Jackson Hole Art Auction Revs Up; Kate Hunt at Diehl

“This is our wall of major players, and “Remuda” by Dixon is one of our stars,” noted Jackson Hole Art Auction coordinator Jill Callahan as we perused 2013’s Auction highlights. “Dixon’s been doing very, very well at auction; a recent major Western auction offered a number of Dixons, and they all sold far over estimate. We have Donald J. Hagerty, a Dixon expert, writing an entry for our catalog, and he considers this painting to be one of Dixon’s super works, completed completed just before his death. Dixon often kept what he considered his best works. He started “Remuda” in 1921 and hung onto it, finishing it in 1945. The painting is double-dated, very rare.”

“Remuda” is estimated to sell between $250,000 – $450,000.

Dixon’s “Remuda” is one of hundreds of paintings we looked at during my recent visit to the Jackson Hole Art Auction showroom and offices, upstairs at Trailside Galleries, in Jackson. The prestigious annual Western art auction is produced by Trailside and Santa Fe’s Gerald Peters Gallery.  The 2013 auction takes place Saturday, September 14th, at Jackson Hole’s Center for the Arts. This year’s auction includes works with a wide range of sales estimates, offering opportunities for all levels of collectors. A full day preview takes place Friday, September 13th, at the Center for the Arts, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm. All are welcome! 

Another rare work to be auctioned is Taos painter Henry Farny’s “Untitled” work, estimated to sell between $350,000 to $550,000. The painting will grace the cover of this year’s auction catalog, available mid-August.

“The Farny is a very high value piece, a gouache on paper, dated 1889, in mint condition,” Callahan says. “Farny does not come on the market often, and this work comes to us from a Wyoming resident whose collection is especially valuable; that estate has contributed a number of works to this year’s auction.”

The aforementioned collector also consigned a superb grouping of  watercolors by Charlie Russell, and five Olaf Wieghorsts are especially attractive and exciting, ranging in estimate sales price from $15,000 to $60,000.

Carl Brenders’ hyper realistic “Tundra Summit,” a mixed media on board, has been chosen by Western Art Collector Magazine for its September 2013 cover. Hard to believe this is a painting—Brenders’ wolves look as if they’re in the room; one can feel their breath. Of Brenders’ work the auction has said that it has an especially “tactile reality, giving us the sense of having been where even the most intrepid of field guides have not ventured.”

A significant John Clymer work—Clymer, of course, is a Jackson Hole legend—depicts an historic moment in time during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Titled “Visitors at Fort Clatsop,” the 24 x 48″ oil on canvas is estimated at $300,000 – $500,000. The work is an accurate portrayal of the figures and the event, says Callahan.

G. Harvey fans (almost too many to count!) have a chance to bid on what promises to be a very popular work.”The artist is a consistent favorite for collectors,” says Callahan, “and the light on “Winter Gold,” a 24 x 36″ oil on canvas, is especially fine.” Estimate: $60,000 – $90,000.

A collection of small Kuhn paintings are exceptionally beautiful; if one were a Kuhn enthusiast, bidding hard for all three of these works would be advised, as they feel like they belong together. Size, light and subject matter bind them.

Wildlife is indeed a strong theme in this year’s auction, as well as traditional and contemporary Western landscapes and Native American subject matter. A glowing landscape by Joseph Henry Sharp is one of my favorite works.

Charlie Dye’s “Leading Their Buffalo Horses,” a 20 x 30″ oil on canvas, is a work Dye prized most highly. Estimated at $40,000 – $60,000 it is a dynamic, powerful painting, perfectly composed, and our eyes are drawn directly to the wildness of a defiant, snorting painted white stallion.

Wilson Hurley. E. Martin Hennings. George Caitlin. Edgar Payne. Clyde Aspevig, Michael Coleman, Gerard Curtis Delano, Ken Riley, Henrietta Wyeth…the list of Great Masters in this year’s Jackson Hole Art Auction is mind boggling. To comprehend the breadth of this collection, visit the auction’s on line catalog, available now, by clicking here.  For further information phone (866) 549 9278, or email the auction at [email protected]   www.jacksonholeartauction.com

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This week the Diehl Gallery welcomes noted contemporary sculptor Kate Hunt. New works by the artist will be on exhibition August 15th – September 4th, with an opening reception for the artist on Thursday, August 15th, 5-8:00 pm at the gallery.  Hunt’s signature tightly baled and bunched bundles of newspaper, wood, twine and other materials appeal to both our rustic and contemporary sensibilities.

Part of sale proceeds from this exhibition benefit the Art Association of Jackson Hole. 

The Diehl Gallery is located at 155 West Broadway. For information phone 307.733.0905.  www.diehlgallery.com