Curated Choices

Fine examples of Western and American art will be offered in Heritage Auctions’ May sale in Texas

May 16, 2025

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On May 16, Heritage Auctions will host a pair of sales related to American art in Dallas. The star of the day is the American Art Signature Sale, which will feature around 50 works of art that will include Hudson River School works, Golden Age Illustration, sculpture and Western art.

“The 50 lots will be emblematic of American art from throughout the 19th and 20th century,” says Heritage American art specialist Liz Goodridge.

Among the top lots are two Ernie Barnes football works, Sandlot Football (est. $300/500,000) and Hold the Pocket (est. $250/350,000). The pieces, both packed with detail and energy in Barnes’ iconic style, come from the collection of John Mecom, the former owner of the New Orleans Saints NFL team. The pieces were special for the artist—Barnes played professional football in the 1960s.

Ernie Barnes (1938-2009), Sandlot Football, 1983. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 60 in., signed lower right: ‘Ernie Barnes.’ Estimate: $300/500,000

“These works were commissioned from Barnes by Mecom as an homage to Mecom’s legacy in football. Both figures were connected by their love and service to the sport of football,” Goodridge says. “These works are some of Barnes’ finest. Sandlot Football has a lovely rhythm to it as these players sail through the air with these huge gestural movements. It’s a freeze-frame of this suspended tension and fluidity of movement. It feels very human and yet also very still as these figures float in the air.”

J.C. Leyendecker (1874-1951), Diving In, Saturday Evening Post cover, June 8, 1935. Oil on canvas, 31 x 24 in., signed lower right: ‘JCLeyendecker.’ Estimate: $150/250,000

Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), A Scout is Loyal, 1930. Oil on canvas, 33¾ x 43½ in., signed lower right: ‘Norman Rockwell.’ Estimate: To be offered without estimate

Also available is J.C. Leyendecker’s Diving In, a cover of a 1935 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. Heritage has held the Leyendecker world auction record since 2021 when a work sold for $4.1 million—it was the first time a Leyendecker had ever sold at auction for more than $1 million. Diving In is estimated at $150,000 to $250,000.

Another work linked to illustration is Maurice Sendak’s watercolor and ink titled Max Arriving at the Island of Wild Things. The piece, created in 1963, is the first illustration painted for Sendak’s iconic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Not only does the painting show earlier versions of the book’s famous characters, it also shows a full scene that includes the main character, his boat, the Wild Things island and four of the Wild Things. It is estimated at $150,000 to $250,000.

Maurice Sendak (1928-2012), Max Arriving at the Island of Wild Things, Where the Wild Things Are first drawing, 1963. Watercolor and ink on board, 6¼ x 203/8 in. Estimate: $150/250,000

For the second portion of the May 16 sales, Heritage will present an afternoon session titled Property from the BSA Settlement Trust, which features works from the Boy Scouts of America. The works, which are being offered with no reserves or estimates, will directly benefit survivors of childhood sexual abuse. One of the highlights from this segment is Norman Rockwell’s A Scout is Loyal, showing a Boy Scout standing beside the spirit of George Washington. Rockwell created a number of important pieces for the Boy Scouts. —