Burton Silverman, "Before the Race, Oil on Canvas, 22 x 16 inches
A new online exhibition of Burton Silverman’s portraits are highlighted in Haynes Galleries’s summer exhibition “Thoughtful Portraits.” Silverman has been an icon of Contemporary Realism for decades; this exhibition presents paintings and watercolors from several periods in his career. The exhibition is available via a digital catalog on Haynes Galleries website and select works are available for viewing by appointment viewing at Haynes Galleries, just south of Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2018 Burton Silverman was awarded the Fine Art Connoisseur Lifetime Achievement Award (see the video below) at the annual Figurative Art Convention & Expo (save $400 on the early-bird registration for 2020).
Burton Silverman, “Blue Sneakers,” Oil on Canvas, 30 x 24 inches
From the gallery:
There is a consistency in his style that is comforting but the variety of poses, formality, and intimacy depending on the subject shows Silverman’s range.
Burton Silverman has been an exhibiting fine artist for nearly 70 years. He is most often celebrated for his portraits of people from all walks of life, from Supreme Court justices to New York City strippers. His talent lies in his ability to capture people as they are, without superficiality or grandiosity. Swaying back and forth between tighter brushstrokes for the finer details and looser brushiness for mood and ambiance, Silverman finds the balance between realism and abstraction.
Oil has been Silverman’s preferred media for his portraits over the years. His staging and composing varies from one subject to the next. Set against a blue gray wall “Light Switch” leaves little to identify the young woman, her head turned slightly and wisps of hair escaping from her knit cap. But the care shown to her face and expression reveals all we need.
Burton Silverman, “Light Switch,” Oil on Canvas, 19 x 22 inches
Silverman has also worked consistently in watercolor over the years. His portraits take on a new freshness in the medium, with the fluid quality drawing the eye around the picture to take in a stroke here and a blast of color there. From interiors like “Woman on Blue Sofa” to outdoor scenes like “Beach Scene III,” Silverman’s watercolors are an interesting avenue of his output that gets due consideration in the exhibition.
Burton Silverman, “Woman on Blue Sofa,” Watercolor, 14 x 21 inchesBurton Silverman, “Beach Scene III,” 1985, Watercolor, 13 x 22 inches
“Thoughtful Portraits” is just the latest solo exhibition and accolade for Silverman. They have followed him around his entire career. He has paintings in no fewer than 31 public collections around the country. He has been commissioned by law schools and hospitals to paint deans and directors, and he has been voted by peers into the National Academy of Design, the American Watercolor Society, and the Portrait Society of America.
But even after all the honors, and all the years that have gone by, for Silverman, painting is still about the people. “I continue to make paintings of people and their place in our time because I am of that time. Out of that I hope to make pictures that are timeless.”
Burton Silverman, “Study for Stonebreaker,” Oil on Linen, 18 x 13 inches
For more information about “Thoughtful Portraits,” please visit haynesgalleries.com.
WATCH > Fine Art Connoisseur Lifetime Achievement Award – Burton Silverman:
Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599 - 1641), "Portrait of a Young Girl in a White Apron," 1630, Oil on canvas, 99 × 83 cm. (39 × 32 5/8 in.), Philip Mould & Company
The innovative digital presentation of London Art Week Summer 2020, taking place July 3-10, 2020, welcomes numerous new faces alongside familiar participants that have supported the event for many years. Some 50 exhibitors have been confirmed to date.
International newcomers include Galerie Canesso and Jacques Leegenhoek from Paris, Nicolás Cortés Gallery of Madrid, Daxer & Marschall and Arnoldi-Livie of Munich, and, from Italy, dealers such as Walter Padovani of Milan with sculpture, Antichità Alberto Di Castro Srl of Rome with works of art, Bottegantica of Bologna with Italian art and Enrico Ceci Cornici Antiche of Modena with fine antique frames. From the USA come new participants Jill Newhouse Gallery and Mireille Mosler.
Above: Sam Fogg, London: English glazier, A stained-glass tracery panel of an angel among stars, c. 1450, Stained glass, 20.5 x 20.5 cm / 8 x 8 inches
Among new London-based dealers taking part in London Art Week this summer is Stuart Lochhead Sculpture, Osborne Samuel Ltd, Panter & Hall, Benjamin Proust Fine Art Ltd, and Offer Waterman. Sladmore Gallery and Philip Mould & Company return after a few years. Works for sale span 5000 years of art, from ancient Egypt to Modern British, with an emphasis on Old and Modern Masters, offered by the world’s most respected fine art galleries.
