The hot streak continues for work by Fritz Scholder.
The painter was the star of the sale during Hindman’s Contemporary Western & Native American Art on November 1, 2022, in Denver. Not only did Hindman sell 10 of 11 works by the modernist Luiseño painter, realizing more than $693,000 in the process, but Scholder also had six works in the top 10, including the top lot of the whole sale, Horse and Rider (est. $80/120,000), that sold well over estimates at $175,000.
Fritz Scholder (Luiseño, 1937-2005), Horse and Rider, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 68" Estimate: $80/120,000 SOLD: $175,000
“The auction also included significant demand for works by Native American artists, a category in which the firm has continued to see tremendous momentum. Scholder’s vibrant works led the auction, with Horse and Rider emerging as the top lot of the sale, selling for $175,000 against a presale estimate of $80,000 to120,000,” the auction house notes. “Scholder’s Indian From the Plains and Shy Navajo also drew impressive bidding activity, realizing $100,000 and $93,750 respectively.”
Fritz Scholder (Luiseño, 1937-2005), Indian From the Plains, 1974, oil on canvas, 68 x 54" Estimate: $60/80,000 SOLD: $100,000
Earl Biss (Apsáalooke, 1947-1998), Dark Shadows on a Cold Morning, 1993, oil on canvas, 30 x 48" Estimate: $8/12,000 SOLD: $28,750
The Scholder sales figures should come as no surprise to any market watchers as his artwork has sold continuously well at auction in the last several years. His top 22 auction records have all been recorded in the last four years, all prior to a major $74,400 record that was set in 2017 by Altermann Auctions. Today, his record is more than five times higher at $500,000, a record that was set by Hindman in May 2022.
John Nieto (Mescalero Apache, 1936-2018), Seated Delegate,1984, oil on canvas, 40 x 30" Estimate: $7/9,000 SOLD: $28,125
Other top lots include an Earl Biss painting, Dark Shadows on a Cold Morning, which more than doubled its $12,000 high estimate when it sold for $28,750; John Nieto’s Seated Delegate (est. $7/9,000) that sold for $28,125; and an Emmi Whitehorse work on paper, Green Wood, that shattered its high estimate of $5,000 when it sold for $28,125.
Top Ten Sales
Hindman’s Contemporary Western & Native American Art, November 1, 2022 (including buyer’s premiums)
Artist • Title • Low/High Est. • Sold
Fritz Scholder • Horse and Rider • $80/120,000 • $175,000
Joseph Henry Sharp • Where the Deer Come • $80/120,000 • $137,500
Fritz Scholder • Indian From the Plains • $60/80,000 • $100,000
Fritz Scholder • Shy Navajo • $20/30,000 • $93,750
Fritz Scholder • American Portrait with Beaded Collar • $40/60,000 • $93,750
Percival Leonard Rosseau • Double Point • $30/50,000 • $87,500
Fritz Scholder • Indian with Rattles • $50/70,000 • $81,250
Fritz Scholder • Red #9 • $60/80,000 • $56,250
Clyde Aspevig • Winter Afternoon on the Yampa • $25/35,000 • $46,875
David Shepherd • Two Elephants • $12/18,000 • $46,875
Powered by Froala Editor
