Maynard Dixon Painting Takes Top Honors at $7 Million Coeur d'Alene Event

"Home of the Half Breed," Maynard Dixon, $792,000.

Maynard Dixon Painting Takes Top Honors at $7 Million Coeur d'Alene Event

RENO, NEV. - More than 400 registered bidders packed the sales room at the Exposition Hall in the Silver Legacy Resort on July 27 for the annual Coeur d'Alene Art Auction of Western, wildlife and sporting art.

Despite concerns over the previous week's stock market volatility, bidding was strong across the board, as 16 new artists' records were set, with the percentage of the sale sold by lot reaching an impressive 92 percent, for a total of $7,019,925.

Among the highlights was a rare collection of seven paintings by Russian expatriate artists Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) from the Robert and Virginia Caldwell Trust. The first of the Fechins to sell was a colorful oil entitled "Indian Girl with Flower Basket" (12 by 10 inches), which soared past its presale estimate of $50/75,000, finally reaching $104,500. The second and largest of the Fechin paintings was a brightly colored impressionistic work entitled "Indian Girl with Kachina Doll" (24 by 20 inches), which sold for $231,000 ($75/150,000).

"Indian Girl with Flower Basket," Nicolai Fechin, $104,500.

A cold gray landscape entitled "Taos in Winter" (13 by 14 inches) sold for $52,250 ($25/45,000), and an unsigned fall landscape, "Cabin in Wooded Area" (17 by 14 inches), sold for $41,250, well above its $20/30,000 estimate.

The major painting in the sale, and the catalog's cover piece, was a brightly colored Montana landscape with Indians and teepees by noted Western artist Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), "Home of the Half Breed." Painted in 1917, the oil painting measuring 26 by 30 inches drew active bidding from two telephone bidders and several bidders from the sales floor before selling to Dr Van Kirke Nelson of Kalispell, Mont., for $792,000 ($600/800,000) bidding on behalf of an anonymous client.

Other highlights and auction records included: Birger Sandzen (1871-1954) "Mountain Cabins, Logan Utah," 1929, oil on canvas, 36 by 48 inches, $231,000 ($150/250,000), purchased by Edenhurst Gallery in West Hollywood, Calif.; E William Golings (1878-1932), "Montana Cowboy," oil on canvas, 91/2 by 61/2 inches, $82,500 ($30/50,000); Edgar S. Paxon (1852-1919), "Custer's Last Buffalo Hunt, Little Missouri River, Dakota Badlands" oil on canvas, 70 by 54 inches, $137,500 ($75/150,000).

"Blazing the Trail," Philip R. Goodwin, $110,000.

Also Philip R. Goodwin (1881-1935), "Blazing the Trail," oil on canvas, 24 by 33 inches, $110,000 ($40/60,000); Frank B. Hoffman (1888-1958), "Disputed Prize," oil on canvas 18 by 24 inches, $24,750 ($10/20,000); Hebert Haseltine (1877-1962), "Shire Stallion," bronze 131/2 inches high, $29,700 ($10/15,000); Robert Griffing (contemporary), "We Dined in a Hollow Cottonwood Tree," oil on canvas, 34 by 52 inches, $99,000 ($65/75,000).

And Howard Terpning (contemporary), "Council Regalia," mixed-media 20 by 46 inches, $165,000 ($100/150,000); Edgar Payne (1882-1947), "Desert Clouds" oil on canvas, 28 by 34 inches, $132,000 ($50/80,000); Charles M. Russel (1864-1926), "Montana Cowboy," mixed-media, 15 by 11 inches, $66,000 ($20/30,000); and Carl Rungius (1869-1959), "Lake O'Hara," oil on canvas, 14 by 14 inches $35,750 ($20/30,000).

All prices cited include the ten percent buyer's premium.