Ceci Antichita di Ceci Enrico (new – Modena) Venice, Xvi°Century, Aedicula Frame
In response to the global Covid-19 situation, London Art Week has created a new online space for dealers to work together, preserving the collegiate nature of the event which embraces auction houses and which is supported by museum partners and art world sponsors. A major feature is a new series of mixed, curated Viewing Rooms where works from a cross-section of participants will be shown side by side, a new way for dealers to be discovered by a world-wide audience.
Florian Härb and Martin Grässle: André Maire (Paris 1898 – 1984), “A Malgache Reclining with a Child Holding a Fruit,” 1959, Charcoal, pastel, 50.4 × 65 cm. (19 13/16 × 25 9/16 in.), Signed and dated, lower right, André Maire / 1959
THEMES of HUMANITY AND PORTRAITURE
This summer, many exhibitions focus on the human form and there are many portrait highlights – perhaps life under lockdown has reminded us of the importance of the human face and the stories they mask or express. Lullo • Pampoulides, taking inspiration from our current and unusual situation, is curating an exhibition of portraiture, In Silent Conversation: Portraits from the 16th to the 20th Centuries, while Galleria Carlo Virgilio & C. is showing Faces 4, a series of Italian self-portraits and portrait paintings, mostly of the early 20th century, all new to the market and selected for their quality and intriguing iconography.
Sam Fogg presents Medieval Faces, which brings together some 40 artworks in sculpture, painting, stained glass and manuscript illumination, all created by European artists during a period spanning the 13th to 16th centuries. Through this varied spectrum of objects, the show will aim to demonstrate how the interests and concerns of our medieval forebears, and their insatiable drive to capture the essence of human presence, are really no different from our own in today’s world.
Pieter Coecke Van Aelst (Aalst 1502 – Brussels 1550), “Madonna and Child with the Veil,” c. 1550, Oil on panel, 110 x 70 cm. (43 1/4 x 27 1/2 in.), Klaas Muller
New exhibitor Nicolás Cortés Gallery of Madrid has a wonderful c. 1575 Portrait of a Gentleman by Bartolomeo Passerotti (1529-1592) of Bologna, an example of the artist’s innovative ‘staged’ portraiture, in which the sitter is depicted ‘in action’.
Portraits also feature strongly at Philip Mould & Company, returning to London Art Week after a few years, where highlights include works by Sir Anthony Van Dyck, Duncan Grant, Sir Peter Lely, and a captivating portrait of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, with the old Battersea Bridge and the Swan Tavern beyond, painted in 1869 by the artist’s friend Walter Greaves (1846-1930).
Pierino da Vinci (Vinci 1529/30 – Pisa 1553), “Two Children Holding a Fish,” c. 1545, Carrara marble, 67.7 x 31.2 x 32.6 cm (26.65 x 12.28 x 12.83 in.), Benjamin Proust Fine ArtCallisto Fine Arts, London: Domenico Paci (Ascoli Piceno 1785 – Ascoli Piceno 1863), Alexander the Great,” 1819, Terracotta, Bust: 102 cm. (40.16 in.), Inscription: ‘Alessandro Mag. Conte Antonio Mora fece costruire nel 1819 Domenico Paci Fece Ascoli”, Overall: 132 x 67.5 x 42 cm. (51.97 x 26.57 x 16.53 in.)Arnoldi-Livie, Munich: Edgar Degas (Paris 1834-1917), “Buste de danseuse,” c. 1896, Black chalk, 40 x 59 cm, 15 3/4 x 23 1/4 inches, Atelier stamp, lower left: “Degas” (Lugt 658)
WOMEN IN ART
There are several exhibitions featuring women artists: Ben Elwes Fine Art will present a painting by the Swedish artist Anna Katerina Boberg (1864-1935) who for many decades created work inspired by glaciers, the sea, and the midnight sun particularly around the archipelago of Lofoten in the Norwegian Sea. Boberg even joined a scientific voyage funded by the Swedish Crown in 1911 and her resulting paintings went on tour to the USA in a special exhibit of Scandinavian art sponsored by Gustav V of Sweden and the crowned heads of Norway and Denmark.
Ben Elwes Fine Art, London: Anna Boberg (1864-1935), “Putting Out to Sea,” Swedish, c. 1912, Oil on Canvas, 91 × 64 cm (36 × 25½ in), Signed lower left: ‘Anna Boberg’
Karen Taylor Fine Art presents an exhibition of British Women Artists, 1780-1890 – a Selection of Works on Paper. Karen says: “The work of women artists provides us with an important counterbalance in art history and its gradual emergence into the mainstream is to be celebrated. [Because they worked] outside the academic sphere, female artists have not received the attention bestowed upon their male counterparts.” She hopes “this small selection… will contribute a little to the current reassessment of their work.”
