“Goot Packers at Work” by Frederic Remington (American, 1861-1909) earned the sale’s highest price — $81,900. The pen, ink and watercolor illustration, 11¼ by 17 inches, was originally done for the March 1881 issue of The Century Magazine ($15/25,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Cowboys, Native Americans and Western wildlife were the predominant subjects in Scottsdale Art Auction’s August 3 sale. Comprising 401 lots of paintings, sculptures, drawings and etchings, the sale successfully knocked down all but 13 lots for 97 percent sold and realized a total of nearly $2 million. “The market for contemporary Western art is strong as ever, as we are seeing in both the auction and our gallery,” said Brad Richardson, co-owner. “Classic pieces by the most sought-after artists in the West were well-received by collectors this year. Additionally, we had many more registered bidders than last August’s sale and plenty of new buyers for all material.” With a total of 1,600 bidders, 190 of those were brand new to Scottsdale Art Auction.
Frederic Remington, best known for his works depicting the Old West, was represented by four of the top six works in the sale, including the highest-priced lot overall. The four lots came from the family collection of Lady Jean Templeton Ward (née Reid). According to the auction catalog, “The consignor believes that these four Remington’s originally belonged to one of her great-grandmother Jean’s parents and came with her to be hung at Chilton, home to the consignor and the marital home of her American great-grandmother when she married her great-grandfather, The Honorable (Later Sir) John Ward, in 1908.”
Exceeding its $25,000 high estimate to earn $81,900, was “Goot Packers At Work,” Remington’s original illustration for the March 1981 issue of The Century Magazine. Done in pen, ink and black and white watercolor, the work depicted two cowboys using significant effort to strap packs onto the back of a horse. “‘Goot Packers At Work’ is unique as far as subject matter goes and collectors were really drawn to it as the bidding was furious and quite competitive with multiple bidders chasing it,” said Richardson. “Of the four Remington drawings, we put the lowest estimate on this piece but it ended up selling for the most.”
Exceeding its $30/50,000 estimates to finish at $76,700 was “Hauling Wagon Out of Bog Hole” by Frederic Remington (American, 1861-1909), an original 12-by-18-inch black and white oil painting for The Century Magazine (February 1888).
The other three works by Remington were also done for The Century Magazine. Achieving $76,700 — and the second-highest price overall — was “Hauling Wagon Out of Bog Hole,” his emotive 1888 black and white oil painting of three cowboys helping to pull a covered wagon out of a swamp. Another black and white oil from the same year was “The Outlying Camp.” This one, which went out at $47,200, depicted a man cooking on a fire beside a cabin while another man tacked his horse.
Though text to the bottom of the image read, “A Game of Monte — Indian Territory Apaches,” both the catalog and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody, Wyo.) titled the illustration, “Indian Territory Apaches Playing Monte.” The black and white watercolor painting was highlighted with additional white pigment and depicted six men sitting in a circle playing a card game. The framed 1889 painting crossed the block for $44,250. All four works were illustrated in Peter H. Hassrick and Melissa J. Webster’s Frederic Remington Catalogue Raisonné (Cody, Wyo.: The Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 1996).
After arriving to the market for the first time ever, Gerard Curtis Delano’s “Footprints At The Pool” was knocked down for $76,050. Playing with light and color, the vibrant yellow-orange sunset flooded the scene, reflecting orange in the drinking pool as two Natives and their horses stopped beside the water. The auction catalog described the Massachusetts-born artist’s affinity for painting Native and Western scenes, citing Delano’s own words: “In 1943, he made a trip to Arizona to visit the Navajo lands where he immediately fell in love with what he saw. ‘Arizona’s picturesque setting provide to my mind the greatest possible opportunity for pictorial beauty’ […] Delano would spend the next 30 years of his life painting the rich cultural heritage of the Navajo people. However, Delano also depicted life of the plains Indians and several of his large-size paintings include a similar figure wearing a large headdress like the main figure does in ‘Footprints at the Pool.’”
“Footprints At The Pool” by Gerard Curtis Delano (American, 1890-1972), oil on canvas, 22½ by 40½ inches, was bid to $76,050 ($60/90,000).
