DALLAS, TX.- Ernest Leonard Blumenschein's tour de force Taos Indian Chief could sell for $250,000 in Heritage Auctions' presentation of the prestigious Judson C. & Nancy Sue Ball Collection Fine Art Signature Auction. The May 2 auction’s nearly 150 lots is one of the most important private lifetime collections of Western and Wildlife Art to come to market in years.

“Judson Ball is a true American success story,” said Aviva Lehmann, Director of American Art at Heritage. “Judson is a self-made man and it is extraordinary that a Chicago native chose to focus on the Southwestern area of American Art and assembled a museum quality collection without assistance.”

A real estate developer by profession, Ball is a former member of the Urban Land Institute and chose to surround himself with artistic interpretations of America’s wildest creatures at homes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Most of the items being offered in the auction come from their Jackson Hole home, where soaring ceilings and extensive halls showcased their art for years. The Balls acquired pieces from galleries in Wyoming, Arizona, Montana, and New Mexico. Notable works by Frederick Kuhn (1920-2007) were purchased directly from the artist or his family.

The paintings and sculpture capture the essence of the American West and exploration as exemplified in Polar Expedition, 1944, by Rockwell Kent (est. $200,000+). The Modernist masterpiece was a commission for the 1945 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica and has since been lauded as a career-defining accomplishment.

Victor Higgins’ The White Gate, 1919, is a highlight of Taos School achievement (est. $150,000+) and Carl Rungius’ His Domain, circa 1916, captures the grandeur and rugged nature of the continental divide (est. $200,000+). His Domain leads the collection’s choice selection of American Wildlife Art, which includes Bob Kuhn’s A Cat for All Seasons (est. $40,000+), John Ford Clymer’s Bighorn Ram (est. $40,000+), and Ken Carlson’s The Range (est. $30,000+).

“Judson’s collection is important for encompassing the blue chip established artists, such as Blumenschein and Higgins, but also the more obscure, living wildlife artists who will become the Blumenschein's and Higgins' in years to come,” Lehmann said.

Beyond the splendid selection of paintings and sculpture, the auction includes a strong grouping of Biedermeier furniture, most of which the Balls bought in England. Almost magically, they have assembled for this sale a museum-quality collection at every price point.
The collection includes design-forward fine furniture ideal for a lodge or rustic retreat. Accoutrements includes rare, Black Forest carvings and furniture found in Europe including a set of twelve Scandinavian Biedermeir flaming birch dining chairs (est. $3,000+).