Featuring fresh-to-market, original works, Bonhams’ Modern Native American Art & Jewelry sale highlights around 150 lots by noteworthy Native American artists. Included is a strong selection of pottery and jewelry, among a mix of significant two-dimensional pieces.
Tony Abeyta (Navajo (Diné), As You Paint Beside Me, 2011, oil and mixed media on canvas, 52 x 80 in. Estimate: $10/15,000Find artists such as Earl Biss, George Morrison, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Rick Bartow, Fritz Scholder, Tony Abeyta, Tammy Garcia, Doug Hyde, Sheldon Harvey, Lee Yazzie, Charles Loloma, Jesse Monongya, Charles Supplee, Harvey Begay and Preston Monongye, among many others.
In the fall of 2019, Bonhams’ Native American art department held their inaugural auction, Modern and Contemporary Native American Art. “Since that pioneering event, Bonhams remains the only international auction house to hold regularly scheduled curated auctions specifically showcasing the work of contemporary Indigenous North American artists,” says Ingmars Lindbergs, director of the Native American art department in Los Angeles. “As market interest and bidder participation grows in this category, we have seen an exponential increase in demand for many modern and contemporary Native artists, with a corresponding increase in prices realized.”
Doug Hyde (Nez Perce/Assiniboine/Chippewa), Daka’s Rattle, 1990, bronze, edition 2 of 12, 55 in. Estimate: $8/12,000
Having broken over a dozen artists’ records at the modern Native American sales in 2024, Bonhams has seen strong results into the first half of 2025, “while also contending with the constriction as experienced across the broader modern and contemporary art market,” shares Lindbergs. “That said, fresh-to-market pieces continue to generate enthusiastic interest.”
Results for more recent works by artist Tony Abeyta (Navajo (Diné)), is one example of the secondary market keeping pace with the primary market. Abeyta’s large-format 2011 work on canvas As You Paint Beside Me (est. $10/15,000) is expected to attract considerable attention and will be offered alongside several other key works by the artist, all stemming from the collection of a Bay Area estate. “This particular work represents a period of transition and evolution from the artist’s earlier period of intense katsina compositions from the 1980s, to a more subdued yet saturated palette, featuring enigmatic entities in a deeply contemplative arrangement,” says Lindbergs.
Rick Bartow (Wiyot, (1946-2016), Untitled, 2009, pastel and graphite on paper, 40 x 26 in. Estimate: $4/6,000
Visit the Bonhams auction house in Los Angeles, California, for the live sale on August 28, 12:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Telephone and online bidding are also accepted. —
August 28, 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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