Mike Overby, partner at Coeur d’Alene Art Auction,always takes great pleasure in watching new chairs being put out prior to or during a sale. “It’s always hard to tell how many chairs we’ll need by the reception on Friday, simply because so many people come in just for the sale on Saturday,” he says. “So when we have to add several more rows of chairs that’s amazing to see because it means the action in the room could get exciting. And it did.”
Philip R. Goodwin (1881-1935), Dangerous Sport, oil on canvas, 40 x 28 in. Estimate: $250/350,000 SOLD: $786,500
Those extra chairs, and all the others as well, contribute to active bidding in the room. More bidders equals more fun for the auction watchers, and certainly more fun for the consignors. On July 27, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction offered 402 lots of Western art. The sale brought in more than $17.5 million in sales, with a 93 percent sell-through rate.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Rattlesnake, bronze, 24¼ x 17¼ x 13 in. Estimate: $200/300,000 SOLD: $484,000
“We’re feeling good after the sale. It was fabulous. The live crowd was great, but so was the online crowd. Bidding was strong all around,” Overby says. “Online bidding was up 20 percent, and almost a third of the sale sold to online bidders. We had great bidders.”
The top lot was Philip R. Goodwin’s classic hunting scene Dangerous Sport,which had a high estimate of $350,000. The lot doubled that amount when it sold for $786,000. It’s now the second-highest-selling Goodwin at auction, below a $968,000 piece the auction house sold in 2022. “The market really has been strong for Goodwin. He was the best sporting illustrator out there so, in some ways, his prices are still way too low,” Overby says. “I think we’re going to keep seeing these works do well.”
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), The Ambush, oil on canvas, 18½ x 29½ in. Estimate: $400/600,000 SOLD: $605,000
Other top lots include three Howard Terpning paintings that sold for a combined total of $1.3 million. The top Terpning was Army Mules No More (est. $600/900,000), a 1981 work that sold for $514,250. Frederic Remington had two pieces in the top 10 lots: The Rattlesnake bronze (est. $200/300,000) sold for $484,000 and the oil painting A “Wind Jammer” (est. $400/600,000) sold for $350,900.
Other artists who performed well were William R. Leigh, Charles M. Russell, Thomas Moran, John Clymer, Tom Lovell, Thomas Hill and Frank Tenney Johnson.
William R. Leigh (1866-1955), Embarrassed (Range Pony in Town), ca. 1910, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $600/900,000 SOLD: $665,500
One painting that did exceptionally well, and shocked the room, was Oleg Stavrowsky’s oil painting Rolling Through the Longhorns, showing a train chugging past a herd of cattle. The piece had a high estimat of only $12,000, but bidders had other ideas. After furious and sustained bidding, it finally closed at $272,000, more than 22 times the high estimate. The piece broke the artist’s world record, which was previously at $70,000. “It was astounding. We had a bidding war,” Overby says. “It was totally unforeseen. We had it estimated right. We just couldn’t have counted on great bidders who decided they had to have it. It was bidding like no other.” —
Top 10 Lots Coeur d’Alene Art Auction July 27, 2024 (including buyer’s premium)
Artist Title Low/High Est. SOLD
Philip R. Goodwin Dangerous Sport $250/350,000 $786,500
William R. Leigh Embarrassed (Range Pony in Town) $600/900,000 $665,500
Charles M. Russell The Ambush $400/600,000 $605,000
Howard Terpning Army Mules No More $600/900,000 $514,250
Frederic Remington The Rattlesnake $200/300,000 $484,000
Howard Terpning Lady of the House $500/750,000 $484,000
Thomas Moran Monterey Coast $500/750,000 $453,750
Frederic Remington A “Wind Jammer” $400/600,000 $350,900
John Clymer Trader at Pierre’s Hole Rendezvous $300/500,000 $332,750
Howard Terpning Gathering at Dawn $200/300,000 $332,750
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