LOS ANGELES, CA.- John Moran Auctioneers is starting the summer HOT! They just presented their Art of the American West sale Tuesday, June 6th, 2023, which brought phenomenal results, specifically in the fine art category. The star of the show was the Native American artist, Oscar Howe, best known for his innovative and expressive depictions of traditional Dakota culture and mythology. He had two works in the sale, each reaching six-digit bids, but one achieving a new world action record for the artist at $325,000! Collectors also enjoyed stunning works by Laverne Nelson Black and Grafton Tyler Brown.
Two works from Oscar Howe highlighted the summer auction with a combined total of $550,000. Together, lots 1071 and 1072 brought ten phone bidders, including private collectors, museums, and other institutions from California, New Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, New York, and Florida. Each of these works, sold on behalf of a private Los Angeles area estate, had pre-sale auction estimates of $12,000 - $18,000 but sold well into the six figures. Crushing his previous auction record of $58,000 (achieved back in 2020), was lot 1072 , Howe's “Camte Waste, No No Wa" ("Good Heart Forever"). Two phone bidders fought back and forth until the victor walked away with the work for $325,000 (including buyer’s premium)— making it the new world-auction record for the artist! The second work, lot 1071 "Koda, Nape Ciuza" ("Friend, I Shake Your Hand"), 1966, also brought in a whopping $225,000 (including buyer’s premium)!
Hayden Hunt, Specialist of Post-War and Contemporary Art remarked that the Howes received a lot of attention in the weeks leading up to the sale and there were murmurs that they would achieve new records for the artist. “The strong and exciting bidding for these works shows that the market is red hot for contemporary works by Western Artists, and especially Howe, who, as a Native American, has long been overlooked by the art market at large.”
Born on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota, Howe recently had works exhibited in 2022, a major exhibition titled "Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe" that opened at the National Museum of the American Indian, New York which reintroduced Howe's work to contemporary audiences. Due to his rising popularity, there will be a second leg of the exhibition slated to open at the South Dakota Art Museum on June 10th, 2023. Howe is recognized today as one of the leading figures in the Native American Modernist movement, for eschewing the cultural expectations of Indian artists in favor of a decidedly modern artistic approach.
Other highlights of the sale featured Grafton Tyler Brown and Laverne Nelson Black. Lot 1031, Grand Canyon From Lookout Point, Yellowstone National Park, 1886, by Brown, hammered in $25,000 (including buyer’s premium), performing within its original estimate of $20,000-30,000. Laverne Nelson Black’s, Native Americans on Horseback was lot 1094, estimated $15,000-20,000, sold for $18,750 (including buyer’s premium).
Head of Sale, and Vice President Maranda Moran perfectly sums up the success of the sale. “The appeal of the Western frontier in any medium is hard to deny. From the Grand Canyon to the California desert, scenes of the American West are as compelling today as the untouched landscapes from over a century ago. In addition, there is a growing and widespread appreciation of post-modern work by Native American artists.”
