Fans of Western art—and this includes museum curators, auction specialists and gallery owners—will often cite the historical importance of art from the American West. It is the most purely American art form, they will say. Varieties of impressionism, for example, can pop up anywhere around the world, but Western art is unique to only a handful of states west of the Mississippi River. Looking at the work available at the upcoming Scottsdale Art Auction, it’s easy to see why this is a popular opinion in Western circles. 

The two-session sale, held on April 11 and 12, will feature around 450 lots, the vast majority of them are works showing the American West, from early exploration in the 1800s to contemporary cowboys in present-day cattle country. For auction partner Brad Richardson, Western art is the primary material he handles, and he expects this year to be an exceptional year for buyers and sellers. 

Thomas Moran (1837-1926), On the Hance Trail – Grand Canyon. Oil, 14½ x 20 in. Estimate: $750/1,000,000

 

“I think there’s a general optimism right now in the market, and that optimism will carry through to our sale,” he says. “It always helps to have great examples from many of the best artists, which our sale will have. We have important works on both the historic side and on the contemporary side with living artists.”

On the historic side, one of the top highlights is Thomas Moran’s On the Hance Trail – Grand Canyon, estimated at $750,000 to $1 million. Moran’s Grand Canyon paintings are some of the most treasured works within American landscape painting, so buzz is already building on this work, Richardson says. The artist painted a great deal from the South Rim, but this work goes deeper into the canyon, on a trail blazed by John Hance, who first entered in the canyon in 1883. 

Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874-1952), The Edge of the Foothills. Oil on board, 24¼ x 30¼ in. Estimate: $175/275,000

 

Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Navajo Wild Horse Hunters. Gouache on paper, 13½ x 18½ in. Estimate: $300/500,000

 

Highlights in the sale will also include a number of examples from Taos Society of Artists members. One early highlight is Oscar E. Berninghaus’ The Edge of the Foothills, which shows several Native American figures in the shade of an unseen ridge as remarkable light drenches a valley beneath them. The painting is estimated at $175,000 to $275,000. Other works from TSA members are Eanger Irving Couse’s An Offering to the Great Spirit (sometimes titled as Pipe Ceremony) (est. $400/600,000), Joseph Henry Sharp’s Cheyenne Camp (est. $175/275,000) and pieces by Julius Rolshoven and Victor Higgins. 

Charles M. Russell, often cited as the quintessential Western artist, will be represented in the sale by several pieces, one of them Navajo Wild Horse Hunters (est. $300/500,000), a gouache work inspired by a 1916 trip to Northern Arizona.

Henry Farny (1847-1916), Nomads. Oil, 22 x 40 in. Estimate: $900/1,200,000

 

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Shadow Side. Oil on board, 12 x 16 in. Estimate: $30/50,000

 

The sale will also have several Edward Borein works from the Will Rogers Collection. Rogers, the actor and performer, was given the pieces by the artist and then, years later, Rogers selected the pieces for his personal collection before he deeded his ranch, barn and property to the state of California for what became the Will Rogers State Historic Park. Sadly, the Palisades Fire destroyed the ranch, barn and much of the art collection in January 2025. The Borein pieces in the sale represent some of the last surviving works from the Will Rogers Collection. 

Another prominent collector is represented in the sale with the A.P. Hays collection of Maynard Dixon materials. Hays was an avid fan of Dixon and had, throughout his lifetime, owned several of his most famous works. This collection of Dixons will number around 60 pieces and they range from drawings to color studies to finished oil paintings. Three noteworthy pieces from this section of the sale are Campo Santo Study (est. $10/15,000), Shadow Side (est. $30/50,000) and Walls of Walpi (est. $75/125,000). Many of the Hays pieces are included Donald Hagerty’s 2010 book The Art of Maynard Dixon. Hays, a long-time fixture in Western art circles, died in January after he consigned the works to the sale. 

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Walls of Walpi. Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in. Estimate: $75/125,000

 

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Campo Santo Study. Gouache, 5 x 6 in. Estimate: $10/15,000

 

Other lots in the sale include Henry Farny’s important 1902 painting Nomads (est. $900/1,200,000), Frank Tenney Johnson’s nocturne canyon painting Lone Rider (est. $225/300,000) and Fritz Scholder’s Indians and Persian Rug (est. $100/150,000). Additional artists with works available are Charles Schreyvogel, Gerard Curtis Delano, Edgar Payne, Carl Oscar Borg, John Clymer and Philip R. Goodwin, whose iconic work The Northwood King – Calling the Moose (est. $375/475,000) will be offered.

Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939), Lone Rider. Oil, 24 x 29 in. Estimate: $225/300,000

 

Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), Cheyenne Camp. Oil, 25 x 30 in. Estimate: $175/275,000

 

The first session of the sale will take place at 12:30 p.m. on April 11. The next day, April 12, bidding will start on Hays’ Maynard Dixon collection at 10 a.m. followed by a short break and then the second session will begin. Bidding will be live in the room, with additional options online, by telephone and through absentee bidding. —

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