Exterior view of Freeman’s Auction.

 

Morgan Martin, Senior Specialist Freeman’s 

Despite economic headwinds, the American art market, particularly the Western art market, remains strong with a buyer appetite for quality and a good story. Works with an interesting or storied history, ideally fresh to market, drive buyers to sit up and pay attention. For example, see the Gertrude Abercrombie my colleagues sold last week to achieve a new global auction record for the artist, which had not been seen for decades and was found at a garage sale for $30. Additionally, works coming from esteemed collections attract buyers, as they add a sense of gravitas, such as the collection of Sydney and Sharon Martin we are offering on November 3rd. Private collectors remain the primary drivers in the market, though institutions have been filling holes in collections, and they often need more runway for board approval than in the past.

In the Western segment of the market, bronzes have been doing very well of late, with buyers looking for works by the masters of the medium, such as Frederic Remington, Henry Shrady and Charles Russell, and contemporary artists, such as Allan Houser, Harry Jackson and Fred Fellows. Works from the Taos School have long been favorites of the category, and I expect the Joseph Henry Sharp we have slated for our December 8th sale to do very well. Precisionist landscapes, such as those by Ed Mell, Billy Schenck and Logan Hagege, are doing very well, as they add depth to any collection and fit in well with almost any architecture.

Taryn Boals is a great artist who I suspect will become a household name for Western srt. She was featured at Young Guns last year, and I think her recent en grisaille series is iconic imagery.

Freeman’s Auction
1550 West Carroll Avenue, Chicago, IL 60607
www.freemansauction.com

Powered by Froala Editor