Feverish Bidding

Charles M. Russell and Taos Society of Artists members help push the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction above $17 million.

The day most of the bidders arrived in Reno, Nevada, for the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction also happened to be the first day of a new mask mandate issued by the governor of Nevada. If there are bad omens in the auction world, this wasn’t one of them. Bidders simply masked up and soldiered on, and the festive mood that the organizers were aiming for spilled onto the auction floor, to the tune of $17.5 million. Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874-1952), The Domain of Their Ancestors, 1925, oil on canvas, 25 x 30” Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD: $847,000

Not only was the sales total the highest in seven years, it was also the tenth-highest total in more than 35 years as an auction. Partner Mike Overby was overjoyed. “We’re super happy with the results,” he says. “It was better than we were expecting across all categories.”

Bidding was strong in the room, but online and phone bidding were especially hot—perhaps a side effect of the pandemic and some bidders’ reluctance to travel. “We were worried going into the sale that people still weren’t traveling,” Overby adds, “but not only did we have a full live crowd, but the other platforms did exceptional, including the phones and online bidding.”Walter Ufer (1876-1936), Greasewood and Sage, oil on canvas, 25 x 25” Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $665,500

The top lot of the July 31 sale was Charles M. Russell’s Roping a Wolf (est. $1/1.5 million), a 1904 oil that closed at $1.7 million. The work saw sustained bidding that inched it past the $1 million mark. “Roping a Wolf was right in Russell’s prime, so we knew it would take off,” Overby says. Russell had 15 works available, including a number of fantastic illustrated letters, three of which sold more than $100,000. Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), The New Rug, 1917, oil on canvas, 46 x 34” Estimate: $250/350,000
SOLD: $484,000

Another work that generated some fireworks was Oscar E. Berninghaus’ magnificent 1925 oil The Domain of Their Ancestors (est. $400/600,000). The piece, with multiple Native American figures amid a sprawling landscape scene, had generated buzz long before the bidding started. “It’s one of my favorite pieces we’ve ever sold. It was a real once-in-a-lifetime chance because once it sold, you weren’t going to see it available again,” Overby says. “So everyone knew this was their chance, and they bid accordingly.”Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Roping a Wolf, 1904, oil on canvas, 15 x 20” Estimate: $1/1.5 million SOLD: $1,770,000

Other top lots included Walter Ufer’s Greasewood and Sage (est. $300/500,000) that sold for $665,500, Eanger Irving Couse’s The New Rug (est. $250/350,000) that sold for $484,000 and Frederic Remington’s The Borderland of the Other Tribe (est. $200/300,000) that closed for more than $393,000. The most prominent world auction record came from Philip R. Goodwin, whose Hitting the Trail (est. $100/150,000) sold for more than $453,000, blasting past the previous record by nearly $120,000. Another record came from Peter Hurd’s The Eve of St. John (est. $100/150,000) when it sold for $157,000. Other records were set by Herman Hansen and by contemporary wildlife painter Dustin Van Wechel, whose Prairie Dog POV (est. $12/18,000) sold for more than $45,000. —