Among artists featured is Augusta Innes Withers (1792-1877), botanical painter to Queen Charlotte and Queen Victoria, and painter to the Royal Horticultural Society, and Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919), one of the stars of the recent Pre-Raphaelite Sisters show at the National Portrait Gallery.
Bottegantica, Bologna: Giovanni Boldini (1842 – 1931), “Rose garden,” Ferrara, Paris, c. 1900-1905, Watercolour on paper, 460 x 320 mm / 18.11 x 12.59, Signed lower left: Boldini
For more information about London Art Week, please visit londonartweek.co.uk.
David Kiehm, The Stalker, 11 x 14, Oil on Panel, $2600
The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) recently announced its “Fresh Off the Easel” gallery of wildlife and nature art from premier painters and sculptors in the genre.
David Lanier, October, 18 x 24, Acrylic on Linen, $6,000
“While the pinnacle of our year occurs in February when artists and collectors gather in Charleston, we represent artists and source new work year-round,” said a representative. “We look forward to celebrating these new works throughout the year, and hope they bring you the same inspiration as they do us.
David Lanier, Silent Night, 16 x 24, Acrylic on Linen, $6500
New works will be released bi-monthly. Please visit sewe.com to view more works.
Marsha Massih, “Yellow Dress,” oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in.
At the Second Annual Figurative Art Convention & Expo (FACE), Marsha Massih participated in a panel discussion regarding the classical painter Frank Mason (1921–2009).
I started painting because I was intrigued by the idea of interpreting nature with oil paint, visually communicating something of what I felt while painting the subject. Frank Mason helped me to see light and color on forms, whether that be the figure/portrait, the landscape, or the still life. If I am outside painting a landscape, I want the viewer to feel the atmosphere. When I’m painting a figure or portrait, I try to capture a piece of the personality, hoping to evoke a mood. I am drawn to creating a mood, painting a new world within the existing one.
Marsha Massih, “Santiago,” oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in.
I always dreamed of being an artist but wasn’t really encouraged by my parents, who felt that a professional degree would be a more secure route. So although I traveled Europe in my early 20s internalizing the beauty of the art all around me, it wasn’t until right after graduate school (I studied international affairs) that I began to take my art seriously. I took evening painting classes at the Art Students League and then eventually quit my day job to pursue art full-time. First and foremost was my desire to gain literacy with representational painting and drawing, which required (and continues to require) many hours of practice from live models. Attending Frank Mason’s landscape workshop every June in Vermont for five years helped me see and start to understand atmosphere, color, and light as observed in nature.
Marsha Massih, “Resurrection,” etching, 5 x 8 in.
I am interested in creating with oil paint a world where mood, color, movement, light, and atmosphere are felt and experienced. My impetus for painting is not really conceptual; it has more to do with the visceral pleasure of expressing feeling and the spiritual energy inherent in nature. That’s the vision. That said, I have recently been thinking quite a lot about how to explore (with paint) my Persian and European heritage. I’m experimenting with higher-keyed color and patterns found in Persian art. We’ll see where that exploration goes!
Marsha Massih, “Take Five,” oil on canvas, 12 x 16 in.
Frank Hagel, “Cree Trapper with Bull Boat,” oil, 30 x 40
Western Art by Frank Hagel > Intent and methodical, he approaches the canvas — or panel — with purpose, imparting in paint his love for Montana and all things Western.
Whether it be an extended experience, a split-second moment, or a historical account met through research, artist Frank Hagel is always ready for his next painting’s subject to reveal itself. When the spark of inspiration hits, Hagel’s methodical process begins, a course that is finely tuned and has consistently yielded breathtaking results.
Frank Hagel, “Topping Out,” oil, 16 x 24
“After I’ve thought about the painting in depth, I start with a small color idea sketch in oil on paper on a small notebook, usually no bigger than 4 x 6 inches,” he recounts. “Then comes gathering needed information for the composition, either drawing or photographing from a model, or finding the appropriate landscape. At this point the drawing is enlarged and transferred to the canvas or panel. The painting begins.”
