Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and Frank Tenney Johnson are three of the most exciting names in the Western art world. Their pieces frequently garner six figures at auction, and their work is sought-after by collectors for its classic, romanticized imagery of the American West. During Sotheby’s November 19 American Art auction paintings by all three artists—and many other notables associated with the genre—helped push the day’s total to more than $20 million.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Round-up, ca. 1888, oil on canvas, 25⅞ x 20½” Estimate: $600/800,000 SOLD $740,000
Leading the Western art segment was Remington’s The Round-up, a bucking bronco painting that first became known to scholars of the artist in 1997 when it arrived to auction. This being only the second time the work has become available, it sold just shy of its $800,000 high presale estimate at $740,000.
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Lewis and Clark Meeting the Mandans (Lewis and Clark Expedition), 1897, oil en grisaille on board, 18⅛ x 24¼” Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD $500,000
Two grisaille oils by Russell, both painted in 1897 at the height of the artist’s career, were of particular note in the sale. These monochromatic images not only highlighted Russell’s skill at painting, but some of the iconic imagery for which he became recognized. Lewis and Clark Meeting the Mandans (Lewis and Clark Expedition) sold for $500,000, while Before the White Man Came (Indian Game Hunt) brought $375,000. Both pieces had presale estimates of $400,000 to $600,000. A third work by Russell, The Stage Ahead of Us Had Been Attacked by Indians and Burned (Indian Attack) sold for $225,000, coming in a hair below its estimate of $250,000 to $350,000.
Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939), Girl and Cowboy, oil on canvas, 36 x 24¼” Estimate: $70/100,000 SOLD $106,250
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Before the White Man Came (Indian Game Hunt), 1897, oil en grisaille on board, 18 x 24⅜”
Estimate: $400/600,00 SOLD $375,000
Johnson is widely celebrated for his nocturnal scenes, with his painting in the sale, Girl and Cowboy (est. $70/100,000), being no different. In this nighttime image, with a blue glow, a woman stands alongside a cowboy on his horse at a train yard looking at him longingly. The painting achieved $106,250. —Top 10 Lots: Sotheby’s, American Art, November 19, 2019 (including buyer’s premium)
Artist Title Low /High Estimate SOLD
Maxfield Parrish Mill Pond $600/800,000 $2,420,000
Maxfield Parrish Cleopatra $800/1,200,000 $2,300,000
Milton Avery Homework $1.5/2.5 million $1,580,000
Frederic Edwin Church South American Landscape $1.5/2.5 million $1,580,000
Georgia O’Keeffe Anthurium $1.5/2.5 million $1,364,000
Georgia O’Keeffe My Backyard $400/600,000 $1,340,000
Norman Rockwell Boy Hiding Under Couch Sneezing (The Sneezing Spy) $600/800,000 $920,000
Fredric Remington The Round-up $600/800,000 $740,000
Maxfield Parrish Giant with Jack at His Feet (Poems of Childhood) $400/600,000 $740,000
Albert Bierstadt Estes Park, Colorado $500/700,000 $548,000
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