Western material soars at Brian Lebel’s Santa Fe show
On June 22, Brian Lebel’s Santa Fe Old West Show & Auction, with Morphy Auctions, presented its summer sale to bidders at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. Several hours after bidding started, the sale closed to the tune of $2.2. million. While fine art held strong in the sale, much of the total was generated from Western gear, historic artifacts and other material related to West. The top lot in the sale was Edward H. Bohlin’s Justin Dart “Disney” Saddle. The custom-made saddle, intricately designed with silver work on almost every piece of the saddle, was estimated at $125,000 to $175,000, but flew past those numbers before closing at $307,000.
Lebel’s sales frequently feature historic firearms, and this summer’s sale was no exception with a Colt Single-Action Army revolver with ties to the Dalton Gang. The thoroughly documented gun was part of a 10-gun shipment that was ordered by the Dalton Gang prior to a series of robberies in Coffeyville, Kansas, on October 5, 1892. Although the gang had earlier success with its brazen robberies, the Coffeyville heist would be the gang’s last. After a shootout, four of the five gang members were dead, and the fifth was shot 23 times yet survived. Each of the five gang members had two Colt revolvers. This was one of the 10. Estimated at $200,000 to $300,000, the Colt sold within estimates at $228,000.
Finally, another noteworthy sale was Fred Fellows’ 1981 oil painting Taking a Closer Look. The 48-inch-wide piece shows a cowboy roping a cow during a round-up. With a high estimate of $9,000, the work was expected to sell modestly around there. Bidders had different plans entirely. The work closed at $28,000, more than triple the high estimate. —
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