During an event in Arizona in February, painter Tony Abeyta gave a presentation about the influence of Native American painters. He singled out Oscar Howe. “Everything he did was a masterpiece,” Abeyta told the crowd. All art is subjective, but it’s hard to argue with Abeyta, especially when some of Howe’s rarely seen works make their way back to the market.
Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota, 1915-1983), Sioux Singer, 1962, casein on paper, 21 x 28½ in. Estimate: $150/250,000
John Moran Auctioneers, which holds the world auction record for Howe, will be offering not one, but two major works from the artist at the June 30 Art of the American West sale in Monrovia, California. One is the 1962 work Sioux Singer, estimated at $150,000 to $250,000, and the other is Mother and Child from 1963, estimated at $100,000 to $150,000. Both works are done in Howe’s fragmented and modern style with bold color. Not only does John Moran have the world record for Howe, but also six of the top 13 lots to come to market, with prices slated to go higher as demand continues for exceptional examples.
Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota, 1915-1983), Mother and Child, 1963, casein on paper, 20 x 19 in. Estimate: $100/150,000
“The sale is led by two incredible examples in casein by Oscar Howe: Sioux Singer and Mother and Child. Both paintings were purchased directly from the artist in 1965 and have remained in the same family to the present day,” says Katherine Halligan, director of fine art at John Moran’s. “Both paintings feature Howe’s distinct style, characterized by angular, faceted compositions, rhythmic movement and layered planes of color.”
While the Howe paintings are quite modern, the sale will also feature classic Western art, including Eanger Irving Couse’s 1923 oil The Weaving Lesson.These quiet interior paintings with Native American figures working on art objects are some of Couse’s most iconic subjects. Art forms that he routinely painted included pottery, katsina carvings and, seen here, weavings. The work is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000.
Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), The Weaving Lesson, ca. 1923, oil on canvas laid to artist’s board, 8 x 10 in. Estimate: $20/30,000
“…Couse’s The Weaving Lesson is the 8-by-10-inch preparatory finished oil study for The Lesson (1923). That 50-by-60-inch painting sold at Sotheby’s in 1998 for $618,500, the sixth highest price achieved for Couse’s work at auction to date,” Halligan says. “Like the larger version, The Weaving Lesson is a sensitive depiction of a Navajo father teaching his son to weave on the traditional Navajo loom.”
Other works in the sale are Kathryn Woodman Leighton’s oil painting Medicine Man with Whistle (est. $15/25,000) and Arion Putnam’s large 72-inch-tall Cowboy on Horseback observing a Pierce Arrow motorcar in a Western landscape (est. $5/7,000). —
Art of the American West
June 30, 2026
John Moran Auctioneers
145 E. Walnut Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91006
(626) 793-1833, www.johnmoran.com
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