Under the Hammer

The American, California and Western Art departments offer several sales per year in Los Angeles and New York, making Bonhams the only auction house to sell the rich collecting category of American Art bi-coastally.

Our Western Art auction on 4 August in Los Angeles features a dynamic array of historical and contemporary works including those by National Association of Western Artists and Cowboy Artists of America painters and sculptors. Leading the sale is Adolph Alexander Weinman’s best known bronze portrait bust, Chief Black Bird, modeled in 1903. Additional highlights in bronze include a rare work by Mahonri MacKintosh Young and sculptures by Dave McGary, Harry Jackson and Cyrus Dallin. Rounding out the sale are paintings by Maynard Dixon, Roy Andersen, Z.S. Liang, Clyde Aspevig and Eustace Ziegler.

Here, our specialists highlight their personal favorite lots from the upcoming auction.

Lot 224
Birger Sandzén, Riverbank with Cedars

There is something magical about this painting by Birger Sandzén. The thick impasto and vivid palette are reminiscent of the Fauves and Post-Impressionists, though landscape is distinctly American. The energy within the picture, particularly the dynamism of the trees, is reminiscent of Van Gogh. Combining the dynamism of this picture with the impressive scale of the work makes Riverbank with Cedars, Rocheport, MO a showstopper.

-Morgan Martin, Specialist, American Art

Lot 234
Dave McGary, Long Soldier from the Warrior Series

Dave McGary’s lifesize polychrome bronze Long Soldier is one of the more powerful subjects from the artist’s Warrior Series. Described by McGary as life-sized but in reality really larger than life, this bronze has the incredible attention to detail typical of the artist’s work. Standing in front of Long Soldier almost takes my breath away. The figure’s gaze is so intense, made even more so with his facial war paint. His pose is confident, but there’s a sense of tension too as his left hand surreptitiously reaches for his sword hilt. He is ready for action.

- Katherine Halligan, Specialist, Western Art

Lot 236
Gordon Snidow, The American Beauty

While fiery-spirited cowgirls are often a western trope idealized on the screen and in country music by the likes of Dolly Parton and others, Gordon Snidow paints them from life and makes their world a reality for his viewers. Using his favorite model Carol from his American Woman series, I love how he paints in painstaking detail her uncompromising spirit in full cowgirl attire standing strong outside what one imagines is a barn or stable, having just come in from a cattle drive. Snidow repeatedly captures both Carol's beauty and strength each time he paints her.

-Aaron Anderson, Cataloguer, American Art

Lot 273
Burt Procter, The Night Watch

The influence of the great Taos painter Nicolai Fechin can clearly be seen in this fine example by Burt Procter.  The scene swirls with color and brushwork.  The cowboy’s face is in shadow, giving him a sense of mystery and romance.  Proctor deserves credit for being one of the top painters of his era.

-Scot Levitt, Director of Fine Arts, Los Angeles

Lot 255
Clyde Aspevig, Middle of Winter

Clyde Aspevig has the brilliant technical ability to turn abstraction into landscape. One of my favorite things to do with his work is to focus on a small passage of one of his paintings and try to suss out which color went on first. For example, in Middle of Winter there is a central splash of sunlight on the right side of the shore. The lightest blue brush strokes look like they are underneath the snow but are on top to emphasize the translucency.

-Aaron Bastian, Director of Fine Arts, San Francisco

Lot 220
Adolph Weinman, Chief Black Bird

The Roman Bronze Works foundry produced some of the finest American bronzes of the early 20^th century, and their quality is apparent in Chief Black Bird, Ogalalla Sioux by Adolph Weinman. I love this bronze for its crisp delineation of the beadwork on his war bonnet and war shirt bib. While his likeness is historically accurate, the ‘Mayan Revival’ border adds a decorative flair very much in vogue in at the time of its casting in New York during the late 1910s.

-Kathy Wong, Specialist, Fine Arts