Heritage Auctions | May 16, 2025 | Dallas, TX

Curated Selection

Heritage Auctions brings Western works into its signature American sale in Dallas.

By Michael Clawson

It’s all about quality over quantity at Heritage Auctions’ recent fine art sales. It’s newest American Art Signature Sale, taking place on May 16, will only feature about 50 lots, but they were carefully selected for their exceptional qualities. There’s a phrase for this: “All killer, no filler.”

“These are going to be highly curated and very high-end pieces,” says Alissa Ford, Heritage’s Western specialist. “We get asked sometimes, ‘What are your highlights?’ Everything is a highlight and extraordinary. Especially for the Western lots. These pieces tell great stories under the umbrella of American art.”

William R. Leigh (1866-1955), Navajo Trader, oil on canvas, 28 x 22 in. Estimate: $100/150,000

An early standout in the sale is William R. Leigh’s exceptional painting Navajo Trader, estimated at $100,000 to $150,000. The painting has exquisite detail in the face, and luscious impasto texture in the desert vegetation. The work has been passed down within the same family for five generations, and is thought to have been purchased directly from the artist. “The quality of the painting and provenance make this a rare Leigh that is generating buzz from collectors,” Ford says.

The sale will have four works from the late Arizona modernist Ed Mell. One of the top pieces from the artist is Drifting Clouds at Sunset,a 1990 oil measuring 20 inches square. Estimated at $15,000 to $25,000, the piece is expected to entice many bidders.

Ed Mell (1942-2024), Drifting Clouds at Sunset, 1990, oil on canvas, 20 x 20 in. Estimate: $15/25,000

Also available is Dave McGary’s A Matter of Honor, a 1997 polychrome bronze showing a Native American rider on a horse that is leaping quite literally off the work’s pedestal. McGary works have been performing well at auctions, as have the works of John Nieto, which the auction house has two pieces by for the May sale.

Other works include the stunning Olaf Wieghorst painting Valley of the Monuments (est. $40/60,000), two G. Harvey works and a Thomas Hill landscape.

Dave McGary (1958-2013), A Matter of Honor, 1997, bronze with polychrome patina, ed. 15/50, 22¾ in. Estimate: $15/25,000

In addition to the American sale on May 16, Heritage will also present an afternoon session titled Property from the BSA Settlement Trust, which features works from the Boy Scouts of America. The works, which are being offered with no reserves or estimates, will directly benefit survivors of childhood sexual abuse. One of the highlights from this segment is Norman Rockwell’s We, Too, Have A Job to Do, showing a Boy Scout saluting in front of a waving American flag. Rockwell created a number of important pieces for the Boy Scouts. —