The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction was humming along nicely on July 26, with all the earmarks of a fine sale. Bidding was strong, activity in the room was high, prices were frequently within, or slightly above, estimates. Then, two paintings spaced 27 lots apart changed the tone of everything that followed. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction went on to realize $22.1 million in sales with a 97-percent sell-through rate.
“The secret was great paintings with reasonable estimates—those are the big things, for sure—but also our clientele. Our buyers are always so great, and they love Western art,” says auction partner Mike Overby. “You can see how great they are in the strength of their bidding. They’re the best of the best.”
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Open Range, 1942, oil on canvas mounted on board, 36 x 40 in. Estimate: $800/1,200,000 SOLD: $2,015,000
The two lots that helped launch the July sale into the stratosphere—“It’s the best sale we’ve had in 10 years,” Overby adds—were paintings by Charles M. Russell and Maynard Dixon. The Russell came up first: Roping a Wolf, a 1918 watercolor and gouache estimated at $500,000 to $750,000. In short order, bidding quickly jumped to $1.3 million, nearly doubling the high estimate. Twenty-seven lots later came Dixon’s 1942 oil painting Open Range, estimated at $800,000 to $1.2 million. After a flurry of bidding, the hammer fell, closing at just over $2 million. The Dixon was the top lot of the sale.
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), Roping a Wolf, ca. 1918, gouache and watercolor on paper, 16½ x 24 in. Estimate: $500/750,000 SOLD: $1,325,000
“The Dixon stole the show, without a doubt. And if there is any artist who deserves it, it’s Dixon, so it doesn’t surprise me the painting went to that level,” Overby says. “You can hang a Dixon in a lodge in Montana or in a penthouse in Los Angeles—the market is deep for Dixon.”
There was another lot to cross $1 million, although much later in the sale: Russell’s 1897 oil The Tenderfoot, with a high estimate of $900,000, sold for nearly $1.1 million.
Other top lots included Howard Terpning’s Chased by the Devil (est. $400/600,000) that sold for $726,000, the Russell bronze Where the Best of Riders Quit (est. $300/500,000) that sold for $484,000, E. Martin Hennings’ Riding Through the Aspens (est. $300/500,000) that sold for $393,000 and two Philip R. Goodwin paintings that achieved $266,000 and $363,000. Four Oscar Howe paintings also achieved a combined total of $756,000.
Bob Kuhn (1920-2007), Rhino and Cattle Egrets, acrylic on board, 24 x 36 in. Estimate: $60/90,000 SOLD: $272,000
Overby notes that the auction also reset the market on works by Bob Kuhn. “We had so many good ones that we had some hesitancy going into the sale. We were testing the market with so many,” Overby says, “and yet they all went above expectations.” The top Kuhn work, Rhino and Cattle Egrets, sold for $272,000, three times over its $90,000 high estimate. —
Top 12 Lots
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction July 26, 2025 (including buyer’s premiums)
Artist Title Low/High Est. SOLD
Maynard Dixon Open Range $800/1,200,000 $2,015,000
Charles M. Russell Roping a Wolf $500/750,000 $1,325,000
Charles M. Russell The Tenderfoot $600/900,000 $1,089,000
Howard Terpning Chased by the Devil $400/600,000 $726,000
Charles M. Russell Where the Best of Riders Quit $300/500,000 $484,000
Thomas Moran Coast of Monterey, California $400/600,000 $423,500
Joseph Henry Sharp Tales of the Warbonnet $300/500,000 $423,500
Charles M. Russell The Chase $150/250,000 $423,500
E. Martin Hennings Riding Through the Aspens $300/500,000 $393,250
Philip R. Goodwin An Interrupted Duel $150/250,000 $363,000
Charles M. Russell Meat for Wild Men $300/500,000 $363,000
N.C. Wyeth The Fight in the Peaks $300/500,000 $363,000
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