Scottsdale Art Auction | August 23, 2025 | Scottsdale, AZ

Summer-Ending Sale

Scottsdale Art Auction closes out the summer season with an online sale featuring more than 400 lots.

By Michael Clawson

August in Arizona is not for those who are squeamish about the heat. With highs in the 110s, the Phoenix area roasts in the summer with punishing temperatures that drive visitors to air conditions, pools or open refrigerators. For the Scottsdale Art Auction, which offers an annual August sale, the Arizona summer can be mitigated through its online sale.

Logan Maxwell Hagege, The Storm Clears, oil, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $50/75,000

“This is our third year presenting this sale and, based on the current numbers we’re seeing, it’s going to be our best,” says auction partner Brad Richardson. “Not only are we seeing strong pieces come to us from some really great consigners, but we’re also seeing a pretty consistent mix of work we might see in our annual April sale, whether it’s classic Western work, paintings from the Taos Society of Artists or really great wildlife pieces.”

Glenna Goodacre (1939-2020), He Is, They Are, bronze, 120 in. Estimate: $75/125,000

The sale will be offered on three online platforms, including Scottsdale Art Auction’s own bidding platform. Auctioneer Jason Brooks will be presenting lots live on all three platforms. Richardson, who never thought he would see so many collectors embrace online bidding, is continuously surprised at how adaptable art buyers are with technology. “It’s remarkable how comfortable collectors have become since the pandemic, which really forced them to get online to view and buy art,” he says. “We’re seeing more and more people registering and participating in these sales. It’s something they’re very willing and excited to do.”

Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), Song of the Blue Aspens, oil, 29 x 24 in. Estimate: $60/90,000

John Coleman, The Rainmaker, bronze, 63 ¾ in. Estimate: $25/35,000

Among the highlights of the sale are a number of sculpture works that should excite collectors. The top bronze is Glenna Goodacre’s powerful 10-foot-tall monument He Is, They Are. The piece shows a Native American man standing with his arms behind his back. When viewed from the front, the subject looks calm and meditative. But from the back, viewers can see his hands are bound at the wrists, which transforms the meaning of the piece into something more tragic. An edition of the bronze is at the Booth Western Art Museum and is frequently used in discussions about how Native Americans were treated in the United States. This cast of the bronze is estimated at $75,000 to $125,000.

Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), Indian Hunter, oil, 20 x 16 in. Estimate: $65/95,000; Ed Mell (1942-2024), Rain the West, oil, 12 x 18 in. Estimate: $10/15,000

Other bronzes come from Dave McGary, Allan Houser, Richard Greeves, Ed Mell and John Coleman, whose 64-inch version of The Rainmaker will be available with estimates of $25,000 to $35,000. The McGary bronzes should also drive a lot of interest due to the artist’s consistently high performance at sales. McGary, who died in 2013, has been entering important new collections for years and the hammer prices are reflective of this movement.

Martin Grelle, Blackfoot Rest Stop, oil, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $50/70,000

The sale will have a strong showing of mid-20th century Western paintings such as Joe Beeler’s Gathering the Rough Country (est. $15/25,000), Frank McCarthy’s The Chase (est. $50/75,000), Roy Andersen’s We Hunt Them (est. $30/50,000) and Kenneth Riley’s On Foot (est. $30/50,000). Works from Taos Society of Artists include Joseph Henry Sharp’s Indian Hunter (est. $65/95,000) and two Eanger Irving Couse pieces: Song of the Blue Aspens (est. $60/90,000) and an untitled 12-by-16-inch painting (est. $20/30,000).

Frank McCarthy (1924-2002), The Chase, oil, 24 x 40 in. Estimate: $50/75,000

Living artists will also be well represented in the sale with works by Daniel F. Gerhartz, Brian Grimm, William Matthews, Billy Schenck, Curt Walters and Logan Maxwell Hagege, whose painting The Storm Clears (est. $50/75,000) will be offered. Martin Grelle will have three works in the auction: River Solitude (est. $30/40,000), Blackfoot Rest Stop (est. $50/70,000) and Hunter’s Morning (est. $50/75,000).

Although the sale is entirely online, there will be a preview in Scottsdale three weeks prior to the sale. —