Packed House

The Coeur d’Alene Art auction saw high attendance and increased registration for its $17.5 million sale

Cowboy hats, bucking horses, grizzly attacks, buffalo hunts—Western art was king at the annual Coeur d’Alene Art Auction on July 27 in Reno, Nevada. The sale achieved more than $17.5 million in sales with a 93 percent sell-through rate.

Philip R. Goodwin (1881-1935), Dangerous Sport. Oil on canvas, 40 x 28 in. Estimate: $250/350,000 SOLD: $786,500The works were offered in a marathon sale that included more than 400 lots. Bidding can go on for hours, and the event has become a rite of passage for art collectors who wait patiently for their lots to come up. Despite its length and long runtime, the chairs are full. And this year, they had to add more. “It’s always hard to tell how many chairs we’ll need by the reception on Friday, simply because so many people come in just for the sale on Saturday,” says Mike Overby, a partner at the auction house. “So when we have to add several more rows of chairs that’s amazing to see because it means the action in the room could get exciting. And it did.”

William R. Leigh (1866-1955), Embarrassed (Range Pony in Town), ca. 1910. Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $600/900,000 SOLD: $665,500

The chairs didn’t lie—the sale was thrilling for many bidders. “We’re feeling good after the sale. It was fabulous. The live crowd was great, but so was the online crowd. Bidding was strong all around,” Overby says. “Online bidding was up 20 percent, and almost a third of the sale sold to online bidders. We had great bidders.”

The top lot was Philip R. Goodwin’s classic hunting scene Dangerous Sport, which had a high estimate of $350,000. The lot doubled that amount when it sold for $786,000. It’s now the second-highest-selling Goodwin at auction, below a $968,000 piece the auction house sold in 2022. “The market really has been strong for Goodwin. He was the best sporting illustrator out there so, in some ways, his prices are still way too low,” Overby says. “I think we’re going to keep seeing these works do well.”

Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), The Ambush. Oil on canvas, 18½ x 29½ in. Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD: $605,000Other top lots include three Howard Terpning paintings that sold for a combined total of $1.3 million. The top Terpning was Army Mules No More (est. $600/900,000), a 1981 work that sold for $514,000. Terpning, who lives in Southern Arizona, worked closely with Haddon Sundblom, Gil Elvgren and other important illustrators before he left illustration to become a Western painter. Frederic Remington had two pieces in the top 10 lots: The Rattlesnake bronze (est. $200/300,000) sold for $484,000 and the oil painting A “Wind Jammer” (est. $400/600,000) sold for $350,000.

Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Rattlesnake. Bronze, 24¼ x 17¼ x 13 in. Estimate: $200/300,000 SOLD: $484,000

Other artists who performed well were William R. Leigh, Charles M. Russell, Thomas Moran, John Clymer, Tom Lovell, Thomas Hill and Frank Tenney Johnson.

Top 10 LOTS

Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, July 27, 2024 (including buyer’s premium)

Artist | Title | Low/High Est. | SOLD

Philip R. Goodwin | Dangerous Sport | $250/350,000 | $786,500

William R. Leigh | Embarrassed (Range Pony in Town) | $600/900,000 | $665,500

Charles M. Russell | The Ambush | $400/600,000 | $605,000

Howard Terpning | Army Mules No More | $600/900,000 | $514,250

Frederic Remington | The Rattlesnake | $200/300,000 | $484,000

Howard Terpning | Lady of the House | $500/750,000 | $484,000

Thomas Moran | Monterey Coast | $500/750,000 | $453,750

Frederic Remington | A “Wind Jammer” | $400/600,000 | $350,900

John Clymer | Trader at Pierre’s Hole Rendezvous | $300/500,000 | $332,750