Holding its first live auction of Native American art, Bonhams’ Modern Native American Art & Jewelry sale boasts impressive options for collectors, offering approximately 300 lots. Ingmārs I. Lindbergs, Bonhams director of Native American art, notes that the sale will blend a multidisciplinary selection of artwork by 20th- and 21st-century Indigenous North American artists and jewelers, with an important single-owner collection of fine Native American baskets and historic pueblo pottery.
Fritz Scholder (Luiseño, 1937-2005), American Portrait #43, 1982, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 68" Estimate: $40/60,000
“Included in the sale are fresh-to-market original works by Oscar Howe, Fred Kabotie, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Rick Bartow, Emmi Whitehorse, Rufus Moody and Beau Dick,” explains Lindbergs. “Prints and multiples include a fresh T.C. Cannon Memorial Woodblock Suite and numerous works by Fritz Scholder.”
The sale will include a Scholder (Luiseño) acrylic on canvas, American Portrait #43, 1982, set with estimates of $40,000 to $60,000. The piece, breaking from Native American subject matter, is an example of the artists more well-known era of creation. “[American Portrait] showcases Scholder’s energetic brushwork with his confident depiction of the subject, while at the same time drawing on his technical expertise as a colorist, firmly grounded in abstract expressionism,” notes Lindbergs.
Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota, 1915-1983), Sun Dancer, casein on paper framed under plexiglass, 20¼ x 9" Estimate: $70/100,000
An even higher estimated work (est. $70/100,000), Sun Dancer, circa 1956, by Oscar Howe (Yanktonai Dakota), exemplifies the artist’s dynamic style. “Howe challenged the patronizing and condescending American art establishment’s preconceptions and definitions of Native American painting of the mid-20th century, with work that was simultaneously modern and embedded in traditional Dakota culture and aesthetics,” says Lindbergs. “The power of the subject’s spiritual journey resonates in a composition that is at once suspended in stillness, while exuding a vibrant energy. Coming from a family collection, the original owner of this work at one time had studied under Howe.”
As of press time, Bonhams anticipates that the highlight of the jewelry selection will be a single-estate collection featuring works by master jewelers Charles Loloma, Preston Monongye, Harvey Begay, Charles Supplee, Lee Yazzie and nearly a dozen works by Jesse Monongya. “Over 150 lots in the sale come from a notable California collection, featuring an exceptional selection of fine Native American basketry as well as a carefully curated selection of historic pueblo pottery,” Lindbergs adds.
Left: Rufus Moody (Haida, 1923-1998), Monumental argillite totem pole, 1973, height 80" Estimate: $20/40,000 Right: Beau Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw [Kwakiutl], 1955-2017), Dzunukwa (Wild Woman of the Woods) Mask Estimate: $6/9,000
Collectors will also find California basketry well represented, with nearly 20 examples of rare Chumash weavings, mission examples, gambling trays and pictorial bottleneck baskets from the “Yokuts and their neighbors,” Lindbergs says. “Large Apache ollas, Chemehuevi, Panamint, Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Southern Paiute weavings represent Southwest basket makers’ skill.”
Additional highlights include Emmi Whitehorse’s (Diné) #1057 Arid Garden, 1995, a mixed media on paper mounted on canvas (est. $20/40,000); Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s (Confederated Salish/Kootenai) Untitled pastel on paper, depicting a colorful abstract scene; Rick Bartow’s (Wiyot) acrylic Night Circus (est. 15/25,000), with four panels of surrealist imagery; Dzunukwa (Wild Woman of the Woods) mask by Beau Dick (Kwakwaka’wakw [Kwakiutl] (est. 6/9,000); and a monumental 197 argillite totem pole (est. $20/40,000), by Rufus Moody (Haida).
The sale will take place on April 24 at Bonhams Los Angeles show room, at 12 p.m. PDT. —
April 24, 2025
Modern Native American Art & Jewelry
Bonhams
7601 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 850-7500, www.bonhams.com
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