Martin Johnson Heade, Western art and landscape painting were the big stars of Sotheby’s Art of the Americas sale on January 24 in New York City. The sale brought in more than $8.7 million in sales with a sell-through rate of 88 percent.

Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Hummingbirds and Gold and Purple Orchids, ca. 1875-1883. Oil on canvas, 14 x 22¼ in., signed lower left. Estimate $1.2/1.8 million SOLD: $2,077,500  

 

The top lot, Heade’s Hummingbirds and Gold and Purple Orchids, sold for $2,077,500, which puts it at the artist’s fourth-best auction record. The work hammered within its estimate of $1.2 million to $1.8 million, but the premium kicked it up out of the range of the estimates. “The Martin Johnson Heade painting was the standout moment of the sale, sparking an intense bidding battle between two determined clients, while others attempted—unsuccessfully—to enter the fray,” says Caroline Seabolt, auction specialist in the American art department at Sotheby’s.

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Yosemite, ca. 1865. Oil on canvas, 20½ x 30¼ in., signed lower right. Estimate: $700/1,000,000 SOLD: $780,000

 

Seabolt also notes that Western art performed exceptionally well. “For the first time, we presented Western art in a dedicated auction session, and it proved to be a tremendous success, achieving a 93 percent sell-through rate by lot,” she says. “Overall, the sale was 88 percent sold by lot—the highest sell-through rate since the sale’s inception—demonstrating both the strength of this category and the market’s continued resilience.”

Standouts from the Western category include Albert Bierstadt’s Yosemite (est. $700/1,000,000) that sold for $780,000, Henry Farny’s The Happy Days of Long Ago (est. $500/700,000) that finished at $780,000 and Frederic Remington’s 1900 cast of The Broncho Buster (est. $250/350,000) that soared to $576,000. Other top Western lots were by Eanger Irving Couse, Charles Bird King, John Clymer, Cyrus Dallin, Tom Lovell and Gerald Cassidy, whose Navajo with a Lightning Pattern Blanket (est. $8/12,000) sold more than four times over the high estimate when it closed at $50,000.

Henry Farny (1847-1916), The Happy Days of Long Ago, 1912. Oil on canvas, 33 x 23 in., signed and dated. Estimate: $500/700,000 SOLD: $780,000

 

“Frederic Remington’s Broncho Buster, a superb cast by the Henry Bonnard Bronze Company, performed as expected, drawing strong competition as it consistently does at auction,” Seabolt says. “Multiple bidders drove the final price to $576,000—well above its pre-sale estimate of $250,000 to $350,000.”

Non-Western artists with strong results include Norman Rockwell, Sanford Robinson Gifford, Edwin D. White, Francis Augustus Silva, Ralph Albert Blakelock and Thomas Moran, who was represented in the sale by one of his famous Venice harbor scenes.

Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Broncho Buster, 1900. Bronze, 23 in., inscribed with foundry mark: ‘Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co N-Y 1898.’ Estimate: $250/350,000 SOLD: $576,000

 

“The results reaffirm that the highest-quality works—such as those by Heade, Farny, and Remington—will always attract strong demand,” Seabolt adds. “Additionally, they signal a shift in buyer expectations, with collectors now looking to the January sales as the key moment for 19th-century American art, aligning with [Sotheby’s] Visions of America as the ideal platform for both this material and Western art.” —

Top 10 LOTS

Sotheby’s Art of the Americas, January 24, 2025 (including Buyer’s Premium)
Artist    Title    Low/High ESt.    SOLD
Martin Johnson Heade     Hummingbirds and Gold and Purple     $1.2/1.8 million    $2,077,500
Albert Bierstadt    Yosemite    $700/1,00,000    $780,000
Henry Farny     The Happy Days of Long Ago    $500/700,000    $780,000
Frederic Remington    The Broncho Buster    $250/350,000    $576,000
Norman Rockwell    Tender Years: Moth Holes    $500/700,000    $540,000
Eanger Irving Couse    Twilight, Taos Pueblo    $400/600,000    $384,000
Charles Bird King    Wakechai (Crouching Eagle)    $150/250,000    $243,000
Albert Bierstadt    Sunrise on the Matterhorn    $200/300,000    $228,000
John Clymer     Long Cold Winter    $60/80,000    $204,000
Martin Grelle    Apsáalooke Horse Hunters    $120/180,000    $192,000

Powered by Froala Editor