The Combat in museums, and one in a private collection, but this is the first time a cast has come up for auction ever. We think there may have been only eight casts ever made,” Overby says. “And there is evidence to suggest we have the very first cast ever finished. That research comes from [early Russell scholar] Fred Renner. It’s a very unique and rare piece.”
Victor Higgins (1884-1949), Taos in Autumn. Oil on canvas, 27 x 30 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
Another highlight from the sale is from former Saturday Evening Post cover illustrator John Clymer, whose work Trader at Pierre’s Hole Rendezvous, a 20-by-40-inch piece estimated at $300,000 to $500,000, will be up for grabs. “I think this one is going to take off. It’s from the Red McCombs Collection and its just quintessential Clymer. These fur trade and rendezvous scenes are some of the best of his paintings, and this one is proof,” Overby says. “I also like it because you can see the Tetons in the background, which puts this in some beautiful country.”
In the category of the Taos Society of Artists, the sale will feature fantastic examples from many of the top artists who trekked to Northern New Mexico during the early 20th century: Eanger Irving Couse, Victor Higgins, Nicolai Fechin, Joseph Henry Sharp, Walter Ufer and William Herbert “Buck” Dunton. Hudson River School artists is another strong area in the sale, with pieces available to collectors from Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran and Thomas Hill.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Monterey Coast, 1920, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $500/750,000
Overby adds that Western art is resilient in the American art market. “One thing we’ve learned over many auctions during all kinds of economies is that Western art is fairly impervious to some of the macro things that happen in the larger economy,” he says. “We see it year after year, and this year we see it again—the market is strong and is still in a steady upswing. It should make for an exciting sale.”
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