Like many auction watchers, Mike Overby, partner at the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction,has been watching the sales from the first half of 2025. And as each one closed, he could sense that the market was healthy and vibrant. “It was easy to see the stable footing amid the resilience of the market,” he says. “As we worked on our own sale, all signs were pointing at us coming through like gangbusters.”
Howard Terpning, Chased by the Devil, 1990, oil on canvas, 40 x 34 in. Estimate: $400/600,000Overby’s confidence in the market comes from the high prices Western art is achieving all around the country, and yet primarily from the collection of lots he has for his own sale on July 26 in Reno, Nevada. “We have 350 lots and we’re right where we want to be—with some truly remarkable artwork from many of the greats,” he says. “It was exciting watching all this art roll in from some of the best consignors in the country.”
Bob Kuhn (1920-2007), Red Fox Airborne, 1994, acrylic on board, 16 x 26 in. Estimate: $80/120,000
Overby adds that he’s expecting to see many new bidders for the sale, which will extend an upward trend he has been witnessing for many years. Another curious thing the auction house has taken note of is the fluid collecting habits of many buyers. “We get collectors at both the high-end and middle range, and we see them both intermixing art collections together. They may have an Edward Hopper, but then a Walter Ufer right next to it,” he says. “These clients may have a home in New York and a place in Wyoming or Montana. They used to buy Eastern art for their New York homes and Western art for their homes out west. But now we regularly see them sending Western art to New York, and their Hoppers to Wyoming. They see Western art as American art because it’s the story of our country, our history. And it also happens to be great art.”
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), Tales of the Warbonnet, oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
One important highlight from the sale is Maynard Dixon’s 1942 oil painting Open Range, showing a cowboy under classic Dixon-style clouds. The 40-inch work is estimated at $800,000 to $1.2 million. If the work sells for more than $1 million, it will be among four other Dixons that have sold at seven figures. Coeur d’Alene Art Auction holds the top two records for the artist, including a $2.1 million sale from 2023. “Open Range is one of the best Dixon ever did. The size, subject, the figure, the buttes, the clouds…everything you could ever want is here,” Overby says. “If you asked AI to create a quintessential Dixon, it would be this painting.”
William R. Leigh (1866-1955), Land of the Navajos, 1948, oil on canvas, 45 x 60 in. Estimate: $400/600,000
Charles M. Russell, a frequent top-seller at the Reno sale, will have four major works in for bidders: the 1903 gouache and watercolor Meat for Wild Men (est. $300/500,000), the gouache and watercolor Roping a Wolf (est. $500/750,000), a watercolor from around 1906 titled The Chase (est. $150/250,000), and the 1897 oil The Tenderfoot (est. $600/900,000). All of them show classic Russell subjects that should draw considerable attention from top bidders.
Philip R. Goodwin (1881-1935), A Call to Action, oil on canvas, 24 x 33 in. Estimate: $150/250,000
Taos, New Mexico, will be represented with a stunning collection of work from the members of the Taos Society of Artists. Works by four of the six founders of the group will be in the sale, as well as paintings by a number of later members, including E. Martin Hennings, who will have three magnificent Taos paintings that show Native American subjects amid pristine landscapes. The top Hennings is Riding Through the Aspens, with estimates set at $300,000 to $500,000. Another top Taos piece is Joseph Henry Sharp’s Tales of the Warbonnet, also estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. Others include Eanger Irving Couse’s The Hunter (est. $80/120,000); Oscar E. Berninghaus’ Sleepy, Mid-Day (est. $150/250,000); Bert Geer Phillips’ A Taos Pueblo Man and His Pony (est. $150/250,000); and Walter Ufer’s The Washerwoman (est. $200/300,000).
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Roping a Wolf, ca. 1918, gouache and watercolor on paper, 16½ x 24 in. Estimate: $500/750,000
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Open Range, 1942, oil on canvas mounted on board, 36 x 40 in. Estimate: $800/1,200,000
“This is the best Taos collection we have had in years. The Hennings, the Sharp, the Ufer—they are all really special pieces,” Overby says. “The Phillips has a chance of being the sleeper hit of the sale. It’s hands down the best Phillips paintings we’ve seen.”
Moving over to California, the Golden State can be seen in works such as Edgar Payne’s The Topmost Sierra (est. $300/500,000) and Thomas Moran’s Coast of Monterey, California (est. $400/600,000). Arizona is featured in William R. Leigh’s large painting Land of the Navajos (est. $400/600,000), with a single figure above a flock of sheep. “This Leigh is easily one of his top five masterpieces—a true grand prize with great coloration, great size, great everything,” Overby says. “You stand in front of it and your jaw hits the floor.”
Mark Maggiori, Going Home Before Dark, 2015, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in. Estimate: $60/90,000
Other historic artists represented in the auction are LaVerne Nelson Black, Edward Borein, John Clymer, Gerard Curtis Delano, Nicolai Fechin, Oscar Howe, E. William Gollings, Philip R. Goodwin, Thomas Hill, Bob Kuhn, N.C. Wyeth and Birger Sandzén.
Living artists with works in the sale include Tony Abeyta, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Mark Maggiori, Z.S. Liang, Dan Knepper, Morgan Weistling, Phil Epp, Luke Frazier, Billy Schenck, Don Oelze, Jeremy Winborg, Jamie Wyeth and Howard Terpning, whose painting Chased by the Devil is being offered with estimates of $400,000 to $600,000.
Thomas Moran (1837-1926), Coast of Monterey, California, 1912, oil on canvas 25 x 30 in. Estimate: $400/600,000
Edgar Payne (1883-1947), The Topmost Sierra, ca. 1921, oil on canvas 43 x 43 in. Estimate: $300/500,000
One noteworthy named collection in the sale comes from the late Fausto Yturria, a Texas rancher, politician and philanthropist who died in 2024. The auction house was consigned the entire ranch collection, with 30 pieces being offered in the July sale. Yturria collected works by Kuhn, Ken Riley, James Reynolds and many others.
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), The Tenderfoot, 1897, oil on board, 18½ x 24 in. Estimate: $600/900,000
The sale famously takes place during one single marathon session at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno. A preview party will take place the night before, on July 25. —
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction
July 26, 2025
Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
2500 E. Second Street Reno, NV 89595
(208) 772-9009
www.cdaartauction.com
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