For Bonhams’ upcoming California & Western Art sale, occurring online through the Los Angeles location, collectors will find an impressive 200 lots. Much like Bonhams’ live auctions, the sale brings together 150 years of artistic movements that fall within the greater framework of American art.
Carl Rungius (1869-1959), At the Pond, ca. 1921, oil on canvas, 12¼ x 16¼ in. Estimate: $50/70,000
“Important artistic movements in California art are represented with plein air impressionism, Northern California Barbizon and the Society of Six,” explains Megan Gallagher, Bonhams’ associate specialist in Los Angeles. “The Western section features both historic and contemporary works by top practitioners of the Taos Colony, frontier artists, the Cowboy Artists of America, along with sporting and wildlife examples.”
Bill Anton, Palomino Shadows, oil on canvas laid to panel, 18 x 24 in. Estimate: $2/4,000
Gallagher shares that based on the results from the auction’s recent live sales in November 2025, top examples from historic Western artists have proven resilient. “Frank Tenney Johnson’s A Wyoming Night Herder, painted during his pivotal Rim Rock Years, achieved six figures,” she says. “Meanwhile, contemporary Western art continues to capture the attention of new and returning bidders with Ed Mell works exceeding their high estimates. Single-owner capsules also had a positive impact on bidding activity with works by Fritz Scholder and Nicolai Fechin from the Gene Hackman Collection exceeding pre-sale estimates. Cultural touch points like America’s semi-quincentennial will likely shape the market going into 2026.”
Building on the success of the Gene Hackman Collection, the online spring sale will feature a selection of works by the actor himself. There will also be a capsule of works from the same Houston Corporate Collection, that were offered in the November California & Western Artsale.
John Fawcett, Fading Light, oil on board, 24 x 30 in. Estimate: $2/4,000
A historic highlight featured in the February sale, is the Carl Rungius (1869-1959) oil painting At the Pond, from around 1921, with a robust estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. The piece, stemming from a private collection in the Midwest, includes exhibition history at the Salmagundi Club in New York, and features nature romanticized in true “Rungius” form—unspoiled by human interaction. In this impressive scene, a large bull moose stands in a small body of water among a forested outcropping.
Also find the California historic piece Mountain in the Desert, Death Valley, CA (est. $1,5/2,600), by Chinese immigrant Si Chen Yuan (1911-1974), a prominent member of the Carmel, California, art scene. While Yuan’s work ranged from impressionism to abstraction—depicting everything from still life to seascapes—it was recognizable for the artist’s use of texture, thick brush strokes and unique palette.
Si Chen Yuan (1911-1974), Mountain in the Desert, Death Valley, CA, oil on Masonite, 15¾ x 18 in. Estimate: $1,500/2,600
In the contemporary section of the sale, collectors will find Western beauties like Fading Light (est. $2/4,000) by John Fawcett; Palomino Shadows (est. $2/4,000) by Bill Anton; and Morning Stage (est. $1/1,500) by Gary Kapp.
Explore these and many more during Bonhams’ California & Western Art online sale (Los Angeles location) from February 2 through 12. —
California and Western Art Online
February 2-12, 2026
Online – Los Angeles
(323) 850-7500
www.bonhams.com
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