On May 17, Santa Fe Art Auction presented biders with its annual Art of the West sale, this year featuring 583 lots of Western material from many categories, including landscapes, works on paper, cowboys, images of Native Americans and even material from Taos Society of Artists members.
Chloé Marie Burk, Out West, 2023, oil on linen panel, 30 x 40” Estimate: $8/12,000 SOLD: $15,860
But the hits of the sale were important bronzes by Dave McGary, whose realistic depictions of Native American subjects have captivated the Western world, including long after the artist’s passing in 2013. McGary works have consistently performed well at auction, and Santa Fe Art Auction’s recent sale continues the trend.
Dave McGary (1958-2013), Bounty of Gray Hawk, 1998, from Warrior Series, polychrome bronze, artist’s cast, ed. of 50, 22 x 19¾ x 11¾” Estimate: $10/20,000 SOLD: $34,160
The top of the sale was McGary’s Bounty of Gray Hawk, a 1998 work from his Warrior Series. The bronze, measuring 22 inches high, shows a Native American figure holding a club weapon and shield as he is wrapped in a magnificent buffalo robe. McGary was known for his polychrome bronze, so the color in the piece is phenomenal, as are the tiny details in the figure’s moccasins, bear-claw necklace, beaded bag and feathers in his hair. The work, estimated at $10,000 to $20,000, sold for $34,160.
Coming in right behind that piece were two other McGary bronzes: Touch the Clouds (est. $15/25,000) and Trophies of Honor (est. $6/8,000) that sold for $24,400 and $23,180.
Other high-performing bronzes came from Bill Worrell, whose Shaman of the Rio Grande (est. $10/20,000) sold over estimates at $23,180, and Vic Payne, whose The Hunter Becomes the Hunted (est. $10/15,000) sold for $19,520.
Tony Abeyta (Navajo (Diné)), Deities (diptych), oil on canvas, 60 x 100” Estimate: $6/9,000 SOLD: $12,200
Two contemporary painters had works in the sale that outperformed their estimates. One was Chloe Marie Burk, who painted Out West, an oil painting depicting nine riders against a simplified rendering of the desert. The painting, estimated at $8,000 to $12,000, sold for $15,860, a new artist world auction record. The second artist was Tony Abeyta, the painter of the diptych Katsinam. The two works were estimated at $6,000 to $9,000 and sold for $12,200.
The sale achieved $903,000 with a sell-through rate of 83 percent. “Art of the West results showed the continued strength of classic Western art, both historic and contemporary, with an emerging demographic of new collectors,” the auction house notes. “Also notable were the number of active bidders. [It made] for a long sale, but demonstrates the art auction market remains strong in the current economy.” —
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