On January 24, Sotheby’s kicks off Visions of America, a series of auctions, exhibitions and programming that highlight American craftsmanship at its finest, with Art of the Americas, Featuring the American West. The live sale will feature roughly 100 lots of important American paintings, drawings, photography and sculpture that celebrate prominent artists of American, Canadian and Latin American descent, with a focus on 19th-century landscapes, still lifes, portraiture and historical subject matter. One of the two-session sales is dedicated specifically to Western art, and includes works by Frederic Remington, Albert Bierstadt, Eanger Irving Couse and many others whose illustrations and sculptures embody the American West.
Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Hummingbirds and Gold and Purple Orchids, ca. 1875-83. Oil on canvas 14 by 22¼ in. Estimate: $1.2/1.8 million
“Many of our consignments this season are distinctly Western in theme, and we look forward to celebrating that fact through a dedicated Western art session in this year’s American sale,” explains Sotheby’s associate specialist Katie Maher. “There is certainly demand for American Western material and overlap between collectors of traditional 19th-century material and those seeking distinctly Western themes—which became apparent in January 2024 with our single-owner sale Western Art and Design from Bar Cross Ranch, Wyoming, which saw strong results for Thomas Moran, George Catlin and many of the leading names in American Western art.”
Francis Augustus Silva (1835-1886), The Catskills from the Hudson, 1880. Oil on canvas, 20 x 40 in. Estimate: $40/60,000
One of the star lots in the non-Western category is Martin Johnson Heade’s Hummingbirds and Gold and Purple Orchids, which is estimated to achieve between $1.2 and $1.8 million. “Heade’s pairings of orchids and hummingbirds are among his most revered subjects, highlighting the artist’s deep appreciation for his natural environment during his travels to South America,” notes Maher. “We are also thrilled to bring to market The Bride of Spring by Edmonia Lewis, who is an American sculptor of Black and Native American heritage. During last year’s iteration of this sale, we sold a Lewis marble titled Hiawatha’s Marriage for $1.6 million, and it is great to see such emerging demand for female artists of color in the American category and beyond.” The Lewis in this year’s sale has a low estimate of $300,000.
Severin Roesen (1816-1872), Fruit Still Life. Oil on canvas, 36 x 50 in. Estimate: $30/50,000
Edmonia Lewis (1844-1907), The Bride of Spring, 1879. Marble, 48 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
In addition to American paintings, the sales that comprise Visions of America will showcase American furniture, folk art, silver, whiskey, books and much more. Maher adds, “I personally always appreciate the creativity it affords us in terms of exhibiting American paintings alongside furniture from the Americana sale, which allows collectors to better envision how these artworks could exist in their own homes.” —
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