When Mike Overby, a partner at the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, talks to potential bidders and consigners, the state of the Western art market often makes it very easy to set people at ease. “One thing we’ve learned over many auctions during all kinds of economies is that Western art is fairly impervious to some of the macro things that happen in the larger economy,” he says. “We see it year after year, and this year we see it again—the market is strong and is still in a steady upswing. It should make for an exciting sale.”
John Clymer (1907-1989), Trader at Pierre’s Hole Rendezvous, oil on canvas, 20 x 40 in. Estimate: $300/500,000Coeur d’Alene Art Auction will add to the success of the Western art market when it returns to Reno, Nevada, on July 27. The sale will feature around 400 lots in this year’s sale, which is slightly more than was offered in 2023. One of the reasons for the additional lots is due to the inclusion of artwork from the Red McCombs Collection. McCombs, who died in 2023, was a prominent businessman involved in the automotive industry and mass media. He was also owner, at various times, of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Vikings. In addition to sports teams, McComb also collected Western art. The auction house will not only highlight selections from his collection in the sale, it will also produce a stand-alone catalog that will accompany the normal printed catalog.
Howard Terpning, Army Mules No More, 1981, oil on canvas, 30 x 50 in. Estimate: $600/900,000“Between the Red McCombs Collection and the rest of the lots, we are seeing a wide variety of art in this year’s sale. It’s definitely spread out and not overloaded in any particular category. From Frederic Remington and Charlie Russell to Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt to Howard Terpning and Victor Higgins…it’s a strong sale with really great material throughout,” Overby says.
One of the early highlights from the sale is John Clymer’s Trader at Pierre’s Hole Rendezvous,a 20-by-40-inch piece estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. “I think this one is going to take off. It’s from the Red McCombs Collection and its just quintessential Clymer. These fur trade and rendezvous scenes are some of the best of his paintings, and this one is proof,” Overby says. “I also like it because you can see the Tetons in the background, which puts this in some beautiful country.”
William Herbert “Buck” Dunton (1878-1936), Return from the Hunt, 1908, oil on canvas, 30 x 20 in. Estimate: $150/250,000Clymer was an illustrator before a fine artist, as was Howard Terpning, who will be represented in the sale with four major works: Army Mules No More (est. $600/900,000), Gathering at Dawn (est. $200/300,000), Lady of the House (est. $500/750,000) and Sits Beside Me Wife (est. $250/350,000). “Army Mules No More is one of Terpning’s most famous works—it’s an absolute masterpiece,” Overby says.
Remington will have an oil, a black-and-white grisaille and two bronzes. The oil A “Wind Jammer,” with estimates of $400,000 to $600,000, is already generating some buzz from high-level collectors. The grisaille is Boots and Saddles, which shows a group of soldiers preparing to mount their horses. It’s estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. Finally, the bronzes are The Broncho Buster (est. $100/150,000) and The Rattlesnake (est. $200/300,000). Both bronzes are lifetime casts with exceptionally low cast numbers: Broncho Buster is cast No. 33 and The Rattlesnakeis cast No. 21.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), A “Wind Jammer,” 1896, oil on canvas, 30 x 18 in. Estimate: $400/600,000Russell will be represented in the sale by an even wider range of material: an oil painting, The Ambush (est. $400/600,000); a watercolor and gouache, The Breaks (est. $100/150,000); a watercolor, Bronc Rider (est. $150/250,000); an illustrated letter (est. $80/120,000); and what is certainly Russell’s rarest bronze, The Combat (est. $80/120,000). “We know of two or three casts of The Combat in museums, and one in a private collection, but this is the first time a cast has come up for auction ever. We think there may have been only eight casts ever made,” Overby says. “And there is evidence to suggest we have the very first cast ever finished. That research comes from [early Russell scholar] Fred Renner. It’s a very unique and rare piece.”
Harvey Dunn (1884-1952), The Homesteaders, 1908, oil on canvas, 27 x 41½ in. Estimate: $100/150,000
Frank McCarthy (1924- 2002), Splitting the Thundering Herd (triptych), 1994, oil on canvas, 28 x 86 in. Estimate: $100/150,000
In the category of the Taos Society of Artists, the sale will feature fantastic examples from many of the top artists who trekked to Northern New Mexico during the early 20th century. Highlights include Eanger Irving Couse’s Campfire in the Aspens (est. $150/250,000), which features a scene cast in a warm orange glow, and Victor Higgins’ Taos in Autumn (est. $200/300,000), which includes a large tree with yellow leaves in the center of the composition. Other Taos artists with works in the sale include Nicolai Fechin, Joseph Henry Sharp, Walter Ufer and William Herbert “Buck” Dunton, whose pieces Return from the Hunt (est. $150/250,000) and The Signal-Fire (est. $150/250,000) will be available to bidders.
Victor Higgins (1884-1949), Taos in Autumn, oil on canvas, 27 x 30 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
Philip R. Goodwin (1881-1935), An Unexpected Game, oil on canvas, 24 x 33 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939), Riders Loping In, 1936, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
Philip R. Goodwin will have two hunting scenes in the sale: An Unexpected Game (est. $200/300,000) and Dangerous Sport (est. $250/350,000). Both images show dramatic adventure scenes in the wild as hunters encounter wildlife at varying distances and danger levels. One of Goodwin’s contemporaries, Harvey Dunn, will be represented in the sale by The Homesteaders (est. $100/150,000). Coeur d’Alene Art Auction broke Dunn’s record with a different piece also titled The Homesteaders in 2022.
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), The Combat (The Battle), bronze, 6½ in. Estimate: $80/120,000
Elsewhere in the sale will be two stunning William R. Leigh action scenes, two quieter Native American scenes by Tom Lovell, a painting of a cowboy amid rolling hills by Peter Hurd, a mountain lion by Bob Kuhn, a portrait by Winold Reiss, modern Western works by Native American painters Earl Biss and John Nieto, a large multi-figure painting by Gerard Curtis Delano, and an Arizona landscape from Maynard Dixon. Living artists that will have works in the show include Martin Grelle, Mark Maggiori, Logan Maxwell Hagege and others.
Peter Hurd (1904-1984), Fence Rider, 1967, tempera on board, 30½ x 67¾ in. Estimate: $80/120,000
Tom Lovell (1909-1997), The Blackfeet Wall, 1978, oil on canvas, 40 x 32 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
In the category of Western landscapes from Hudson River School painters, the sale will have two stunning works from Albert Bierstadt—Long Peaks, Colorado (est. $150/250,000) and Niagara Falls, from the American Side (est. $80/120,000)—as well as two paintings by Thomas Moran, Monterey Coast (est. $500/750,000) and The Magic Pool (est. $70/100,000). Another work comes from Thomas Hill, On the Banks of the Merced River (est. $150/250,000), which depicts Yosemite National Park, one of Hill’s most famous painting locations.
The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction will take place July 27 at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, Nevada. —
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction
July 27, 2024
Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
2500 E. Second Street, Reno, NV 89595, (208) 772-9009
www.cdaartauction.com
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