Jackson Hole News & Guide

After eight successful years the annual Jackson Hole Art Auction continues to draw art collectors from across the country and around the world with its wide variety of art by deceased and contemporary artists. “This year will mark the ninth annual Jackson Hole Art Auction,” said Jill Callahan, coordinator of the Fall Arts favorite, “and each year we reach a broader clientele. We have bidders from every corner of the country, as well as abroad. Presented by Trailside Galleries and Gerald Peters Gallery, headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this year’s event will feature more than 140 artists representing many genres, including Western, wildlife, sporting, floral, portrait and landscape. “We are becoming known globally for our strong wildlife offerings by masters such as Bob Kuhn and Carl Rungius,” Callahan said. But the auction also is known for its diversity. “There is truly something for everyone,” she said.

To accommodate an even broader audience this year’s auction will feature two sales: Session I, set to start at noon Friday, Sept. 18, at Trailside Galleries, and Session II, scheduled for noon Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Center for the Arts. “The objective of our inaugural Session I auction is to offer high-quality work by desirable contemporary and deceased artists at a price point for the young or beginning collector,” Callahan said. Works by artists such as Harry Jackson, Kenneth Riley, Tucker Smith, Carl Rungius and Chad Poppleton are included in the Session I sale. Artwork can be previewed at Trailside Galleries, located at 130 E. Broadway, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, and 9 a.m. to noon the next day. Callahan said approximately 85 lots will be offered during Session I.

Session II will offer about 220 lots. “We will also offer over 30 paintings specifically created for the Jackson Hole Art Auction by contemporary artists,” Callahan said, “including Martin Grelle, Ewoud de Groot, T. Allen Lawson, Ralph Oberg, Amy Ringholz and more.” Callahan said Session II of the auction will feature many works by contemporary and deceased artists at a wide range of prices. One highlight, she said, will be Albert Bierstadt’s “Wind River Country Wyoming,” from around 1860, which also graces the cover of the auction catalog. The classic painting by one of Western art’s earliest and most revered practitioners is expected to sell for $1 million to $2 million. “This landscape masterwork depicts the Wind River Range,” said Callahan. “A large Wind River scene has not come on the market in 30 years.” Other highlights include works by Clyde Aspevig, Tom Lovell, Bob Kuhn, and Norman Rockwell. Callahan said she expects G. Harvey paintings to be very popular as well. His Civil War painting “The Hope of the Confederacy” is projected to garner $125,000 to $175,000. “We are also pleased to offer a fine selection of Bob Kuhn paintings,” Callahan said, “including ‘Cheetahs
on a Termite Hill,’ which has also never been on the market.”

Session II artwork can be previewed 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday,
Sept. 19, at the Center for the Arts. After enjoying great popularity and success at last year’s auction the Top Tier competition will return for its second year. Eight artists have been invited to compete for a $10,000 cash prize, with the winner to be determined by a three-person jury. The artists who will be vying for the prize are William Acheff, John Banovich, Ken Carlson, Guy Coheleach, Jenness Cortez, Z.S. Liang, Bonnie Marris and Mian Situ. The judges will be Emily Kapes, art collection curator at Raymond James Financial; Natasha Khandekar, director and curator of the William I. Koch Collection;
and Sue Simpson Gallagher, the owner of Simpson Gallagher Gallery in Cody. They will select a winner Friday, Sept. 18, and all the Top Tier lots will be sold during Session II on Saturday. Admission to all Jackson Hole Art Auction events is free, but registration is required to bid.