Auction houses are very accommodating to bidders who can’t attend a sale in person. This accommodation comes in the form of absentee, phone and internet bidding. It’s easier than ever to bid on art. And yet sometimes being in the room has its benefits, including feeding off the energy and excitement, which is something noticed by partners of the Scottsdale Art Auction, held April 14 and 15 in Arizona.
John Clymer (1907-1989), Welcoming the Trade Boat, oil, 30 x 60” Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $555,750
“We had a very active room with consistent bidding throughout the sale,” says Scottsdale Art Auction partner Brad Richardson. “We set out 450 chairs and they were almost all full, with people even standing in the back. We are very pleased to see people there in the room as they participate in the action.”
Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), Taos Love Call, oil, 34 x 46” Estimate: $300/500,000 SOLD: $702,000
The sale realized more than $13.8 million with a 98 percent sell-through rate. The top lot was Oscar E. Berninghaus’ The Hunters, Taos,which soared over its $1.25 million high estimate when it sold for $1.56 million. The work nudged past Berninghaus’ previous auction record of $1.47 million set in 2008.
Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874-1952), The Hunters, Taos, oil, 35 x 40” Estimate: $750/1,250,000 SOLD: $1,562,000
Other top lots included works by Berninghaus’ colleagues in the Taos Society of Artists, including Eanger Irving Couse, whose work Taos Love Call sold at $702,000, well over its $500,000 high estimate, and Joseph Henry Sharp, whose painting Houses Where the Penitentes Live sold for $234,000, plenty over its $150,000 high estimate.
“The Taos Founders artwork held up extremely well,” says Richardson. “They always do very well for us, but these pieces were some of the stars of the sale.”
Martin Grelle, Meat Seekers at the Teewinot, oil, 44 x 58” Estimate: $150/200,000 SOLD: $386,100
John Clymer had two major works in the sale, including Welcoming the Trade Boat (est. $300/500,000) which sold for $555,750. G. Harvey also had numerous works in the auction, of which two ended up in the top 10 lots: Snowflakes (est. $75/100,000) sold for $292,500 and Breaking Cabin Fever (est. $100/150,000) sold for $257,400.
Edgar Payne (1883-1947), Riders in Canyon de Chelly, oil, 25 x 30” Estimate: $200/300,000 SOLD: $280,800
Living artists who did well include John Coleman, whose auction record for a single piece was broken when Gall, Sitting Bull & Crazy Horse, 1876 sold for $245,000, nearly triple its $85,000 high estimate. Others were Logan Maxwell Hagege, Ed Mell, Mark Maggiori, Z.S. Liang, Howard Terpning, Kyle Polzin and Martin Grelle, whose Meat Seekers at the Teewinot (est. $150/200,000) sold for $386,100.
G. Harvey (1933-2017), Snowflakes, oil, 24 x 36” Estimate: $75/100,000 SOLD: $292,500
Other artist world records came from Bill Owen, whose Laying a Heel Trap sold for $76,000, and the late marine painter John Stobart, whose San Francisco in 1849 (Vicar of Bray) Unloading in Yerba Buena Cove sold for $128,000. —
Artist Title Low /High Estimate SOLD
Oscar E. Berninghaus The Hunters, Taos $750/1,250,000 $1,562,000
Eanger Irving Couse Taos Love Call $300/500,000 $702,000
John Clymer Welcoming the Trade Boat $300/500,000 $555,750
Eanger Irving Couse Indian Boy and Brave Looking at a Blanket $400/600,000 $526,500
Martin Grelle Meat Seekers at the Teewinot $150/200,000 $386,100
G. Harvey Snowflakes $75/100,000 $292,500
John Clymer Wood Smoke Tales $250/450,000 $286,650
Edgar Payne Riders in Canyon de Chelly $200/300,000 $280,800
Howard Terpning Buffalo Runners $125/175,000 $269,100
G. Harvey Breaking Cabin Fever $100/150,000 $257,400
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