Norman Rockwell’s (American, 1894-1978) “Courting Couple at Midnight,” 1919, oil on canvas laid on board, 33½ by 27¾ inches framed, was courted to the sale’s high price of $900,000 ($500/700,000).

Review by Carly Timpson

JACKSON, WYO. — The $13,500,000 realized in Jackson Hole Art Auction’s 19th Annual Auction, conducted September 13, was the firm’s highest-ever since it began in 2007, according to managing director and partner, Kevin Doyle. He reported that there were 222 in-house paddle bidders, “dozens” of telephone and absentee bidders and nearly 4,000 internet bidders, including 741 using Jackon Hole Art Auctions’ online platform, which was another record for the company. Doyle said, “We marketed the sale really well. We had material that was fresh to the market and a lot that had been off the market since the early 80s, and bidders really responded to that. It was just strong material overall.”

This year’s annual auction, which offered 432 lots and was 96 percent sold, featured property from The Valley Ranch — the Jackson, Wyo., residence of Laurance S. Rockefeller and John D. Rockefeller IV — as well as the corporate art collection of KSA Industries, Inc., and property from the estate of H. B. “Tony” Turner. Doyle shared, “The Rockefeller, KSA Industries and estate of Tony Turner collections performed particularly well. I feel that was due to the material being fresh to market with blue chip names that new collectors are seeking. Nearly the entire auction had strong bidding. There were some first-time bidders who purchased at very significant pieces. Contemporary art also performed very well.”

Kenneth Riley’s (American, 1919-2015) 1980 oil on canvasboard “Welcome Shade,” 39-7/8 by 29-7/8 inches framed, welcomed a $540,000 result ($20/30,000).

Quite a few world records were set, both for overall high prices by artists and for price per square inch — 33 records in total. Kenneth Pauling Riley’s “Welcome Shade” set a new world record for the artist at $540,000. Doyle shared that this, out of all the lots in the auction, “was certainly the sale that raised eyebrows.” Estimated just $20/30,000, the 1980 oil on canvasboard, which had provenance to the KSA Industries collection, finished 18 times that high mark. Showing several horseback travelers aboveground and one man and his horse resting in a cavernous formation belowground, this work was the cover illustration of the July 1983 edition of Arizona Highways Magazine and had previously been exhibited at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian & Western Art in Indianapolis. The most significant price-per-square-inch record was set by Tucker Smith’s 1990 landscape “Big Sky,” which amounted to $303.57 per inch when it realized $51,000.

The sale’s highest-earning price was not a record for the artist, but it turned heads, nonetheless. Doyle reported that the firm knew “Courting Couple at Midnight” should take the top prize, saying, “We advertised that Norman Rockwell painting that was the top lot really well, just to make sure it was out there nation-wide.” The oil on canvas, painted in 1919, was the featured cover of The Saturday Evening Post on March 22 of that year. It showed a young couple seated beneath a cuckoo clock, possibly lingering past curfew, and had extensive exhibition and publication history. It was bid past its $500/700,000 estimate to achieve $900,000, selling over the phone, underbid by another phone bidder and someone online.

Norman Rockwell was not the artist, but rather the focal point of another work in the auction. Jenness Cortez, who Doyle described as “really cool,” “She paints metaphysically, with paintings within paintings and does trompe l’œil style works. She’s a really great technical painter who studied in the Old Master Dutch style.” Doyle also shared that “She pays homage to Norman Rockwell a lot,” which was the case in her leading lot in this sale: “Norman Rockwell – Freedom of Speech.” This 2007 work was done in acrylic on mahogany panel and showed the titular work, Rockwell’s 1943 painting of a dissenter speaking up during a town hall. The work is shown positioned on a shelf with a cup of paintbrushes, a pen and a clock, all in front of books relating to Rockwell and government philosophy. It was bid within its $25/45,000 estimate, achieving $33,000.

“Pronghorn Antelope” by Carl Rungius (American, 1869-1959), circa 1900, oil on canvas, 33½ by 50½ inches framed, was herded up for $780,000 ($200/300,000).

The sale’s second-highest price, $780,000, was earned by “Pronghorn Antelope” by Carl Rungius, which Doyle shared “was fresh to market after having been in private collections since 1944.” Done circa 1900, the work was signed to the lower right and was originally purchased by a Norman James of Baltimore, likely directly from the artist, and a Dr James Thorington of Philadelphia acquired it from Kende Galleries of Gimbel Brothers, New York City, in 1944 — it had been passed through collections as a gift since then. Doyle added that this was one of the “high-ticket pieces that sold on our platform,” saying that the buyer did come in to the gallery to view the work before buying online.

Another notable lot that also sold on the Jackson Hole Art Auction platform after being viewed in person was the sale’s third-highest price overall: Charles M. Russell’s “Start of the Roundup.” This work was the cover image of the auction catalog and Doyle told us that at least nine bidders were competing for it. Ultimately, the online bidder prevailed, winning the watercolor for $720,000. Like “Welcome Shade,” this work came from the collection of KSA Industries and was part of the “American Traditions” exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum.

Contemporary artist Mark Maggiori was represented by just one work in the auction, but it surpassed estimates and made for a great story. Painted in 2020, “High Noon” rose above its $125,000 high estimate to achieve $240,000, and, as the catalog noted, it exemplified “how Maggiori bridges past and present: the painting is steeped in nostalgia but executed with a modern mastery of composition and light.” Doyle noted that this work “sort of led the charge of our contemporary offerings, but they all performed very well. There’s a strong demand for contemporary Western art right now, primarily with a younger generation. At least with the case of Mark Maggiori, he’s built a brand — a universe really — through social media. People really gravitate toward his work, and it bodes well for the future.” This sale comes on the heels of another from last year, proving the strength of the contemporary market. “Last year we had a Mark Maggiori in auction around the same size (“Wyoming Spring,” 2020), and it hammered for $140,000, so we knew the interest was there. He’s a relatively young painter and is probably the most well-known contemporary Western painter right now. His works are highly sought after by younger collectors… a whole new generation of Western collectors really.”

The 1976 “Roundup Wages” by John Falter (American, 1910-1982), oil on canvas laid on board, 27½ by 33-7/16 inches framed, was scored for $204,000 ($20/30,000).

A work that did “exceptionally well,” according to Doyle, was John Falter’s 1976 “Roundup Wages.” With provenance to Leanin’ Tree Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, Scottsdale Art Auction (2018) and a private collection, the work skyrocketed past estimates and finished at $204,000. Of the piece, Doyle said, “That performed extremely well, far beyond expectations. Sold back in 2018 for a little over $40,000, so we set the estimate at $20/30,000 and the buyer was willing to take that risk on it. It was a really fun image with so many things you keep discovering the more you look at it, like a little cat hiding in the bottom left corner.”

Photography was led, at $66,000, by Louis Palenske’s “Blackfeet Chiefs at the Dedication of Haskell Stadium” from 1926. “The scale of it was appealing, but also the buyer has a ranch in Blackfeet country in Montana and chased it to go back there because it meant something to him.”

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.jacksonholeartauction.com or 307-734-9739.