Western art collectors will have many bidding options on October 31 when the Lone Star Art Auctionreturns to Dallas. The sale, which will include more than 250 lots, will feature major works from many important American artists. For auction owner Phil Berkebile Jr., the sale is already a historic achievement.
Andy Thomas, Hightail to Freedom, oil, 36 x 48 in. Estimate: $70/90,000
“This is our biggest and most important auction, without a doubt,” Berkebile says. “Just looking at the work we have, it’s just incredible to see. I think we’re here now, with all this great material, because we’ve been around for five years. We’ve established ourselves, established our presence in the auction world. We’re very visible to collectors.”
Berkebile notes that about half his consigners come from Texas. But when it comes to bidders, they come from diverse places all across the country. It’s a healthy breakdown that shows how the auction has a national presence, he notes. “I’m very happy with our position in the market,” he adds. “Our objective when we started was to be a premium auction that would fill a void in Texas. The sale has proven to be successful with that goal.”
Top: Billy Schenck, Running Wild on the Blood Moon, 2021, oil, 30 x 40 in. Estimate: $90/120,000 Bottom: Frederic Remington (1861-1909), White Otter at Bay Emptied His Magazine Gun, 1900, oil, 40 x 27 in. Estimate: $175/225,000. Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Annie Oakley, 1986, acrylic screenprint, 36 x 36 in. Estimate: $125/175,000
One of the key lots in the sale is Robert Henri’s full-length portrait La Trinidad (Gypsy of Madrid), a 1906 oil that is being deaccessioned from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The 78-inch-tall work, estimated at $800,000 to $1.2 million, is a stunning work by the artist that is getting a hefty amount of attention from private collectors as well as from institutions.
“It’s a masterpiece from a major American artist. It’s getting a lot of looks right now. And the fact that it’s coming from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and the proceeds will benefit the museum, it’s just going to be very special for us,” Berkebile says. “The feedback we’ve been getting on it is fantastic. It is going to be an acquisition target for other museums, especially museums that have been waiting to get a major Henri in the collection. I call it a masterpiece, and it truly is, but multiple curators have been telling me that as well. This is a significant opportunity.”
Victor Higgins (1884-1949), Spring Breeze, mid-1930s, oil, 38¾ x 24 in. Estimate: $250/350,000
The sale will also have three commissioned works from E. Martin Hennings. The paintings, completed in 1910, measure 10, 11 and 12 feet wide. The works were commissioned by George Washington Littlefield, a cattle rancher and banker from the early 20th century. Littlefield bought the Yellow House Ranch, which was formerly part of the famous XIT Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. The banker commissioned a total of six large pieces after meeting Hennings in Chicago. Three are in the sale, and the other three are in Chicago. The pieces are remarkable for their size, but also their ranching subjects that include a cattle drive, a round-up and thoroughbreds in a pasture. The works all predate Hennings’ involvement in the Taos Society of Artists. Two of the works are The Round-Up (Yellow House Division XIT Ranch), estimated at $350,000 to $450,000, and Cattle on the Move (Yellow House Division XIT Ranch), estimated at $300,000 to $400,000.
Robert Henri (1865-1929), La Trinidad (Gypsy of Madrid), 1906, oil, 78 x 38½ in. Estimate: $800,000/1,200,000
Another important work in the sale is Victor Higgins’ Spring Breeze, a 1930s painting showing a Native American woman with a blanket over her head. The painting, estimated at $250,000 to $350,000, is a special piece for the artist. “Higgins moved into a modernist period in the 1930s, right alongside Ernest L. Blumenschein and other artists from Taos around that time,” the auction owner says. “This is a perfect example of that modernist style. The quality of this particular painting is outstanding. The texture, the color—it’s all incredible.”
Top: E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), Cattle on the Move (Yellow House Division XIT Ranch), 1910, oil, 35 x 144 in. Estimate: $300/400,000. Bottom: E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956), The Round-Up (Yellow House Division XIT Ranch), 1910, oil, 35 x 133 in. Estimate: $350/450,000
Other works in the sale are William R. Leigh’s 1914 oil Mirage (est. $250/350,000), showing a man struggling to survive in an inhospitable desert setting, and Frederic Remington’s black-and-white oil from 1900, White Otter at Bay Emptied His Magazine Gun (est. $175/225,000). The Remington is a well-known work that first appeared in the artist’s book The Way of an Indian, published in 1906. Not only does the work appear in the book, but it also is described in the text. The lot will include a first-edition printing of the book. Another historic work comes from Andy Warhol, whose work has done well at the Dallas sale. On offer is Warhol’s 1986 acrylic screenprint Annie Oakley, which comes from one of the artist’s final portfolios, Cowboys and Indians. The work is estimated at $125,000 to $175,000. Berkebile notes that Annie Oakley is one of the most popular and rarest works from the portfolio.
William R. Leigh (1866-1955), Mirage, 1914, oil, 30 x 45 in. Estimate: $250/350,000
Additional historic lots are by Charles M. Russell, Eanger Irving Couse, Joseph Henry Sharp, Charlie Dye, Wolf Kahn, Birger Sandzén, Julian Onderdonk, Porfirio Salinas, John Cowan and 27 examples by G. Harvey, a Texas artist whose works are staples at Western sales.
The sale will also include works by living artists, including Andy Thomas’ Hightail to Freedom (est. $70/90,000), Kim Wiggins’ Thunderstruck (est. $45/65,000) and Billy Schenck’s Running Wild on the Blood Moon (est. $90/120,000). Berkebile says the Thomas painting should be popular because it is the cover of the artist’s book, The West in Action: Western & Historical Artby Andy Thomas. It’s also a quintessential piece by the artist, with horses, action and Thomas’ ability to capture Western drama. “It’s simply the best piece I’ve seen by the artist,” Berkebile says.
Kim Wiggins, Thunderstruck, 2021, oil, 36 x 48 in. Estimate: $45/65,000
The sale will also include examples by other living artists, such as Kyle Polzin, Don Oelze, David Bates and others.
The sale will take place on Halloween at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel, but bidders are encouraged to show up to the preview and party the night before on October 30. —
Lone Star Art Auction
October 31, 2026, noon
Renaissance Dallas Hotel
2222 N. Stemmons Freeway Dallas, TX 75207
(469) 608-7600
www.lonestarartauction.com
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