Art of the American West for auction at the C.M. Russell Museum
Charles M Russell - Piegans - 1908
From 19-21 August 2021, the C.M. Russell Museum hosts its annual auction of art from the American West, offering works of art ranging from a few hundred dollars to a painting by Charles M. Russell valued at around $3 million.
Source: C.M. Russell Museum. Image: Charles M. Russell: “Piegans”, 1908
The undisputed star piece of the auction will be "Piegans", a small 1908 painting by Charles M. Russell, which has a pre-sale estimate of $2.5 - 3.5 million, and is described in the auction catalogue as "a fine example of a ‘breakout’ work of art". A watercolour by the same artist, "Cochrane shot the Indian", comes to auction with a pre-sale estimate of between $600,000 and $900,000. Of similar subject matter and dimensions, Carles (Carl) Schreyvogel's "Indian on horseback" (pre-sale estimate $125,000-$150,000) would be a good companion to Russell's "Piegans", as would Eanger Irving Couse's "Turkey hunter in the Aspens" (pre-sale estimate $90,000-$120,000).
Among the most recent works is R. Tom Gilleon's "Morning Star" (pre-sale estimate of $150,000 - $250,000), one of the most beautiful paintings in the auction for which the catalogue offers virtually no information, and which in its simplicity of composition and focus on plen-air colour is strangely reminiscent of Monet's haystacks. Also of note is Andy Thomas's "California!", with a pre-sale estimate of between $24,000 and $32,000.

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