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Curators' Picks: March 26 Art of the West Showcase Auction
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Alissa's Picks
Alissa Ford | Vice President, American & Western Art
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Darren Vigil Gray’s heritage is rooted in the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and that cultural foundation plays a central role in his artistic voice. Gray channels Indigenous perspectives through abstraction, using color, movement, and layered forms to convey relationships between land, spirit, and identity deeply embedded in the Apache worldview. Emerald Canyon under Stormy Skies reflects his dynamic, gestural style, with vivid greens and deep blues shaping a sweeping view of mountains, sky, and canyon that feels both emotional and alive. Rather than focusing on fine detail, Gray uses movement and saturated color to convey the energy and sacred presence of the land itself.
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Renowned for her compassionate, naturalistic portrayals of the human figure, Glenna Goodacre captures a quiet, reflective moment in End of Dance. As the artist explained, the work expresses "the feelings of a young Pueblo Indian woman. She has probably danced for hours and is leaving the Pow Wow grounds or plaza. She holds the tablita she has removed from her head and she still holds the heavy wool blanket she wore. She is dressed in the traditional manta and thick deerskin boots and is wearing her hair loose as it usually is for Pueblo women’s dances." Through richly rendered textures and gentle realism, Goodacre conveys both the physical weight of the dancer’s attire and the emotional stillness that follows hours of ceremonial movement.
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I am always drawn to Stavrowsky’s storytelling abilities. His finely detailed paintings create a narrative of nostalgic Americana. In No Steam,
he depicts a weathered steam locomotive marked "AT&SF," focusing on the intricate machinery, worn metal surfaces, and warm sunlight that bring the scene to life. "AT&SF" was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the major American railroad founded in the 19th century, originally chartered to build a line from Atchison, Kansas, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The railway became one of the most well-known railroads in the United States and later merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1995 to form BNSF Railway. Stavrowsky’s careful attention to texture, color, and light transforms the aging train into a vivid tribute to the power and history of the American railroad.
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Mathias Joseph Alten was a German-born painter who emigrated to the United States in 1888. By 1927, he traveled to Taos, New Mexico, where he painted landscapes and Indigenous figures within the established art colony, and by 1929 he was working in Laguna Beach, California, though he remained primarily active in Grand Rapids and Saugatuck, as well as along the Massachusetts coast. Alten frequently returned to coastal labor scenes because they allowed him to explore light, movement, and everyday life; fishermen, boats, animals, and surf offered constantly shifting color and atmosphere that suited his Impressionist approach and preference for painting from direct observation. In this work, his loose, expressive brushwork captures fishermen guiding oxen along the shoreline, with
quick, confident strokes conveying the motion of the surf and billowing sail, while his focus on labor and shimmering light lends the scene both immediacy and quiet dignity.
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We are pleased to offer six exceptional works by Warner Hoople, acquired directly from the Kiska Oil Company, founded by Robert Bradshaw. Oil Derrick in Open Plains,
1953 presents a towering derrick rising against an expansive sky, rendered with careful attention to the architectural elements of the drilling site. Hoople emphasizes the rig’s verticality through precise linear detail, setting the geometric steel framework in striking contrast to the soft, layered brushwork of the clouds and the warm earth tones of the foreground. The composition conveys a sense of industrial pride and engineering accomplishment, elevating the drilling site into a dignified and almost monumental presence within the landscape. The "WB" initials at the bottom of the painting, resembling the Warner Bros. logo, serve as a clever reference to the Warren–Bradshaw Drilling Company, formed through the 1937 merger of Bradshaw and Warren.
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Sofia's Picks
Sofia Penny | Cataloguer, Fine & Decorative Arts
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William Wendt was an avid plein air painter and sought to educate the public on its importance. Wendt was a founding member of the California Art Club in 1909 and Laguna Beach Art Association in 1918. He prioritized creating his environments on canvas through lived experience and emotion. Hills of Green is an excellent example of his spiritual treatment of landscapes. Wendt believed nature was a manifestation of God and saw himself as natures interpreter. His thick brush strokes are rhythmic in creating the highs and lows of the hills. This painting results in a deeply personal expression of spiritualism placing nature at a grandiose level.
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Anne Weary is widely recognized for her landscape drawings in pencil, such as Spring Creek. Early in her career, she trained under artists including Ruth Harrison, Octavio Medellin, and Olin Travis. There are also some truly wonderful works by Olin Travis featured in this auction.
Weary spent her summers on land that is now the Spring Creek Preserve in Garland, Texas. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, and in 1979 she was awarded the Charles Toppan Prize for Excellence in Drawing from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Spring Creek is a testament to Weary's close connection to nature and her ability to capture the quiet beauty of the North Texas landscape.
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Find these and other outstanding Western and Texas art in Heritage's Art of the West Showcase Auction. The auction's session is at 11:00 AM Central Time, Thursday, March 26.
Sincerely,
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Alissa Ford
Vice President,
American & Western Art
AlissaF@HA.com
(415) 548-5920
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Sofia Penny
Cataloguer,
Fine & Decorative Arts
SofiaP@HA.com
(214) 409-1439
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