Frank Hagel, “Gates of the Mountains,” oil, 2017
Hagel’s memorable encounter with Chief Mountain, a sacred spot for the Native American Blackfeet tribe in northwestern Montana, led to the outstanding “Chief Mountain Nocturne,” which captures the towering subject just as darkness falls. “I posed my model on horseback and did a fairly small, 5 x 7-inch oil sketch for color and composition, and began the process of rearranging values and colors to suggest a night scene with the horse guard as the dominant element,” says Hagel.
Indeed, the Blackfeet guard stands as majestically as the mountain beyond, endowing the subject with a stoic strength, confidence, and status. Just beyond the main subject, the viewer finds a small herd of grazing horses before the faint glow of fires within tipis grouped along the horizon. The warm glow of the oranges and reds from the fire adds a brief moment of rest for the eyes amidst a beautiful arrangement of cool greens, whites, purples, and blues.
Frank Hagel, “Chief Mountain Nocturne,” oil, 24 x 36 in., 2017
“My paintings are almost always inspired by Montana,” the artist writes, “whether landscapes, animals, or humans, they are all familiar to me and interesting in an historical or pictorial sense.” Hagel is one of the preeminent painters of the American West, and his connection with Montana and Western culture runs extremely deep and, to be sure, well beyond his art. “My mother was born in Wyoming, and my father in Idaho — each only a few years after both territories became states,” Hagel says. “I was born in Montana and have spent most of my life here, enjoying and studying all its facets: the scenery, geography, history of its natives, and its subsequent explorers and inhabitants, the weather, historical and everyday happenings, and the general overall feeling. In the course of growing up here and becoming a full-time artist, I experienced the most true of Montana livelihoods: working at my parents’ tannery, logging, ranching, outfitting and guiding hunters, etc. This familiarity also has led me to become a student of all aspects of Montana’s history — doing the research, exploring, reading, and studying the history of the state, with all its interesting events and occurrences. The subject matter is infinite.”
The connection Hagel experiences with Montana surfaces with great passion in his paintings, and is a key feature that he hopes his viewers share. He writes, “I hope my audience will share some of the reverence I feel and the beauty I find in the state of Montana.” Well put and, indeed, well achieved.
Frank Hagel’s Western art and oil paintings are available through Frame of Reference Fine Art in Whitefish: frameref.com.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Books for Art Lovers > No one is better qualified to publish the richly illustrated, 400-page volume Eanger Irving Couse: The Life and Times of an American Artist, 1866–1936 than his granddaughter, the art historian Virginia Couse Leavitt.
Enjoying unique access to her family’s archives, she has produced the first scholarly exploration of Couse’s lifelong interest in Native American cultures, his upbringing in Michigan, his academic training under William Bouguereau in Paris, and his eventual relocation to Taos, New Mexico.
There, in 1915, he helped found the Taos Society of Artists, serving as its first president and producing hundreds of superb Southwestern landscapes and respectful depictions of Pueblo Indians.
Particularly insightful is the correspondence of Couse’s wife, Virginia Walker, who was an art student in Paris when the couple met.
Fine Art Today covers artists and products we think you’ll love. Linked products are independently selected and linked to for your convenience. If you buy something using a link on this page, Streamline Publishing may receive a small share of that sale.
Art Historian, Curator, and dear friend of Fine Art Connoisseur and Plein Air, Jean Stern will retire from his position as Senior Curator of California Impressionism at The University of California, Irvine’s Institute and Museum of California Art (IMCA) on June 30, 2020.
“Jean Stern is a beacon of expertise and collegiality who has played a leading role in reshaping our collective understanding not only of California’s artistic heritage, but that of Impressionism in America generally,” said Fine Art Connoisseur Editor-in-Chief Peter Trippi. “Everyone at Fine Art Connoisseur remains grateful to him for his service to the field and looks forward to keeping in touch with him as the next chapter of his career opens. In particular, we congratulate Jean and the IMCA on the creation of its Jean Stern Acquisitions Fund.”
Stern has been a staple at the Plein Air Convention, he has led talks on the main stage on topics such as California Impressionism and the history of plein air painting. “Jean has played a critical role in the success of the worldwide plein air movement,” said Eric Rhoads, CEO of Streamline Publishing. “He has brought attention and credibility that otherwise would not have existed.”
Throughout his career, Stern worked to heighten awareness of the school of California Impressionism through a noteworthy series of exhibitions, books, lectures, articles, and video documentaries. He has presented over 250 lectures, and judged and juried more than 100 local, national, and international art competitions.
