This spring, Vogt Auction Galleries hosts its annual Spring Texas & Western Art Auction, featuring a menagerie of treasures that reflect the robust history of the West with 275 lots of paintings, bronze and ceramics on offer.
John Nieto (1936-2018), Best Friends Forever, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 in. Estimate: $20/30,000
The April 6 sale will place particular emphasis on plein air Western artists like Matt White and Scott Christensen along with the early Texas artists like Karl Hermann Lungkwitz and Rolla Sims Taylor, comments Vogt fine art specialist Natalie Curran. “Oils by Julian and Eleanor Onderdonk will have a chance to dazzle as well,” she adds. A strong selection of works by Texas regionalists and modernists like Thomas Hart Benton and Otis Dozier will also be included in the sale.
Dan Mieduch, Youth & Experience, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in. Estimate: $5/7,000
“To provide a sense of the scope of the artistic themes and regions in this collection, we chose to highlight a classic Western cowboy scene from Jim Norton, an eye-catching Southwestern piece from John Nieto, and a frankly virtuosic bronze sculpture by Dave McGary,” Curran says of several major highlights in the upcoming auction. “These three pieces happen to also be ones I’ve been displaying in my office over the past few months since I enjoy looking at them so much.”
Contemporary Western painter Nieto’s Best Friends Forever,acrylic on canvas, is estimated to fetch between $20,000 and $30,000. “[In the painting,] two pups stride forward so completely in-sync with each other that they seem to share the same set of legs. Nieto’s work is instantly recognizable, with the exuberant patches of color and texture united in a strong and confident composition,” says Curran.
Jim Norton, Over the Top of Baldie, oil on canvas, 24 x 32 in. Estimate: $7/10,000
“Jim Norton’s Over the Top of Baldie is a very strong example of his energetic and expressive brushwork that captures a very human moment within an expansive landscape. This cowboy is tired after having summited Mount Baldie, and now his packhorse is digging in his heels,” she says. The oil has a presale estimate of $7,000 to $10,000.
Dave McGary (1958-2013), The Honor Dress, bronze maquette, 2007, ed. 16 of 60, 22½ in. Estimate: $8/12,000
“Our third highlighted artwork coming up…is Dave McGary’s The Honor Dress,” Curran notes. “Of the 23-inch-tall maquettes he produced, this is number 16 of 60, and was purchased directly from his Santa Fe gallery. The textural and surface details are astounding, making this a formidable addition for any McGary collector.” The bronze is expected to bring in around $8,000 to $12,000.
The auction will also feature works by Porfirio Salinas, José Vives-Atsara, Barbara Garvin, Brenda Kingery, Charles Beckendorf, Donald Yena, E.S. Curtis, Frederick Schafer, Jimmy Abeita, Mike Desatnick, R.C. Gorman, William Reese, Gerald Balciar, Mehl Lawson, Wayne Wolf and more. —
Vogt Auction Galleries’ Spring Texas & Western Art Auction
April 6, 2024
Vogt Auction Galleries 7233 Blanco Road, San Antonio, TX 78216
(210) 822-6155, www.texasauction.com
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