It all comes down to quality when it comes to auctions. The best material brings in the best collectors. And, as they say, a rising tide lifts all boats. So when an auction has top-quality works from the best artists—works by Howard Terpning, John Clymer or Bob Kuhn, for example—it usually attracts great material at those mid- and lower-tier levels as well, which brings in even more bidders. It’s a circle that benefits all bidders and consigners, and the market soars. 
Howard Terpning, Awaiting the Signal, 1996, oil on canvas, 42 x 28” Estimate: $500/700,000
This scenario is very familiar to Kevin Doyle, a partner and the managing director at the Jackson Hole Art Auction. Doyle has spent the past year, his first with the auction house, watching the market and other auctions that feature Western art. The common thread he’s seen is the quality of the material.
“When the work is great the demand is always there,” he says. “Whether it’s in Scottsdale or in major sales in New York City, the quality of the work is always key. And that’s what’s exciting about our sale, and what makes us optimistic, is the material we’re getting is really, really strong.”
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), Register Rock, Idaho, 1891, oil on canvas, 17 x 27¾” Estimate: $200/300,000
Not only does this year’s Jackson Hole Art Auction have pieces by Terpning, Clymer and Kuhn, it has phenomenal works from each of them, as well as important works from dozens of other top artists. The pieces should thrill bidders as they come into Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the scenery, the wildlife and the art events related to the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival, which closes with the auction on September 16 and 17 at the Center for the Arts, a short walk from the famous town square.
Highlights in this year’s 300-lot sale include Terpning’s 1996 oil painting Awaiting the Signal, estimated at $500,000 to $700,000. The image, showing two Native American riders in a loosely painted nature scene, comes on the heels of a major Terpning that was at the 2021 auction that sold for $1.4 million. “Awaiting the Signal is fresh to the market and has never been offered before,” Doyle says. “Terpning works always have a high demand, so this one should be exciting.”
James Bama (1926-2022), Descendant of Black Elk, 1987, oil on board, 20 x 24” Estimate: $30/50,000
William Gollings (1878-1932), Summer Camp, 1931, oil on canvas, 29 x 22” Estimate: $200/300,000
Another likely showstopper is Alfred Jacob Miller’s Indian Shooting a Cougar, an action scene from one of the earliest Western painters. Miller’s paintings are in major collections around the world, and works of this magnitude are rare to the market. The auction will offer it with estimates of $500,000 to $700,000. The last time the piece was on the market was at the 2014 Jackson Hole Art Auction, “so we’re happy to once again offer this to collectors,” Doyle says.
Another important piece available to bidders is William Gollings’ 1931 oil Summer Camp, a work estimated at $200,000 to $300,000. Gollings’ cowboy and Native American paintings have had a hot streak at auction, and it looks to continue with this marvelous example with its incredible light and subject matter. 
G. Harvey (1933-2017), One of Those Days, oil on canvas, 24 x 30” Estimate: $60/90,000
Bob Kuhn (1920-2007), A Walk on the Tundra – Grizzly Bears and Ptarmigans, acrylic on board, 20 x 30” Estimate: $100/150,000Wildlife always plays a strong role in the sale, and this year will be no exception with major works by a number of important wildlife artists. Several Kuhn highlights include African subject matter in Screening the Big Bull (est. $25/35,000), bighorn sheep in Settlin’ In (est. $35/55,000) and A Walk on the Tundra – Grizzly Bears (est. $100/150,000). Other wildlife works include Wilhelm Kuhnert’s A Stern Glance (est. $20/30,000), Carl Rungius’ moose painting Challenge (est. $70/100,000), Tucker Carlson’s bear work Silver Tip (est. $45/65,000), Ken Carlson’s Age Old Trails (est. $20/30,000) and three works by Robert Bateman, including two African subjects.
“As with previous years of the sale, we are certainly strong in wildlife,” Doyle says. “Surrounded by all this great wildlife in Wyoming, this is an amazing place to buy these kinds of works.”
Tucker Smith, Silver Tip, oil on canvas, 24 x 32” Estimate: $45/65,000
John Clymer (1907-1989), When Evening Comes, 1980, oil on canvas, 24 x 48” Estimate: $150/250,000
James Bama will have three great examples in the sale: the portrait Descendent of Black Elk (est. $30/50,000), the still life work Old Army Colt (est. $15/25,000) and the Western scene Ox Team Driver (est. $20/30,000). Bama, a longtime Wyoming resident, passed way in April. His career took him from pulp magazines to Western illustration and then eventually Western fine art. 
Bob Kuhn (1920-2007), Settlin’ In, acrylic on board, 8 x 14” Estimate: $35/55,000
Another Wyoming painter featured in the sale is illustrator John Clymer, whose 1980 easel work When Evening Comes will be offered with estimates of $150,000 to $250,000. Another illustrator-turned-artist in the sale is Dean Cornwell, who will be represented in the auction by Confrontation (est. $15/25,000), showing a group of men an instant before violence erupts. 
Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874), Indian Shooting a Cougar, oil on canvas, 24 x 19¾” Estimate: $500/700,000
Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), The Eagle Dance, oil on canvas, 24 x 29” Estimate: $150/250,000
Elsewhere in the sale is Frederic Remington’s Register Rock, Idaho (est. $200/300,000), Kenneth Riley’s modernist Native American painting In Mysterious Lodges (est. $80/120,000), an untitled Tom Lovell work showing a mountain man and Native American dancers (est. $40/60,000), G. Harvey’s rainy cowboy scene One of Those Days (est. $60/90,000), Eanger Irving Couse’s The Eagle Dance (est. $150/250,000) and three works by Martin Grelle.
In addition to artwork, the auction will also be offering decorative objects and furniture, including an impressive collection of Thomas C. Molesworth furniture. —
Jackson Hole Art Auction
September 16-17, 2022, noon
Center for the Arts, 265 S. Cache Street, Jackson, WY 83001
(866) 549-9278, www.jacksonholeartauction.com
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