On September 15, John Moran Auctioneers will present its Art of the American West sale, featuring Western artwork alongside a wide selection of modern, contemporary and historic Native American art and objects from the 1800s to the present day.
Of the 450 lots on offer, roughly 60 percent consist of Indigenous material. Highlights include works by Oscar Howe, Fritz Scholder and John Jay Hoover; an assortment of Panamint and Pomo basketry; and a strong selection of Diné textiles dating from the late-classic period to contemporary pictorial examples such as Germantown weavings, Crystal rugs, transitional pieces, contemporary wearing blanket-style weavings and more. Modern and contemporary Native American jewelry will also be well represented in the sale.
David Bradley (Chippewa), New Mexico Sunrise, 1989, acrylic on paper mounted to paper, sheet: 143/4 x 211⁄8 in. Estimate: $3/5,000
“We have a lovely petite Indian portrait by Fritz Scholder in oil in a typically bold palette (est. $20/30,000),” says head of sale Kim Jarand, who was appointed JMA’s director of Native American Art in June. “Additional highlights include Sioux Council by Oscar Howe (est. $100/150,000), and a Kevin Red Star painting depicting Crow dancers (est. $5/7,000).”
Red Star’s Summer Home is the second of two works by the artist in the sale and has a low estimate of $4,000. “[This painting] is a departure from his figurative work, instead depicting a semi-abstracted view of a tipi filling the frame, with another more-representational tipi depicted against the background landscape,” explains Jarand.
Kevin Red Star (Apsáalooke (Crow)), Summer Home, 1972, acrylic on canvas, 44¼ x 54 in. Estimate: $4/6,000
She also points to a Navajo (Diné) late-classic multi-colored serape woven into a bold, geometric pattern of contrasting color. “This is a really lovely example of late-classic Navajo weaving, with indigo, cream, purple and vegetal-dyed yellow/green elements that really pop against the aniline red ground,” says Jarand. “It’s in really excellent condition, and the red bar running through the central row of serrated elements and interrupting the closure of the diamond forms makes for a really interesting and unexpected composition.”
A Diné (Navajo) Late Classic serape, woven in red, cream, indigo, purple, and yellow wool with multiple bands of serrated barbed zigzags and floating serrated diamonds to center, approximately 4 ft. 8½ in. x 3 ft. 6½ in. Estimate: $4/6,000
Chippewa artist David Bradley’s painting New Mexico Sunrise, 1989, is also coming to market with an estimated value of $3,000 to $5,000. “While much of the artist’s work uses wit to highlight political and social issues affecting contemporary Indigenous communities and artists, Bradley also uses his work to buck stereotypical and exploitative depictions of Native subjects in Hollywood and elsewhere,” explains Jarand. “This piece falls within the second camp, depicting two pueblo women chatting while completing a seemingly mundane domestic task: collecting water at sunrise. The women’s interest is in each other and their conversation, rather than in the viewer (or perhaps even their chore), serving as a counterpoint to other more stereotypical treatments of similar subjects by non-Native artists.”
A large Diné (Navajo) rug, the central medallion taking the form of an abstract butterfly, additional worked with diamonds and stepped devices, framed in a double border, approximately 10 x 7 ft. 1 in. Estimate: $3/5,000
John Moran Auctioneers will have a booth at the Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show in Santa Fe from August 6 through 9, where the auction house will be displaying select lots from the upcoming Art of the American West sale in September. —
September 15, 2026
Art of the American West
John Moran Auctioneers
145 E. Walnut Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016
(626) 793-1833, www.johnmoran.com
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