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Alissa's Picks
Alissa Ford | Vice President, American & Western Art
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Perhaps my favorite research project this year was on the beautiful bronze sculpture Oregon Pioneer Mother (1929)
, created by Alexander Phimister Proctor. This smaller version of the monument, dedicated in 1932, stands as a timeless tribute to the strength of the women who shaped America’s westward expansion. Commissioned by Burt Brown Barker in honor of his mother, the sculpture transcended personal memory to become a universal symbol of perseverance, peace, and enduring spirit. Celebrated for his masterful depictions of the American West, Proctor perfectly realized Barker’s vision through a seated figure radiating quiet dignity and wisdom. We are thrilled to offer this remarkable work from the descendants of the Barker family, a lasting testament to both artistic excellence and pioneering legacy.
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William Robinson Leigh’s Rabbit Hunt (1944) vividly captures the energy and spirit of a Native American rabbit hunt, transforming a moment of pursuit into a celebration of motion, survival, and cultural tradition. Leigh’s masterful use of color heightens the drama; the muted lavender and dusty blue desert contrasts with the riders’ vivid reds, yellows, and blues, while the expansive sky amplifies the sense of vast openness. Beyond its visual power, the work honors the cultural importance of communal rabbit hunts, symbolizing cooperation, resilience, and respect for nature, making it both a thrilling scene and a profound reflection on Indigenous life and identity.
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Having grown up in the desert, some of my most vivid memories are of the storms that swept across the landscape; memories that make Ed Mell’s powerful portrayals of lightning deeply resonate with me. Renewal
captures the immense energy of these desert tempests, with a bolt of lightning cutting through the heart of the composition and fracturing the planes of the canyon walls. Mell masterfully balances light and shadow, using sharp contrasts to give depth to his geometric forms. His technique lends the work an almost cinematic quality, as though we are witnessing a fleeting moment of nature’s drama unfold beneath the weight of a desert storm. His ability to convey both the power and solitude of the desert evokes the region’s timeless, otherworldly atmosphere. While the angular forms may initially appear abstract, they gradually reveal the essence of mesas, cliffs, and clouds, distilled to their purest shapes. Renewal
is a work that fully engages the senses; I can almost hear the rumble of thunder and smell the sweetness of desert rain carried on the wind.
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Renowned for his vivid and emotive portraits that honor Native American culture, heritage, and resilience, Jeremy Winborg masterfully blends traditional themes with contemporary realism to capture the spirit and dignity of his subjects. In Rising Prayers, Winborg depicts a young Native American girl holding a smudge bowl, enveloped in radiant light and color that evoke purity, tradition, and spiritual devotion. His expressive brushwork, rich textures, and vibrant turquoise tones create a profound sense of reverence and connection to ancestral identity and the natural world. The girl’s steady gaze conveys both courage and inner strength, embodying the enduring power of her heritage.
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Anyone who knows me understands that the Taos Society of Artists is perhaps my favorite group of painters of the American West. A founding member of the Taos Society, Oscar Berninghaus had a profound love for Taos and the Southwest. The Tranquility of Taos beautifully captures that devotion, a tender scene of a mare and her foal resting in the shaded calm of the Taos landscape. Sunlit adobe walls and golden grasses glow warmly against the cool blue shadows cast across the mountains and foreground. It’s such a peaceful little gem - one that transports me to Taos every time I look at it.
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Emily's Picks
Emily Spahn | Associate Specialist & Lead Cataloguer, American Art
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G. Harvey stands as the definitive artist of the Old West narrative. The Blowout is a monumental example that vividly portrays the Texas cowboy’s struggle and triumph amid a transforming frontier. In a dynamic scene of two riders galloping down a muddy trail, Harvey contrasts the warmth of a frontier town with the looming presence of oil derricks that symbolize industrial progress. The erupting gusher of crude oil captures both the promise and disruption of modernization. The horizon humming with oil, dust, and the relentless energy of cowboys creates a timeless image from a story woven through generations. Through his masterful composition, Harvey honors the spirit of the West while reflecting on how progress reshapes its enduring legacy.
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I seem to always fall in love with Native Texas artists, and Martin Grelle is no exception. Known for capturing the soul of the West with a sublime aura, The Land of the Blackfeet (1998)
is a perfect example of his mastery. From the moment this piece arrived at my desk, I knew it would become one of my favorites in the sale. There’s a peacefulness to it that feels as if the viewer has stepped into another world, the kind of view I find myself daydreaming about. While the figures are the focal point, their calm presence only enhances the larger-than-life beauty of the surrounding landscape. My eyes are drawn again and again to the towering trees and the majestic mountains beyond, making everything else seem small in comparison. It’s a stunning example of how Grelle transforms a simple ride through the woods into something awe-inspiring.
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Billy Schenck is absolutely one of my favorite artists this season. Snake Lips Poker Series No. 1 (1980) portrays two cowboys engrossed in a card game, rendered in Schenk’s signature pop-art style with bold colors and sharp contrasts. The scene captures a blend of Western iconography and modern coolness, highlighting themes of camaraderie, chance, and the quiet tension of the American West.
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Heritage is proud to present an exceptional collection of Oleg Stavrowsky's paintings in our upcoming Western art auction, and I can't take my eyes off any of them. Stavrowsky's roots in commercial illustration shine through in every piece, imbuing each scene with narrative depth and cinematic energy.
In One More Cup, you can almost feel the unspoken request from the figure on the left, one last pour before the long ride ahead. In Cold as a Banker's Heart, the quiet murmur around the fire seems to revolve around keeping the flames alive just a little longer, seeking a touch more warmth as snow swirls at their feet. Each of Stavrowsky's paintings tells a story, rendered with such care and precision that it feels as though you're watching a moment from a film, frozen in time, yet alive with emotion.
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Frank's Picks
Frank Hettig | Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art
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As Vice President of Modern and Contemporary Art, I am always curious and intrigued by the ways artists bridge heritage and innovation, and in this pastel from Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s Camas Series, that synthesis is powerfully evident. The work captures her deep respect for the Western landscape while transforming it through abstraction and gesture. You sense both personal memory and artistic experimentation at play, marking an early moment in the career of an artist who would become one of the leading figures in contemporary Native American art.
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Trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Gustave Baumann was deeply influenced by the craftsmanship and design principles of the early twentieth century. After relocating to Santa Fe in 1918, he became captivated by the region’s brilliant light, adobe architecture, and surrounding mountains, which became central subjects in his work. Drawing on the color layering and compositional discipline of Japanese ukiyo-e prints, as well as the decorative structure of European modernism, Baumann refined a distinctive technique that utilized multiple woodblocks and hand-mixed pigments. His woodcuts, such as Rain in the Mountains
, reveal his mastery in transforming the Southwest landscape into clear, rhythmic patterns of color and light that convey both precision and warmth.
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In Afternoon in the Aspens, Bert Geer Phillips applies the disciplined realism that defined his Taos period to a forest interior. As a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists, Phillips was dedicated to capturing the diverse landscapes of the American Southwest. The aspen grove provided him with an opportunity to study vertical composition, filtered light, and seasonal color within a structured setting. This work demonstrates his interest in extending the Taos painters’ regional vision beyond Pueblo and desert scenes to the broader terrain of the West.
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Alissa Ford
Vice President,
American & Western Art
AlissaF@HA.com
(415) 548-5920
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Emily Spahn
Associate Specialist &
Lead Cataloguer, American Art
EspahN@HA.com
(214) 409-1371
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Frank Hettig
Vice President,
Modern & Contemporary Art
FrankH@HA.com
(214) 409-1157
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