On September 13, Jackson Hole Art Auction will kick off its 19th annual fall sale with a huge lineup of artwork, with many of the lots coming from three stunning single-owner collections.
The auction house is also marking a new era after it was purchased in May by a new ownership group that includes Fighting Bear Antiques owner Terry Winchell, investor and art collector Keith Ohnmeis, and investor and business executive Phil Harrington. Working closely with the new owners is Denver-based art advisor Kate Hlavin, who also serves as curator of the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale in Denver.
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Start of the Roundup, 1898. Watercolor on paper, 14½ x 20½ in. Estimate: $180/250,000
Kevin Doyle, managing director of the auction house, says the sale has a massive selection of material available to bidders—around 430 lots, which is nearly 100 more lots than the 2024 sale. “It’s a beast of a catalog. The material, by lot and value, is huge,” he says. “It’s also a more diverse collection of material. In past years, wildlife has been the dominant genre, but Western subjects are the frontrunners this year. Collectors will see a lot of different kinds of material in the sale.”
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Courting Couple at Midnight, 1919. Oil on canvas laid on board, 24 x 19 in. Estimate: $500/700,000
The three collections being offered within the sale are Titans of the American West from KSA Industries, Inc: A Bud Adams Company, featuring art acquired for the corporate collection of Adams, who owned the Tennessee Titans NFL team; the Collection of John D. Rockefeller IV & Sharon P. Rockefeller, which includes paintings acquired by the former senator from West Virginia and his wife; and art and objects from the Estate of H.B. “Tony” Turner, a prominent collector from Arizona.
William De La Montagne Cary (1840-1922), Meeting on the Plains. Oil on canvas, 25 x 44 in. Estimate: $25/45,000
While there are gems in all three collections—especially Gerard Curtis Delano’s The Colorful People (est. $80/120,000) from the Rockefeller collection—the Titans of the American West material should thrill Western collectors. Works from that segment of the sale include pieces by John Cowan, Peter Hurd, Joseph Henry Sharp, Eanger Irving Couse, E. Martin Hennings, O.C. Seltzer and many others. Other highlights from the Adams collection are Charles M. Russell’s watercolor Start of the Roundup (est. $180/250,000), Hennings’ Homeward Bound (Sunset Near Taos) (est. $150/250,000) and William R. Leigh’s Grizzly’s End (est. $300/500,000).
Elsewhere in the sale are works by Bob Kuhn, Carl Rungius, William Herbert “Buck” Dunton, Aiden Lassell Ripley and many others. One non-Western highlight is Norman Rockwell’s Courting Couple at Midnight, a 1919 work estimated at $500,000 to $700,000.
Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896-1969), Springers and Pheasants, 1948. Oil on canvas, 27 x 40 in. Estimate: $80/120,000
The sale will take place during one session on September 13 at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. It will start with the Rockefeller collection, followed by a brief break for lunch and then the remainder of the sale. Bidding will take place on three platforms with Jason Brooks serving as the auctioneer. A preview of material will be available at the auction house’s headquarters on the Jackson Hole Town Square. –
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