Works by contemporary Western artists also fared well, with John Nieto claiming the most ground in that category. Bold colors, sharp lines and abstraction were characteristic of Nieto’s works, several of which were offered in this auction. Leading the grouping at $52,650 was “Holds His Enemy,” an oil on canvas portrait of a Native man against a two-tone purple background, painted in 1992. A set of five close-up portraits of prominent Native American figures, all done in 2013, sold together for $29,250. The subjects included Sitting Bull, Chief Rain in the Face, Crazy Horse, Lone Wolf and George Custer. Each was signed and titled on the reverse, and the portrait of George Custer also had a personal note: “To my best friend / Craig Keeland / from John Nieto / 7-11-13.” Bearing a similar note, “The Prayer” was also a gift to Craig Keeland, though this painting was dated 2011. The Native American subject in that painting was depicted at profile, wearing bright green clothes, holding a prayer stick and with his head tilted toward the night sky. “The Prayer” was claimed for $26,325.
Other notable contemporary artists included Bill Owen, Logan Maxwell Hagege, R. Tom Gilleon, Martin Grelle and Dave McGary. Bill Owen’s 1995 painting, “Cowboss of the Diamond A,” made $40,950. In this work, a herd of cattle, led by a cowboy, emerged from a cloud of dust that rose into the bright blue sky. The painting was housed in a natural wooden frame and a label from the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Okla., was affixed to the reverse.
In Logan Maxwell Hagege’s 2018 “By The Orange Cliffs,” the artist employed his typical stylized realism to depict two people wrapped in blankets, standing beside a horse in an orange desert landscape. The work was initialed to the bottom right as well as signed, titled and dated to the reverse. It exceeded its high estimate, ultimately going out at $32,175.
“By The Orange Cliffs” by Logan Maxwell Hagege (American, b 1980), 2018, oil on board, 16 by 20 inches, surpassed its estimates to achieve $32,175 ($15/25,000).
Many of R. Tom Gilleon’s paintings feature tipis. “Diaspora Desperation,” which sold for $38,025 in this sale, was no exception. However, instead of a lone tipi, the painting included a somber Native American with an American flag draped around their body.
“Autumn Reverie” by Martin Grelle, also a depiction of Native Americans and tipis, brought $32,175. In this autumnal scene, the two Natives are on horseback, facing a nearby camp. The work came from the Horseshoe Bay, Texas, collection of Mr and Mrs Ken Martin.
“Stronghearts,” a polychrome bronze sculpture by Dave McGary, brought $23,400 and was the highest-achieving sculpture in the auction. The sculpture depicted a mother with two young children, one hiding behind the mother’s leg and the other in a beaded cradleboard on her back. Measuring 29½ inches tall on a thin wooden base, the work weighed 48 pounds. Six other McGary bronzes were included in the sale, and all exceeded their estimates. “Walks Among the Stars” earned $19,890 ($8/12,000); “Hearts Of Conviction” (1999) earned $17,550 ($10/15,000); “Young Men of the Enemy Fear His Horses” (1996) earned $15,210 ($10/15,000); “Four Bears” (1992) earned $14,040 ($7/10,000); “Memories of Honor” (2003) earned $14,040 ($8/12,000); and “American Horse” earned $14,040 ($8/12,000).
The highest-earning sculpture was “Stronghearts” by Dave McGary (American, 1958-2013). The 29½-inch-high polychrome bronze figure was signed within an impression of the artist’s thumbprint and almost doubled its high estimate, finishing at $23,400 ($8/12,000).
Fascinated with the American West, Danish-born Olaf Wieghorst moved to the US and eventually moved to Southern California and assimilated into the culture and opened a painting studio. His oil on canvas painting “Mountain Trail” depicted a male figure on horseback, followed by a packhorse, on a rocky trail. Signed to the lower left and housed in a gilt frame, the mountain scene was bid past its estimates and finished at $43,875.
Nearly doubling its high estimate, Fremont Ellis’ “Chapel of Loretto” depicted a well-known Santa Fe, N.M., chapel. According to Scottsdale Art Auction: “In Santa Fe, Ellis was moved by the landscape and unique pueblo architecture and there is nothing more iconic in Santa Fe than the Loretto Chapel, located just steps away from the historic plaza on Old Santa Fe Trail. The Loretto Chapel was built in 1873, and it is the home of Santa Fe’s most famous relic, the Miraculous Staircase, built of wood with no glue, nails or other hardware. It is only fitting that Santa Fe’s most famous and well-respected artist would paint Santa Fe’s most famous and well-known architectural structure, The Loretto Chapel. This is the only known Ellis painting of the Loretto Chapel that has ever come to auction.” The painting was struck down for $23,400.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Stair will be auctioning fine art and antiques from the Lyme, Conn., estate of Henri Charles Veit on September 11. For information, www.scottsdaleartauction.com or 480-945-0225.
