In the early lead-up to Christie’s winter American art sale in New York, the original title of the sale was simply 19th-Century American Art. But as the spectacular Western material piled up in Christie’s New York gallery, it quickly became obvious that a change was in order, which is how the amended title, 19th-Century American and Western Art,came to be.

Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, 1918, oil on canvas, 20 x 30” Estimate: $1.2/1.8 million

Western art in New York City, especially during big seasonal sales is not a foregone conclusion. Some of the houses barely offer it, while others only occasionally nab works by Western artists. Here, though, Christie’s has an expansive roster of major works by important artists from all corners of the category. 

“We are the house with the highest-quality Western art, and that is what we are speciliazing in this season. This sale won’t have the quantity of some of our recent single-owner sales, but the quality is quite high,” says Caroline Seabolt, head of the January 18 sale. “When it comes to this high-end Western material, we have been doing very well. Historically, Western art has been one of the most consistent sub-markets in American art…It’s a very good market and a steady market.”

Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), Thunder Birds, 1927, oil on canvas, 35 x 46” Estimate: $600/ 800,000

One of the key lots in the January sale is Thomas Moran’s 1918 oil painting Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, which shows one of his most iconic subject matters. “This is as good as it gets with Moran and Green River,” says Seabolt. “Alongside the Grand Canyon, this is his signature subject. This can go into a collection that has other Morans or it can be your sole Moran if you wanted it to be.” The work is estimated at $1.2 million to $1.8 million. 

Another blockbuster lot comes from Thomas Worthington Whittredge, a Hudson River School painter who is not primarily identified by his Western paintings. The available work, A Wagon Train on the Plains, Platte River, Colorado,was painted around 1866 and shows the wide open prairie with a distant wagon train on the horizon. These Western pieces by Whittredge are quite rare, and this one is surely going to have numerous bidders. It is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. “He’s more known for his fall scenes in the Catskills or cows by a lake, so these pieces are rare and exciting,” Seabolt says. “This one is remarkably well painted and will resonate with his Western collecting base.”

E. Martin Hennings (1886 -1956), Along the Greasewood Trail, oil on canvas, 30 x 30” Estimate: $600/ 800,000

The sale will have two Charles M. Russell bronzes, The Horse Wrangler and War Dancers, each estimated at $150,000 to $250,000. The Horse Wrangler, also known as The Night Herder or The Night Hawk, is special because it has long thought to have be a self-portrait by the artist and also because the bronze is likely a lifetime cast. 

Eanger Irving Couse will be represented in the sale with Thunder Birds, a spectacular piece showing one of Couse’s regular models examining pottery in an interior setting. A loosely drawn Thunderbird can be seen painted on the wall immediately behind the subject. The work is estimated at $600,000 to $800,000. 

Two nocturnes will be available from two great Western painters: Frank Tenney Johnson’s Two Moons (est. $40/60,000) and William Gollings’ Night Watch(est. $20/30,000). Johnson is no stranger to New York sales, but Gollings pieces are more rare. “The Gollings is beautiful in person—a total gem,” Seabolt notes.

Thomas Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910), A Wagon Train on the Plains, Platte River, Colorado, ca. 1866, oil on canvas, 11 x 21¾” Estimate: $300/500,000

Albert Bierstadt will have two works in two different price points: Woodland Pool (est. $500/700,000), showing trees with autumn leaves covering a stream leading from a hidden waterfall; and Sunset on the Prairies (est. $60/80,000), a smaller work showing two Native American riders in a field of golden grass.

Other pieces include E. Martin Hennings’ Along the Greasewood Trail (est. $600/800,000), William R. Leigh’s The Grand Canyon (est. $70/100,000) and Eastman Johnson’s Cardplay at the Camp (est. $400/600,000).

The sale will also be led by three non-Western pieces: Martin Johnson Heade’s Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds (est. $1.2/1.8 million), Thomas Cole’s View Near Catskill (est. $500/700,000) and Frederic Church’s small rendition of Cotopaxi(est. $500/700,000).

William Gollings (1878-1932), Night Watch, 1922, oil on canvas, 71/4 x 10” Estimate: $20/30,000

Most of the works come from different sellers, but five of the lots—including the Moran, Couse, Hennings and one of the Bierstadts—all come from a single distinguished Western collection.

The New York sale will take place January 18, with a preview available running from January 12 to 17. —

19th-Century American and Western Art
January 18, 2024
Christie’s, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020
(212) 636-2000, www.christies.com 

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