Stern said, “It has been an honor to help develop our historic art heritage and to work with the staff and with so many dedicated art collectors. As part of the UCI Institute and Museum of California Art, the Irvine Museum Collection will continue to inspire and educate our community as well as generations to come.”
IMCA Museum Director Kim Kanatani said, “While we understand Jean’s resolve to direct his passion for and extraordinary command of the history of California Impressionism beyond our campus, we are profoundly grateful to him for his countless contributions to UCI and the field. The IMCA community is indebted to him for his foresight in creating widespread appreciation of the California experience expressed through this unique genre. We wish him all the best with this next chapter of his life.”
To celebrate his legacy, IMCA also announced the launch of the Jean Stern Acquisitions Fund to further deepen its holdings of California Impressionist works. As UCI coronavirus protocols permit, IMCA will host a virtual celebration for Stern and the launch of this initiative in July. His collection building acumen and curatorial insights will remain an integral part of IMCA programming through 2021. When UCI health protocols allow the IMCA to reopen, his curated exhibition, Radiant Impressions, will showcase highlights from The Irvine Museum Collection paired with complementary loaned artworks. The exhibition considers ways the selected artists engaged with light, for its optical qualities and through metaphor where ephemeral moments are infused with meaning.
In 2017, Stern received the prestigious Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture. He has also been presented with lifetime achievement awards from the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association in 2013, the Plein Air Painters of America in 2014, and by Plein Air Magazine in 2014. He currently serves on the board of the California Art Club, founded in 1909, and is a board adviser to the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. Prior to joining the UCI community, Stern directed Jean Stern Fine Paintings, his gallery in Encino.
He received his B.A. from California State University, Northridge, and M.A. in Art History from San Diego State University. His doctoral studies in American Art were conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles.
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this new “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the paintings below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Soul of Light by Arnold Desmarais, Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40 in.; Anderson Fine Art Gallery
This is Us by Cheryl Elmo, Watercolor on Contemporary Mount, 36 x 44 in.; Bluestone Fine Art Gallery
Mixed Media Week. This Week We Are Featuring Mixed Media on Canvases In Our Online Viewing Room. Ferrari Gallery.
Traffic Jam by Kari Tirrell (born 1965), Acrylic on Aluminum Panel, 24 x 30 in., signed; Rehs Contemporary
The HMS Frolic and USS Wasp, October 18, 1812 by John Bentham-Dinsdale (1927-2006), Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40 in., signed; Rehs Galleries, Inc.
Female #1 by Dan Gerhartz, Oil on Canvas, 22 x 18 in.; Liliedahl Fine Art Studio-Gallery
Quinacridone Glow by Molly Doe Wensberg, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 60 in.; Edgewater Gallery
Grace by Ken Salaz, Oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in.; Tree’s Place
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today – don’t delay, as spaces are first-come first-serve and availability is limited.
White Peonies, by Jenny Kelley, oil on linen, 16 x 18 inches
In this Art Gallery Spotlight, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Donovan, owner of The Gallery at Tree’s Place in Orleans, Massachusetts. Discover the ways in which this gallery passionately connects collectors with original art that speaks to the emotions.
Seashell Distancing by Susanne Taylor oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Cherie Dawn Haas: Please tell us about your gallery and the type of art in which you specialize. Mike Donovan: The Gallery at Tree’s Place was founded on Cape Cod in 1986, with a commitment to promoting the best established and emerging artists in the region. It has since grown to become one of the leading dealers of representational painting in the nation, proud home to some of the finest living painters working in this genre.
We are committed to helping people discover the value of living with original art. Whether your budget is $500 or $50,000, we believe that you are best-served investing in a one-of-a-kind object that you love. Collecting begins with a personal, visual, and emotional connection to a piece of art. Experience tells us that one-of-a-kind objects bring clients more conversation, more investment return and, most importantly, more prolonged enjoyment than any reproduction. Knowing that an accomplished artist, rather than a machine, carefully selected and applied materials resulting in the finished piece you see makes for a genuine, unique experience.
We know that our clients are interested in building a collection of great quality; one that reflects their personal style. We would rather send you home empty-handed than with a painting or sculpture you won’t treasure for years to come. Personal relationships are important to us here. We often visit artists’ studios and bring paintings back with particular clients in mind. Our experienced staff is happy to make house calls. We are committed to helping you select works of art that enhance and complement the architecture and existing objects in your home’s interior.
It’s a Duck’s Life By Carolyne Hawley oil on canvas, 14 x 18 inches
What adjustments have you made as a gallery since the outbreak?
