Scottsdale, Arizona, has one of the catchier slogans: “The West’s Most Western Town.” The city will have the chance to prove that on April 10 and 11 when the Scottsdale Art Auction returns to the heart of the Scottsdale Arts District.
The annual sale will feature more than 460 lots across both historic and contemporary Western art. In addition to consignments from top collectors around the country, the sale will also feature a handful of new pieces directly from the studios of top artists.
Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955), Carmencita, oil, 20 x 16 in. Estimate: $600/900,000. Kyle Polzin, Our Nation Endures, 250 years of Valor and Virtue, oil, 64 x 33 in. Estimate: $75/125,000
For auction partner Brad Richardson, Western art had a great year in 2025 and will likely continue in 2026. “We are very fortunate that Western art seems to be in a great market, while other markets such as contemporary, Americana and others have flattened,” Richardson says. “We have a lot of momentum going into the sale and we’re excited to see where it goes.”
The sale kicks off at noon on both April 10 and 11, with the works on view three weeks prior to the auction. The first session is typically filled with lots with lower estimates that usually pull in competitive bidders, while the second session has many of the star lots with six-figure estimates. This year’s second session will include the sale of 17 works by author and artist Will James, whose books about the West are classics of the genre. (Read more about the James lots on Page 92.)
John Clymer (1907-1989), The Métis Brigade, oil, 20 x 40 in. Estimate: $200/300,000
Major highlights in the 2026 sale are five works by Nicolai Fechin, whose portraits from the Southwest are favorites for collectors. Fechin, who was born in Russia and moved to New Mexico in 1926, is often cited as one of the top portrait painters in the country and is frequently grouped with portrait artists such as John Singer Sargent and Robert Henri. Works in the sale include Benepe (est. $75/125,000), showing model and fellow artist Katharine Buzzell (Shackelford) Benepe, and Consuelo (est. $175/275,000). Another is Still Life, Floral, estimated at $300,000 to $400,000. The star of the grouping, though, will likely be Carmencita, showing a young girl in an orange dress. The painting is estimated at $600,000 to $900,000.
Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), The Master Potter, oil, 24 x 29 in. Estimate: $150/250,000
In the area of bronze sculpture, the sale will have an important cast of Remington’s The Broncho Buster, one of the most iconic sculptures in all of American art. The sale will offer Roman Bronze Works cast No. 56 of the famous work, which was cast during the artist’s lifetime in 1906. Casts in the 50s and lower are considered very rare and cherished by Remington collectors. Fewer than 330 casts were made of the bronze, and today many of them are in museum collections. The cast at Scottsdale Art Auction is estimated at $250,000 to $350,000.
In the landscape genre, the sale will offer Edgar Payne’s Rugged Peaks – Sierra, likely painted around 1921 after the artist discovered the subject of the Sierra Nevadas in California. The piece is estimated at $50,000 to $75,000. Also available is Albert Bierstadt’s Forest Pool in Autum (est. $20/30,000), Thomas Moran’s Teoloyucan, Mexico (est. $75/125,000) and Texas painter Julian Onderdonk’s Bluebonnets in Late Afternoon (est. $40/60,000).
Billy Schenck, Blood on the Horizon, oil, 40 x 50 in. Estimate: $45/65,000. Robert Lougheed (1910-1982), Open Range Encounter, oil, 30¼ x 60 in. Estimate: $55/75,000
The sale frequently features major works from the Taos Society of Artists, and this year is no exception with lots by many of the greats from Northern New Mexico. Among the pieces are Homeward Through the Sage (est. $100/150,000) from E. Martin Hennings, Cheyenne Medicine Tepee (est. $125/175,000) from Joseph Henry Sharp and Autumn at Taos Pueblo (est. $35/55,000) from Laverne Nelson Black. Eanger Irving Couse will be represented in the sale with two major scenes showing Native American subjects holding objects in interior settings: The Master Potter (est. $150/250,000) and A Weaver (est. $300/500,000). The Couse paintings represent some of the artist’s most popular and beloved work. The artist photographed many of his models with Native American objects, including weavings, pottery, carvings, painted buffalo hides, flutes and other objects. Many of the photographs, including several with these exact objects, are viewable in Couse’s archives.
Martin Grelle, Last of the Pemmican, oil, 48 x 72 in. Estimate: $250/350,000
Artists who began their careers as illustrators before transitioning into fine art painters will be represented by John Clymer and Robert Lougheed. The Clymer painting, The Métis Brigade, is one of the artist’s most reproduced images, having appeared in numerous books on the artist. The painting, which comes from the Basha Collection, shows a band of Métis people, who are descendants of the Hudson Bay employees and their Native American wives. The painting is estimated at $200,000 to $300,000. The Lougheed painting is Open Range Encounter, which shows a cowboy and a sheepherder in a New Mexico pasture. As the sheepherder makes a stand, the cowboy stands in disbelief in his stirrups. The Lougheed painting is estimated at $55,000 to $75,000.
Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), Cheyenne Medicine Tepee, oil, 20 x 24 in. Estimate: $125/175,000
Other illustrators who moved out West to great success include Howard Terpning, Tom Lovell, Kenneth Riley and Frank McCarthy, all with works in the sale. Additional historic works include pieces by Leon Gaspard, Fremont Ellis, William Gollings, B.J.O. Nordfeldt and Sheldon Parsons.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Broncho Buster, modeled 1895, cast 1906, bronze, cast No. 56, 23¼ in. Estimate: $250/350,000
In the area of living Western artists, Scottsdale Art Auction will include pieces from Don Oelze, William Acheff, Tom Browning, Morgan Weistling, John Moyers, Billy Schenck, Tim Solliday, Eric Bowman, Tony Abeyta and Martin Grelle, whose painting Last of the Pemmican is estimated at $250,000 to $350,000. New paintings will arrive from Jerry Jordan, The Music We See With Our Eyes (est. $40/60,000), and Kyle Polzin, who will be offering Our Nation Endures, 250 Years of Valor and Virtue (est. $75/125,000).
E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), Homeward Through the Sage, oil, 14 x 14 in. Estimate: $100/150,000
The auction house offers an in-house bidding platform, as well as other platforms and methods of bidding. It also encourages guests to visit the auction to bid in person. “We always have a great turnout with strong attendance,” Richardson says. “We expect anywhere from 400 to 450 in the room, which makes for an exciting sale.” —
Jerry Jordan, The Music We See With Our Eyes, oil, 36 x 48 in. Estimate: $40/60,000. Eric Bowman, Golden Canopy, oil, 40 x 50 in. Estimate: $40/60,000
Scottsdale Art Auction
April 10-11, 20267176 Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 945-0225 www.scottsdaleartauction.com
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