LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams announces California & Western Paintings & Sculpture, a California-centric auction on Apr. 12 in Los Angeles that features works by prominent plein air painters and artists of the American West.

The sale is the first in a series of three annual auctions conducted by Bonhams in this increasingly popular collecting category. The sale presents more than 100 works by masters of California and Western art, such as Guy Rose, William Wendt, Granville Redmond, William Ritschel, Franz Bischoff, Selden Connor Gile and Evelyn McCormick.

Bonhams is California’s largest auction house and the only international auction house to hold sales on the West Coast.

“Our position as market makers for the category of California and Western paintings was marked by our hosting the first-ever auction of its kind in 1982,” said Scot M. Levitt, director of Fine Arts at Bonhams in Los Angeles. “Since then, Bonhams has led the way in this exciting and competitive market, setting world records annually and offering exceptional examples by the top artists year after year. Such history as the leaders in this field affords us the opportunity to offer the best paintings available.”

The top lot is Indian Tobacco Trees, La Jolla by Guy Rose (1867-1925), California’s foremost Impressionist painter from late 19th to early 20th centuries. Estimated at U.S. $600,000-900,000, this painting of La Jolla cove near San Diego has a rich publication and exhibition history, as well as a strong provenance.

With varying shades of blue and green, Rose adds depth to this picturesque landscape. A 1922 Stendahl Galleries catalog described the work: “Rich purple shadows run across the foreground, and a bit of white surf helps to make this picture one of bright happiness.”

Born in California, Rose spent much of his life teaching and working in the state. He died in 1925 in Pasadena, after which Stendahl Galleries had a memorial exhibition of his works.

Early California Impressionist painter William Wendt (1865-1946), known as the “dean of Southern California landscape painters,” also headlines the sale. His signed work There is no Solitude in Nature is estimated at U.S. $150,000-300,000. This signature example is well known to seasoned admirers of Wendt’s work, having been featured in numerous exhibitions and books on California plein air painting.

In 2015, Wendt’s Old Coast Road sold for U.S. $1,565,000 with premium, setting a world-record for the artist’s work.

Another highlight is Tiburon Bay by Selden Connor Gile (1877-1947), an oil on canvas estimated at U.S. $150,000-250,000. Tiburon, a coastal hamlet in Marin County served as the central subject matter in his later works. Recognized as the leader and founder of the “Society of Six”, a group of artists who painted outdoors, socialized and exhibited together in and around the Bay Area in the 1920-30’s. Gile, Louis B. Siegriest, August F. Gay, Bernard von Eichman, William H. Clapp and Maurice Logan were among the first to introduce California to a Fauvist style of painting. Although the group did not officially establish a school, “The Six” left an artistic connection continued by the Post-War Figurative Expressionists of Northern California.

Fine Western artists are always sought out for this series of sales, and the April 12th auction is no exception, Levitt said. Alfred Jacob Miller is one of America’s earliest painters of the West. His well-known composition, Hell's Gate, Sweet Water River, Wyoming, will be offered at an estimate of $150,000-250,000. A large oil painting, it depicts dramatic foliated cliffs along the river’s edge as early explorers first witnessed them rafting in the 1850’s.

Also up for sale is a casting number 91 of Frederic Remington’s iconic bronze sculpture, Bronco Buster (estimate U.S. $80,000-120,000), as well as three bright, Fauvist paintings by the Kansas artist Birger Sandzen.

Additionally, Hawaiian paintings continue to be a popular collecting category, and Bonhams offers a large selection of South Pacific paintings from artists such as Lionel Walden, David Howard Hitchcock, Shirley Russell, Matteo Sandona and Eugene Savage.

Western paintings have a history of setting records at Bonhams. Last fall, Buck Peters, Ranchman by Maynard Dixon – another leading painter of the American West – sold for U.S. $293,000, while Indian Entertainer by Walter Ufer sold for U.S. $1,025,000 last spring.

Other highlights include:

• Guy Rose (1867-1925), To Headland (Carmel Coast), estimate U.S. $100,000-150,000

• Granville Redmond (1871-1935), California Wildflowers, estimate U.S. $150,000-200,000

• John Marshall Gamble (1863-1957), Wildflowers Along The Coast, estimate U.S. $40,000-60,000


The next two sales in the California & Western Paintings & Sculpture series will be held on Aug. 2 and Nov. 21.