Serendipity

A nearly complete collection of Cowboy Artists of America catalogs is being offered by Bonhams in Los Angeles.

On November 25, Bonhams will be offering selections from the Eddie Basha Collection at a live auction in Los Angeles. Basha, the famous Arizona entrepreneur and public figure, was a devoted collector of works by members of the Cowboy Artists of America. Complete collection of limited edition Cowboy Artists of America annual exhibition catalogues published by the Northland Press, 1971-2000. 30 volumes, each one of 100 or one of 150 copies, signed by the artists involved, most with slip cases. With 37 additional softcover Cowboy Artists of America annual exhibition catalogues, 1966-2000. Estimate: $3/5,000

So it came as a pleasant surprise when Kathy Wong, a specialist at Bonhams, discovered in a box of books being processed by the auction house a complete collection (from 1966 to 2000) of limited edition CAA annual exhibition catalogs, including a pamphlet from the 1966 show, which was the group’s first exhibition.

“The lot of books was unrelated to the Bashas Collection, but it was quite serendipitous to find these materials in it,” Wong says. “It’s a really great thing to see. And the voice of the pamphlet is so earnest. It’s neat because they had no idea when they were putting this together it would be so enduring. There’s such a casual tone in all of it, especially with Charlie Dye. You get the sense this was just a bunch of guys getting together to have a good time.”A 1966 pamphlet for the first Cowboy Artists of American annual exhibition.

Dye’s bio, presumably written by him or his wife, reads: “Charlie Dye—known as the King of Cowboy Artists, was born in Colorado some 60 years ago. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute and the American Academy, and spent many years as a misplaced cowboy in the East, illustrating for major publications such as Saturday Evening Post, Argosy and American Weekly. Charlie and Mary Dye now live near Sedona on Kachina Heights, ’mid the pines and junipers. Here in his unpretentious studio, filled with an assortment of cowboy and Indian gear, Charlie Dye turns out some of the finest Western art to be found anywhere.”

The books will be sold as one lot, which includes 30 hardcover volumes (1971-2000), many autographed and with slip cases, and an additional 37 softcover volumes (1966-2000).

The lot will be available during the California and Western Art auction on November 25 at 6 p.m. in Los Angeles. The Eddie Basha Collection: A Selection of Western American Art will take place earlier that day, with bidding starting at noon. For more information, visit www.bonhams.com. —