At $266,200, Bob Kuhn’s (1920-2007) “African Baroque,” 1975, acrylic on board, 30 by 30 inches, earned the sale’s highest price ($50/75,000).

Review by Carly Timpson

ONLINE — Following an exceptional in-person sale in July that set multiple world records for artists and realized more than $22 million, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction once again affirmed its leadership in the Western art market with its 2025 Live Online Auction on November 8. This autumn edition featured 203 lots of Western and American art from historical and contemporary artists such as Charles M. Russell, Bob Kuhn, Eanger Irving Couse, E. William Gollings, Sydney Laurence, Edgar S. Paxson, Olaf C. Seltzer and more. Reporting strong results, Michael Eric Scott shared, “The final total was $1,327,543 with a 97 percent sell-through rate, bringing our 2025 total to over $26.4 million. The sale had just under 400 registered online bidders and another 100 bidding via phone and absentee.”

Achieving the sale’s highest price was “African Baroque,” a 1975 acrylic on board by American wildlife artist Bob Kuhn that showed a lone male lion in the foreground with a herd of wildebeest in the distance. Estimated to achieve $50/75,000, the African scene rose to $266,200 after an intense round of bidding. Of this scene, Kuhn wrote, “Wildebeest are acutely aware of their eternal tormentor, Simba, but are not especially concerned since the cat’s demeanor is not threatening. […] Their relationship, though marked by moments of extreme stress, is based on a measure of guarded acceptance.” Signed to the lower right, the painting had a label from Arts Ltd., in Oklahoma City, and had provenance to the Yturria collection in Brownsville, Texas — Fausto Yturria, Jr, was identified on the gallery label. The work was illustrated in Tom Davis’ The Art of Bob Kuhn (Briar Patch Press, 1989) and in Wild Harvest: The Animal Art of Bob Kuhn (Sporting Classics & Wildlife Art Magazine, 1997), which was written by the artist.

“Elephant in Papyrus” by Bob Kuhn (1920-2007), acrylic on board, 24 by 36 inches, rose to $108,900 ($60/90,000).

Other Kuhn paintings to find favor with bidders included the next two highest-priced lots, with a third not far off. “Elephant in Papyrus” realized $108,900, “Cape Buffalo” brought $90,750 and “Drinking Tiger” finished for $36,300. Each done in the same medium and with provenance to the Yturria collection, the paintings showed the titular animals in natural habitats as observed by the artist. Catalog notes quoted Kuhn reflecting on his craft, saying, “I’m not taking a photograph, I’m making a painting, and it’s my painting. And I can do anything I want,” and “It’s the painter’s job, I believe, to evoke the essential character of the beasts he portrays.” Bidders clearly thought he succeeded in his efforts. The firm reported that in they have “led the Kuhn market, surpassing $2.5 million in sales of his work” in 2025. On par with this trend, the total for the four paintings offered in this sale exceeded $500,000.

The fourth-highest price in the auction was achieved by another favorite artist of Coeur d’Alene bidders and Western collectors: Taos Society painter Eanger Irving Couse. Couse’s 1929 oil on board titled “Pueblo Firelight – Roasting Corn” represented a classic image in the artist’s oeuvre, which included several firelight scenes. Signed, titled and dated to the reverse as well as being signed to the lower right of the board, this painting was included as number “2574” in the Eanger Irving Couse Catalogue Raisonné and was housed in its original handmade frame crafted by the artist in his workshop at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site. Departing from a private collection in Portland, Ore., the ceremonial work achieved $66,550.

“Indian Woman with Colored Blanket” by Edgar S. Paxson (1852-1919), 1911, oil on canvas laid on board, 16 by 11 inches, brought $60,500 ($15/25,000).

Following closely behind at $60,500 was a work with another Native American subject, Edgar S. Paxson’s “Indian Woman with Colored Blanket.” This 1911 oil on canvas was signed and dated to the lower right and was affixed with several labels to the reverse, including one for Galleries Maurice Sternberg in Chicago and another that noted it was once “on loan from the collection of the Brannin Family Foundation.”

Making $18,150 was Kenneth Riley’s “Medicine Man,” which had provenance to the Yturria collection, was signed to the lower right and affixed with a signed artist label on the back. The oil on board showed its subject in ceremonial dress with another figure resting beside him.

Alaskan art was also on display, with examples by Fred Machetanz, Sydney Laurence and Eustace Paul Ziegler leading the selections. Machetanz’s “Time for a Rest,” featuring a man with two dogs and with Alaskan provenance, brought $39,325; Laurence’s landscape of a snow-capped “Mount McKinley” fetched $21,780; and Ziegler’s less snowy scene of horses on the same mountain, “Mount McKinley Pack Train,” sold for $7,260. Depicting a scene that may have been just as cold yet much further south, John Fery’s oil on canvas of elk at “Iceberg Lake – Glacier Park” in Montana was signed to the lower right and hung for $30,250.

John Fery’s (1859 - 1934) oil on canvas view of “Iceberg Lake – Glacier Park,” 36 by 52 inches, climbed past its high estimate to $30,250 ($15/25,000).

Drawn in pen and ink on paper circa 1915, Charles M. Russell’s “Magpie Surveying Indian Tipi Village” had been one of the images in Frank B. Linderman’s Indian Why Stories, a 1915 collection of Native American folktales, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons and illustrated by Russell. Sold with a letter of authenticity from Ginger K. Renner and included in the C. M. Russell Catalogue Raisonné as number “CR.DR.261,” this illustration had extensive recorded provenance and closed for $24,200.

In total, the auction included 23 bronzes by sculptor George Carlson. Prices spanned from $847 for the 6¼-inch-tall “Porfrio” to $18,150 for “Boy and Eagle.” Inscribed “Carlson 1988 © 2/12,” the leading sculpture stood 57 inches high and, like the others, came from the Yturria collection.

Mike Overby, partner, shared: “We’re absolutely delighted with the results of the sale. The Western market is the strongest it’s been in a decade, and our exceptional community of collectors once again rose to the occasion. The winning formula, quality paintings paired with well-considered estimates, continues to deliver. We’re excited about the momentum heading into 2026.”

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.cdaartauction.com or 208-772-9009.