Western artists heat up Coeur d'Alene auction

24 August 2010

Gunnar Widforss (1879-1934) Lily Pads (1915), watercolor on paper, 4.75 x 7.5 inches, signed l.r., sold at the Couer d'Alene Auction for $11,115.

click to enlarge

Edgar S. Paxson (1852-1919) Joseph - Nez Perce (1899) oil on board, 13 x 10 inches, signed c.r., sold for an auction record price of $163,800

The annual Couer d'Alene Auction in Reno, Nevada, totalled a strong $9.2 million (with buyer's premium) on July 24. Among the 312 lots of traditional and contemporary Western, wildlife, and sporting art, were several notable record-breakers.

A 13-by-10-inch portrait of Chief Joseph by Edgar Paxon (1852–1919) garnered a new world auction record of $163,800 for the artist.

Alaskan artists performed well, including Sydney Laurence, whose 40-by-36-inch oil of Mt. McKinley brought $70,200.

A tiny (4.75-by-7.5-inch) Gunnar Widforss (1879-1934) pond view with lily pads that previously went unsold at a Swedish sale was among the sale's surprises. The $400/600 estimate for the 1915 watercolor was blown away to a final price of $11,115.

The cover lot, "Kachina Painter" (1917) by Eanger Irving Couse, brought $753,000.

A number of contemporary artists reached world record prices, while 19th-century artists also found eager buyers. Of note, Enoch Perry Wood's early Yosemite scene (1863), brought $76,050, and Charles M. Russell's "Dakota Chief" (1897), a 12-by-18 oil on board, fetched $631,000, above its high estimate of $600,000.

Read more at Antiques and the Arts

More News Feed Headlines

Julien Hudson, 1811-1844 American. Creole Boy With A Moth, 1835, oil on canvas, courtesy of a private collection; photo courtesy of Fodera Fine Art Conservation, Ltd.

First Retrospective of Early African American Artist Julien Hudson at Worcester Art Museum

A groundbreaking exhibition opened Dec. 9 at the Worcester Art Museum entitled “In Search of Julien Hudson: Free Artist of Color in Pre-Civil War New Orleans.” Julien Hudson (1811-1844) is the second-earliest documented portrait painter of African descent to work in the United States. Little-known today, Hudson died an untimely, somewhat mysterious death, and only fragments of his oeuvre survive to tell his story.

'May,' by Alexander Motyl, $25/month to rent ($550 to buy), artsicle.com.

Virtual Art Buying Gets a Boost From New Websites

A bevy of new online ventures are helping to streamline the process of buying art for both beginners and established collectors, facilitating keyboard-click access to information and galleries.

An installation view of the new Tuscaloosa Museum of Art: Home of the Westervelt Collection.

New Tuscaloosa Museum of Art to Showcase Important American Art

Last week, the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art opened its doors, finally giving a home to the art collection assembled by Jack Warner. Earlier this year, the Jack Warner Foundation and Westervelt Company separated, leaving the fate undetermined as to where their respective collections would be housed. Several key works were sold by the Westervelt Co. at auction and privately. Now, more than 800 pieces...

Portrait of a Man and Woman in an Interior, painted about 1666, by Eglon van der Neer (Dutch, 1634–1703). Oil on panel. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Seth K. Sweetser Fund.

Museum Curator as Art Detective

At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Victoria Reed is the first and only endowed curator of provenance at an American museum. Since 2010, her role has been to research objects in the museum's collections, and new acquisitions, in order to determine the right of ownership. At times, Reed's findings have led to restitution...