DALLAS, TX

Two Sales

A pair of Heritage sales saw huge results for Native American artworks and materials.

November 2022 was a spectacular month for collectors—both buyers and sellers—at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, where two sales performed strongly.

First up was the Ethnographic Art American Indian, Pre-Columbian and Tribal Art Signature Auction on November 11, which realized $736,000 in sales. The sale, which was almost entirely historic objects, had materials from Indigenous people from around the world, but many of the key lots were American Indian objects.

Fritz Scholder (Luiseño, 1937-2005), Back from the Indian School, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 68” Estimate: $30/50,000 SOLD: $225,000

Two highlights were both weavings: a second-phase Navajo chief’s blanket from around 1865 sold for $28,125, just missing its low estimate of $30,000, and a Navajo pictorial rug from around 1940 sold for $12,500, more than doubling its high estimate of $5,000. Other top lots included a Kiowa/Comanche leather dispatch case from around 1880 that sold for $18,750, more than triple its high estimate of $6,000. Elsewhere in the sale, a Plains pipe tomahawk from around 1870 sold for $10,000, well over its $1,500 high estimate.

Earl Biss (Apsáalooke, 1947-1998), 10 Injuns on Horses, oil on canvas, 35 x 48” Estimate: $8/12,000 SOLD: $18,750

The second sale was Visions of the Southwest: Property from the Collection of Jack B. Harrod Showcase Auction, held on November 30. It realized more than $933,000. The sale featured primarily fine art by known artists. Modernist painter Fritz Scholder had the top three lots as his work continues to soar. The three works were Back from the Indian School (est. $30/50,000) that sold for $225,000, Dartmouth Portrait #16 (est. $25/35,000) that sold for $200,000 and Submerging Indian (est. $3/5,000) that sold for $52,500.

Navajo man’s wearing blanket, second-phase chief’s pattern, ca. 1865, native hand-spun wool, lac, cochineal and indigo dyes, 74½ x 58¾" Estimate: $30/50,000 SOLD: $28,125