Santa Fe Art Auction | May 7-8, 2025 | Santa Fe, NM

Representing the Region

Santa Fe Art Auction’s Art of the West sale features Western artwork that celebrates the region’s rich heritage.

By Alyssa M. Tidwell

In anticipation of the Rodeo de Santa Fe in June, Santa Fe Art Auction is hosting its Art of the West sale from May 7 to 8 at the auction house’s location on Railfan Road. The sale brings collectors a wide array of artwork representing the rugged West, with offerings ranging from classic to contemporary Western painting and sculpture to vintage Native jewelry, pottery, classic Navajo rugs and more.

Mark Maggiori, Young Buckaroo of Chloride, 2014, oil on canvas, 30 x 23⅞ in. Estimate: $20/30,000

“The Western art market is not impervious to the global economy and appears somewhat soft as we continue into 2025, but we have consequently seen interest from collectors eyeing fresh buying opportunities in this popular category,” says Gillian Blitch, president of Santa Fe Art Auction. “Demand for Western paintings and sculptures has also increased in scope over the last many years, with bidders from around the world interested in purchasing works by prominent artists working in this tradition. As we enter the high-season for the auction house, we expect to see robust results for both historic and contemporary Western artworks.”

Malcom Furlow (1946-2023), September Shaman, oil on canvas, 58 x 46 x 1½ in. Estimate: $6/9,000

Kevin Red Star (Crow), Otter Medicine, mixed media on canvas, 42 x 31 x 1⅜ in. Estimate: $5/8,000

Prominent artists in the spring sale include Mark Maggiori, Billy Schenck, Ed Mell, Elmer Schooley, Malcolm Furlow, Vic Payne and Louisa McElwain, as well as historic masters like Joseph Henry Sharp, Maynard Dixon, Edward Borein, Glenna Goodacre and Ila McAfee.

Among the major highlights is Maggiori’s Young Buckaroo of Chloride, featuring a green cowboy still being shown the ropes. “This piece…has won multiple awards and is a quintessential example of the artist’s work, developed through strong saturated colors and a direct yet sophisticated composition,” says Blitch. “Depicting a young cowboy on horseback in Chloride, Arizona, the piece carries a powerful sense of nostalgia and pride around the spirit of the western United States.” The oil painting, which was completed in 2014, has a presale estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

Logan Maxwell Hagege, Cloud Shadows Over Sage, oil on linen, 8⅝ x 5½ in. Estimate: $5/7,000

Another top lot is an oil on linen by Logan Maxwell Hagege titled Cloud Shadows Over Sage, estimated to bring in $5,000 to $7,000. “Logan Hagege’s work depicts scenes of the American Southwest through a unique modernist lens. Classically trained, there is a powerful, almost graphic quality to his works that hints at a deep interconnectedness between his subjects and the places they inhabit,” Blitch says. “Cloud Shadows Over Sage epitomizes his signature stylized clouds that mimic the shape of the blanketed figure, placing him squarely in synchrony with the immense land subtly referenced in the distance. Collector interest around his work has soared in recent years.”

Billy Schenck, Seven Yearlings along the Wash, 2012, oil on canvas, 25 x 50 in. Estimate: $12/18,000

In addition, collectors should keep an eye out for a mixed media piece by Crow artist Kevin Red Star titled Otter Medicine (est. $5/8,000), an oil by Malcom Furlow titled September Shaman (est. $6/9,000), Billy Schenck’s 2012 oil Seven Yearlings along the Wash (est. $12/18,000), and a bronze by Vic Payne estimated at $2,000 to $4,000. —