On November 10 and 11, Santa Fe Art Auction presented its largest offering of the year, the Signature Annual Live Sale. Lively bidding amid a diverse selection of materials from all around the Southwest helped bring in more than $2 million in sales with a 90 percent sell-through rate. The sale exemplified “the best of what the auction house brings to offer throughout the year,” notes the auction president, Gillian Blitch.
David Barbero (1938-1999), Grande Canyon, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60” Estimate: $10/20,000 SOLD: $73,200The top lot of the sale was Luis Jimenez’s El Filo, a cast fiberglass work showing a figure on a motorcycle. The 84-inch-long work, of which there are five editions, sold for $115,000, within its estimates of $100,000 to $150,000.
A David Barbero painting titled Grande Canyonwas a huge sleeper hit at the sale. Estimated at only $10,000 to $20,000, the work saw intense bidding before closing at $73,000, more than triple its high estimate. The work now holds the auction record for Barbero, who moved from the East Coast to live and paint in Santa Fe. The artist died in 1999.
Fremont Ellis (1897-1985), Tesuque Mission, oil on board, 22 x 30” Estimate: $8/12,000 SOLD: $51,850
Gustave Baumann (1881-1971), Apple Blossoms, 1917, color woodcut, 9½ x 11¼” Estimate: $10/15,000 SOLD: $30,500
Another work that soared past estimates was Fremont Ellis’ Tesuque Mission, which sold for nearly $52,000, more than four times over its high estimate of $12,000. Ellis is another artist who lived and worked in Santa Fe.
Other top pieces came from Ed Mell, Tony Abeyta, Gustave Baumann, Kim Wiggins, Allan Houser and Eanger Irving Couse. —
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