We have cancelled all Artist Receptions for the season. The gallery re-opened on June 9th after being closed for three months. While closed we continued to send emails about exhibitions and select works, although the results were paltry. Now that we are open, we follow CDC guidelines to ensure that our clients and employees are safe.
What’s your biggest priority at this time? Over the next year?
Survival! We are not sure how the summer season will play out and are hoping for the best. We are a seasonal economy and count on foot traffic to make the gallery profitable. If people decide not to shop, it could be devastating.
Local Diner by Bill Farnsworth oil on linen panel, 14 x 18 inches
What advice do you have for collectors as they navigate these times, and beyond?
I always tell my clients that art needs to reach you emotionally. If you connect with the work, it will please you for a lifetime. Now more than ever, people need positive environments to live in and artwork can create that environment in your home or office.
Anything else you’d like to add about the current issues galleries are navigating?
Keep it positive – try different price points to attract as broad a collector base as possible.
Piping Plover (Lifesize) by Eric Kaiser Carved tupelo with oils
What are some of the ways you find artists to represent?
We follow other galleries around the country who represent the caliber of artist we hope to represent and reach out to those artists who might be a good fit for us. More often than not, we are approached by artists directly for representation. Each year we add one or two new artists.
Set in the Sun by Maryann Lucas oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches
Regarding your exhibitions, do you have a current online show?
Our current exhibition is “Flora and Fauna,” a celebration of plant and animal life featuring new works from six different resident artists in the gallery. It is on view until June 26, 2020. We have new shows every two weeks until late September and then we have our annual Small Works show for the holidays.
William R. Leigh, “Pony Express,” sold for $680,200
After reinventing the process of holding an art auction during these unexpected times, the recent Scottsdale Art Auction proved to be a success. Organizers offered bidding both online and in person, with safety measures in place.
With 10 manned phone lines, 480 online bidders and 150 collectors in the room, collector Naoma Tate said after bidding through iCollector and phone calls with Scottsdale Art Auction staff, “Brad and Jinger (Richardson) had to reinvent the process and made it seamless. The online catalogue was easy to browse and they responded quickly and in person to questions about condition reports and the bidding process. They made it exciting yet simple to bid. I prefer to be in the room and feel the excitement generated by the auction. By broadcasting the auction and being able to be on the telephone to bid, I felt connected…. That’s important to me. Thank you Scottsdale Art Auction!”
Maynard Dixon, “Trail Herd,” sold for $350,000
From the organizers:
Scottsdale Art Auction in Scottsdale, AZ was presented to an eager gathering of collectors from throughout the United States on Saturday, June 13, 2020 with over $10,000,000 in sales. Paintings and sculpture by Frederic Remington, Maynard Dixon, W. R. Leigh, and Charles M. Russell led the field of deceased masters, with thirteen paintings by Dixon that brought $1,425,545.
An iconic bronze by Frederic Remington, “The Cheyenne” (estimated at $400,000 – $600,000) fetched $438,750 and Cowboy Artists of America sculptors Fred Fellows, “Riding out a Bad Investment” (estimated at $25,000 – $35,000) brought $87,500 (a World Auction Record for the artist) and John Coleman, “War & Peace” (estimated at $25,000 – $35,000) sold for $46,800.
A 28 inches by 22 inches oil by William R. Leigh, titled “Pony Express” brought applause from the crowd when it sold for $680,200 and Allan Houser’s “Lament,” a 65 inches high bronze set a World Record at auction for Houser when it hammered at $105,300.
Other highlights included six oils by G. Harvey that hammered down at $631,800 and a fine selection of six small works by Kenneth Riley with a high estimate of $80,000 that achieved $144,495 when bidding ended.
Contemporary masters Mark Maggiori sold “Arizona Wonders” (estimated at $25,000 – $35,000) for $70,200 and Logan Maxwell Hagege’s “Wherever the Wind Might Go” (estimated at $60,000 – $90,000) sold for $122,850. The crowd gasped when a small, 12 inches by 16 inches oil by Ed Mell (estimated at $5,000 – $7,000) hammered down at $35,100.
E. Martin Hennings, “Rabbit Hunt,” sold for $100,000
The sale was originally scheduled for April 4 but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic until June 13. The Scottsdale Art Auction team provided masks, required socially distanced seating, and distributed box lunches between Session I in the morning and Session II in the afternoon. “We were certainly challenged this year,” said auction partner Brad Richardson, “but we were determined to bring this collection of art to market for our consignors and collectors and we were pleased with 90% of the lots sold for over $10,000,000.”
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