36th Annual Coeur d’Alene Art Auction Brings Important Works of Western and American Art
The annual Coeur d’Alene Art Auction will return in full force this July. Collectors of fine Western and American art can bid on nearly 400 lots starting at 2:00 PM EDT on July 31st, 2021. The event will take place live at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. Bidders can also participate online exclusively on Bidsquare.
2021 marks the 36th consecutive year of the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction. For the sixth year in a row, collectors can also place online bids from the comfort of home through Bidsquare. This event will particularly feature the Mr. & Mrs. John K. Goodman Collection and the Harry Jackson Collection of the California State University, Northridge.
Leading the auction catalog is Charles M. Russell’s Roping a Wolf from 1904 (estimate: USD 1,000,000 – $1,500,000). The prolific American artist captured the American West with his paintbrush, often capturing scenes of cowboys and Native Americans. Russell completed the available painting shortly after returning from a trip to New York City. It marks the beginning of his mature artistic period. The piece depicts three professional ‘wolfers’ capturing a wild wolf. Hazy mountains are visible in the background as the lead rider snags the animal mid-air.
Another notable lot available in this year’s Coeur d’Alene Art Auction is Oscar Berninghaus’ The Domain of Their Ancestors (estimate: $400,000 – $600,000). An artist of the American Southwest and co-founder of the Taos Society of Artists, Berninghaus pursued a career in fine art while living part-time in New Mexico. He often interacted with local Native American communities and painted key figures of the early 20th century. This painting, executed in 1925, shows Chief Two Guns White Calf looking over a lake toward Mt. Grinnell and Mt. Wilbur. According to the lot description, Western art dealer Bob Drummond described The Domain of Their Ancestors as “the best Berninghaus painting ever painted.”
Many other artists of the American West found inspiration in Native American cultures and traditions. Eanger Irving Couse, another early member of the Taos Society of Artists, studied and worked with the local Pueblo tribes. The upcoming auction features Couse’s The New Rug painting from 1917 (estimate: $250,000 – $350,000). It belongs to a series of blanket and rug paintings that Couse completed for the Beacon Manufacturing Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The painting shows Antonio Lujan of Taos Pueblo holding a bright orange and green Navajo blanket.
The auction catalog also presents works from artists outside of the American West. Jane Peterson’s Leaning Tower – Venice (estimate: $80,000 – $120,000) will be available alongside Anna Mary Robertson Moses’ The Church in the Hills ($150,000 – $250,000). Better known as ‘Grandma Moses,’ the latter artist was self-taught and often painted rural scenes from New York and Virginia.
Collectors can also consider the following items:
* Greasewood and Sage, undated oil painting by Walter Ufer (estimate: $300,000 – $500,000)
* Horse Raid, 1978 oil painting by Tom Lovell (estimate: $250,000 – $350,000)
* The Borderland of the Other Tribe, c. 1897 ink wash on paper en grisaille by Frederic Remington (estimate: $200,000 – $300,000)
* The Eve of St. John, undated tempera painting by Peter Hurd (estimate: $100,000 – $150,000)
* Watcher of the Plains, 1901 bronze sculpture by Charles M. Russell (estimate: $50,000 – $75,000)
The annual Coeur d’Alene Art Auction offers a wide range of classical and contemporary Western and American fine art. Its specialists bring over 100 years of combined experience to each sale, regularly setting new auction records and bringing exposure to rising artists. For over 35 years, the event has taken place in Reno, Nevada. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction also offers online bidding exclusively through Bidsquare.
The 2021 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction of Fine Western & American Art will begin at 2:00 PM EDT on July 31st, 2021. For more information and to register to bid, visit Bidsquare.
