Bonhams’ annual spring California & Western Art sale brings together around 125 lots for the live auction slated for April 15. The sale will feature 150 years of creativity that falls within the greater framework of American art. This includes plein air impressionism, Northern California Barbizon and the Society of Six. The Western section features both historic and contemporary artwork by top artists of the Taos Art Colony, Cowboy Artists of America and other groups, along with examples in sporting and wildlife art.
Bill Anton, Rimming Out, oil on linen affixed to board, 42 x 42 in. Estimate: $20/30,000
“Based on the results from our last live sales in November 2025, top examples from historic Western artists have proven resilient,” says Aaron Bastian, Bonhams’ senior director of fine arts. “Frank Tenney Johnson’s A Wyoming Night Herder, painted during his pivotal Rim Rock years, achieved six-figures. Meanwhile, contemporary Western art continues to capture the attention of new and returning bidders, with both Ed Mell works exceeding high estimates. Single-owner capsules also had a positive impact on bidding activity with works by both Fritz Scholder and Nicolai Fechin from the Gene Hackman Collection exceeding pre-sale estimates.”
Carl Rungius (1869-1959), At the Pond, ca. 1921, oil on canvas, 12¼ x 16¼ in. Estimate: $50/70,000
Top estimates for the spring sale start with the Carl Rungius piece At the Pond, with estimates of $50,000 to $70,000. “Rungius is celebrated for his specialized, artistic focus on large North American mammals,” says Bastian, adding that the piece features a mature bull moose in its natural habitat. The work includes exhibition history at the Salmagundi Club in New York.
Next in line, we see Edgar Payne’s oil painting Lake Ediza, Mammoth Region, Mono Co., Calif.,with an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. “Payne was a prolific painter of the Sierras’ specific peaks, and viewpoints often remain unknown,” says Bastian. “This mountain landscape in the April sale is inscribed with a title on the reverse placing the scene in the Mammoth Lake region, further contextualizing where in the Sierras Payne was painting.”
Edgar Payne (1883-1947), Lake Ediza, Mammoth Region, Mono Co., Calif., oil on canvas, 20¼ x 30¼ in. Estimate: $30/50,000
Lastly, Bonhams will offer Bill Anton’s painting Rimming Out, set with estimates of $20,000 to $30,000.
“Anton is a contemporary artist we frequently offer in this category,” Bastian explains. “This 42-by-42-inch work is one of the largest-format works we’ve offered by Anton. The scene depicts a caravan of cowboys and packhorses on a trail with the Grand Canyon in the distance.”
Don’t miss out on other significant pieces at the California & Western Art sale, to be held live at Bonhams’ Los Angeles show room, with previews of the sale also hosted in San Francisco.
In addition, the sale kicks off the spring season ahead of a marquee American Art sale on April 23 in New York, at Bonhams’ new flagship galleries at the historic Steinway Hall. —
California & Western Art Sale
April 15, 2026
Bonhams
7601 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-7500, www.bonhams.com
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