A Storied Sale

Bonhams’ August 4 sale of the Diane and Sam Stewart Collection achieved a total of more than $5 million.

On August 4, Bonhams hosted the sale Portrait of the West: The Diane and Sam Stewart Collection, which included 102 lots of remarkable historic and contemporary Western works. The collection was carefully curated over several decades and included standouts by Taos Society of Artists members, modern imagery from past masters and pieces highlighting women of the West. From the start of the sale there was an energy to the bids coming in the showroom, by phone, absentee and online, making for a competitive atmosphere. In all, the sale achieved $5,035,768 with 94 percent sold by lot, and nearly 90 percent sold by value.E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), Indian Horsemen, ca. 1925, oil on canvas, 36 x 40” Estimate: $600/800,000 SOLD: $918,313

“What was special about the collection was there are very few pure cowboy subjects,” says Katherine Halligan, director of Western art at Bonhams. “It’s not a Russell- or Remington-based collection. It was quite different from that, and people did respond and it resonated. The direction that Western art is going in terms of a broader thinking about inclusion and diversity [was represented in this collection]. It was cutting-edge in that regard.”William Herbert “Buck” Dunton (1878-1936), Delivering the Mail, ca. 1915, oil on canvas, 30 x 25” Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $525,313

The top lot of the sale was E. Martin Hennings’ Indian Horsemen, which was first offered by the auction house in 2003 when Diane Stewart purchased the piece. “To have it again was exciting,” explains Halligan. The work was estimated to sell between $600,000 and $800,000, but presale interest in the work coupled with excited bidding during the sale pushed it to a sales price of $918,313.William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955), The Sand Painter, 1951, oil on canvas, 25 x 30½” Estimate: $150/250,000 SOLD: $212,813

William Herbert “Buck” Dunton’s Delivering the Mail (est. $150/250,000) was a special piece, depicting a cowgirl who was also a postal worker. “This was a timely painting for where we are in the world right now, and we were so excited to offer it,” shares Halligan. “People really responded to the female figure in it.” The painting, which has a gorgeous nocturne glow, achieved $525,313.Maynard Dixon (1875), Land Westward, 1936-45, oil on canvas, 25 x 30” Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $350,313

Classic imagery from Maynard Dixon, William Robinson Leigh, Walter Ufer, Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt and Eanger Irving Couse also performed well in the auction. In particular, Couse had two pieces in the top 10 lots: Firelight, Outside and Watching, which both sold within estimates at $175,313 each. A collection of seven woodblocks by Gustave Baumann, offered individually, all found buyers, including Processional, which sold for $20,312. —