Under Western Skies

Coeur d’Alene Art Auction achieves $22.1 million in sales in Reno, Nevada.

On July 26, the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction celebrated a 10-year high with sales totaling $22.1 million with a 97 percent sell-through rate across 354 lots. Auction partners were ecstatic. “The secret was great paintings with reasonable estimates—those are the big things, for sure—but also our clientele. Our buyers are always so great, and they love Western art,” says auction partner Mike Overby. “You can see how great they are in the strength of their bidding. They’re the best of the best.”

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Open Range, 1942. Oil on canvas mounted on board, 36 x 40 in. Estimate: $800/1,200,000 SOLD: $2,015,000

The two lots that helped send the July sale into the stratosphere were paintings by Charles M. Russell and Maynard Dixon. The Russell came up first: Roping a Wolf, a 1918 watercolor and gouache estimated at $500,000 to $750,000. In short order, bidding quickly jumped to $1.3 million, easily doubling the high estimate. Twenty-seven lots later came Dixon’s 1942 oil painting Open Range, estimated at $800,000 to $1.2 million. After a flurry of bidding, the hammer fell, closing at just over $2 million. The work was the top lot of the sale.

Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Roping a Wolf, ca. 1918. Gouache and watercolor on paper, 16½ x 24 in. Estimate: $500/750,000 SOLD: $1,325,000

E. Martin Hennings (1886 -1956), Riding Through the Aspens. Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in.

Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $393,250

“The Dixon stole the show, without a doubt. And if there is any artist who deserves it, it’s Dixon, so it doesn’t surprise me the painting went to that level,” Overby says. “You can hang a Dixon in a lodge in Montana or in a penthouse in Los Angeles—the market is deep for Dixon.”

There was another lot to cross $1 million, although much later in the sale: Russell’s 1897 oil The Tenderfoot, with a high estimate of $900,000, sold for nearly $1.1 million.

Oscar Howe (1915-1983), Dancer. Casein on paper, 27 x 15½ in. Estimate: $100/150,000 SOLD: $229,100

Other top lots included Howard Terpning’s Chased by the Devil (est. $400/600,000) that sold for $726,000, the Russell bronze Where the Best of Riders Quit (est. $300/500,000) that sold for $484,000, E. Martin Hennings’ Riding Through the Aspens (est. $300/500,000) that sold for $393,000 and two Philip R. Goodwin paintings that achieved $266,000 and $363,000. Four Oscar Howe modernist paintings also achieved a combined total of $756,000.

One of the top categories in the sale was works from Taos, New Mexico, home to the Taos Society of Artists during the early 20th century. This category was led by Joseph Henry Sharp’s Tale of the Warbonnet (est. $300/500,000) that sold for $423,000. Other artists from the region include Eanger Irving Couse, Walter Ufer, Hennings, Nicolai Fechin, Bert Geer Phillips and Oscar E. Berninghaus.

Eleven world records were set during the sale, including for artists Paul Pletka, Marjorie Red and others. —

Top 12 LOTS

Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, July 26, 2025 (including Buyer’s Premium)
Artist Title Low/High ESt. SOLD
Maynard Dixon Open Range $800/1,200,000 $2,015,000
Charles M. Russell Roping a Wolf $500/750,000 $1,325,000
Charles M. Russell The Tenderfoot $600/900,000 $1,089,000
Howard Terpning Chased by the Devil $400/600,000 $726,000
Charles M. Russell Where the Best of Riders Quit $300/500,000 $484,000
Thomas Moran Coast of Monterey, California $400/600,000 $423,500
Joseph Henry Sharp Tales of the Warbonnet $300/500,000 $423,500
Charles M. Russell The Chase $150/250,000 $423,500
E. Martin Hennings Riding Through the Aspens $300/500,000 $393,250
Philip R. Goodwin An Interrupted Duel $150/250,000 $363,000
Charles M. Russell Meat for Wild Men $300/500,000 $363,000
N.C. Wyeth The Fight in the Peaks $300/500,000 $363,000