On July 26, the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction returns to Reno, Nevada. The sale will feature more than 350 lots, the vast majority of which are from the popular genre of Western art.
For auction partner Mike Overby, the sale speaks to the reliability and growing popularity of Western art, which has roots in 19th-century artist-explorers who ventured into the American frontier and recorded their journeys in watercolor, drawings and paintings. The art moved from paintings of Native Americans and landscapes to images of cowboys and cattle, and then depictions of the Southwest and its people. Some of the greatest American artists worked within the genre, and many will be featured in the sale. “We have 350 lots and we’re right where we want to be—with some truly remarkable artwork from many of the greats,” Overby says. “It was exciting watching all this art roll in from some of the best consignors in the country.”
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Open Range, 1942. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 36 x 40 in. Estimate: $800/1,200,000
Overby adds that he’s expecting to see many new bidders for the sale, which will extend an upward trend he has been witnessing for many years. Another curious thing the auction house has taken note of is the fluid collecting habits of many buyers. “We get collectors at both the high-end and middle range, and we see them both intermixing art collections together. They may have an Edwad Hopper, but then a Walter Ufer right next to it,” he says. “These clients may have a home in New York and a place in Wyoming or Montana. They used to buy Eastern art for their New York homes and Western art for their homes out west. But now we regularly see them sending Western art to New York, and their Hoppers to Wyoming. They see Western art as American art because it’s the story of our country, our history. And it also happens to be great art.”
E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), Riding Through the Aspens. Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
William R. Leigh (1866-1955), Land of the Navajos, 1948. Oil on canvas, 45 x 60 in. Estimate: $400/600,000
One important highlight from the sale is Maynard Dixon’s 1942 oil painting Open Range, showing a cowboy under classic Dixon-style clouds. The 40-inch work is estimated at $800,000 to $1.2 million. If the work sells for more than $1 million, it will be among four other Dixons that have sold at seven figures. Coeur d’Alene Art Auction holds the top two records for the artist, including a $2.1 million sale from 2023. “Open Range is one of the best Dixons he ever did. The size, subject, the figure, the buttes, the clouds…everything you could ever want is here,” Overby says. “If you asked AI to create a quintessential Dixon, it would be this painting.”
Charles M. Russell, a frequent top-seller at the Reno sale, will have four major works in for bidders: the 1903 gouache and watercolor Meat for Wild Men (est. $300/500,000), the gouache and watercolor Roping a Wolf (est. $500/750,000), a watercolor from around 1906 titled The Chase (est. $150/250,000), and the 1897 oil The Tenderfoot (est. $600/900,000). All of them show classic Russell subjects that should draw considerable attention from top bidders.
Edgar Payne (1883-1947), The Topmost Sierra, Oil on canvas ,43 x 43 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Roping a Wolf, ca. 1918. Gouache and watercolor on paper, 16½ x 24 in. Estimate: $500/750,000
Taos, New Mexico, will be represented with a stunning collection of work from the members of the Taos Society of Artists. Works by four of the six founders of the group will be in the sale, as well as paintings by a number of later members, including E. Martin Hennings, who will be represented in the sale with three magnificent Taos paintings that show Native American subjects amid pristine landscapes. The top Hennings is Riding Through the Aspens, with estimates set at $300,000 to $500,000. Another top Taos piece is Joseph Henry Sharp’s Tales of the Warbonnet, also estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. Others are Eanger Irving Couse’s The Hunter (est. $80/120,000), Oscar E. Berninghaus’ Sleepy, Mid-Day (est. $150/250,000), Bert Geer Phillips’ A Taos Pueblo Man and His Pony (est. $150/250,000) and Walter Ufer’s The Washerwoman (est. $200/300,000).
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), Tales of the Warbonnet. Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
Oscar Howe (1915-1983), Dawn Rider, 1966. Casein on paper, 21½ x 17½ in. Estimate: $150/250,000
“This is the best Taos collection we have had in years. The Hennings, the Sharp, the Ufer—they are all really special pieces,” Overby says. “The Phillips has a chance of being the sleeper hit of the sale. It’s hands down the best Phillips paintings we’ve seen.”
Moving over to California, the Golden State can be seen in works such as Edgar Payne’s The Topmost Sierra (est. $300/500,000) and Thomas Moran’s Coast of Monterey, California (est. $400/600,000). Arizona is featured in William R. Leigh’s large painting Land of the Navajos (est. $400/600,000), with a single figure above a flock of sheep. “This Leigh is easily one of his top five masterpieces—a true grand prize with great coloration, great size, great everything,” Overby says. “You stand in front of it and your jaw hits the floor.”
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Coast of Monterey, California, 1912. Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in. Estimate: $400/600,000
Other historic artists represented in the auction are LaVerne Nelseon Black, Edward Borein, John Clymer, Gerard Curtis Delano, Nicolai Fechin, Oscar Howe, E. William Gollings, Philip R. Goodwin, Thomas Hill, Bob Kuhn, N.C. Wyeth and Birger Sandzén.
The sale famously takes place during one single marathon session at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno. A preview party will take place the night before, on July 25. —
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