The Eighth Annual Dallas Art Fair

This was the eighth year for the Dallas Art Fair (DAF), and the show proved to be as strong as ever.  I say it each year, but this is a great opportunity for both collectors and art aficionados to see and purchase some of the best in modern and contemporary art from all over the world.  The fair’s reach and influence has continued to grow since it launched in 2009; a year of great economic decline and, some might’ve surmised, maybe not the best timing to introduce a large-scale art fair relying on collectors, exhibitors and sponsors to survive.  But, the timing couldn’t have been better.  The economic downturn stimulated a change in the art world; aesthetics shifted during the recession.  Traditional was out and Modern was in.  Take that shift in collector’s taste, add a bustling city with a lot to offer, throw in a dash of southern hospitality, shake well, and boom – The Dallas Art Fair is a powerhouse event.

With just under 100 dealers from over 40 cities, the fair had 18 countries representing their gallery and artists at the Fashion Industry Gallery in Dallas’ downtown Arts District this past weekend.  Carbon 12 and Lawrie Shabibi gallery exhibited for their first time at the fair, coming all the way from Dubai!

Two Andy Warhol serigraphs on display at the Heritage Auctions booth

This year the fair announced the Dallas Art Fair Acquisition Program.  In association with the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), the program will gift the DMA $50,000 each year to purchase work by artists who have exhibited at the fair.  This is such a cool program.  Senior curator at the DMA, Gavin Delahunty, made his selections and DMA is adding nine works by four artists to its collection: pieces by Michelle Grabner from Milwaukee's Green Gallery; Nadia Kaabi-Linke from Lawrie Shabibi gallery in Dubai; Merlin James from Dublin's Kerlin Gallery; and Lina Puerta from Geary Contemporary in New York.

"Wine Corks No. 2" by Dallas Gallery Ro2 artist James Zamora, 36 x 48" oil on canvas

"Still Life with Medieval Tapestry" by Eric West of Gallery Henoch, Oil on panel, 36 x 36"

I look forward to hitting my favorite galleries every year, one of them being Gallery Henoch.  The New York based gallery represents some wonderful realist artists currently working; Eric Zener, Steve Smulka, Janet Rickus, Eric Wert, Steve Mills and Robert C. Jackson among them.

David Richard Gallery of Santa Fe, NM always has stuff up my alley, representing post-war abstract art.  This year they introduced me to the engaging ceramic works by Eric Gellert.

Gellert currently works in Santa Fe and his ceramic pieces are comprised of thousands of hand rolled coils of porcelain clay layered and built atop one another.  They are very engaging and really have to be experienced in person.  In the round, they have ongoing patterns and heavily textured surfaces that form deep grooves, swells, and bulges.

Three Ceramic and Mason Stain pieces from Gellert's "Square" series, 22 x 22 x 4.5" each

In last year’s blog on the fair, I mentioned my first encounter with the work of Emil Lukas.  He does wonderful thread paintings.  This year, Hosfelt Gallery’s booth was filled solely with Lukas’ work.  The California gallery had work from two other series Lukas has been working on. 

Per the artist’s statement on this series: These chunky cast-plaster works are composed of a honeycomb of multitudes of cells, individually stained through an accrual of water-soluble pigments that get blotted out, are allowed to soak in, or evaporate to leave their crusty evidence.  Seen head-on, the multi-colored pixels create shimmering fields - a kind of nonobjective pointillism. Viewed from the edge, they have the sculptural quality of soft stone, pitted and polished by water.

They certainly do a number on your eyes as you chase colors and patterns across the wood panel; pulling you in to see the detail and the specific colors of each cell, then pushing you away to see the overall piece and how each cell and color interacts within the piece.

DC Moore Gallery of New York had this 42 x 60" oil on linen by Janet Fish on display

In 2013, Mayor Mike Rawlings instituted the Dallas Arts Week to fall on the same week every year to coincide with the DAF; giving residents and visitors too much to do and see during the citywide celebration of the arts.

With new dealers every year, the DAF’s international impact and reputation is evident – no easy task considering there are over 150 art fairs each year.  In 2009 there were fewer than 4,000 visitors to the fair, this year there were over 10,000.  It is a great show right in our own backyard; we at Signet Art look forward to and highly recommend it. 

-M.P. Callender

The 2016 Scottsdale Art Auction - The Results Are In!

In our most recent blog we covered the 2016 Scottsdale Art Auction, and concluded the blog promising to post the auction results.  The results are in!  

You can go to the results page on the Scottsdale Art Auction website to every one of the 386 lots offered.  

A few highlights:

The Walter Ufer, "Trailing Homewards" Oil on canvas, 20 x 25" sold for $613,000 with premium. - the sales price landing smack in the middle of the $500,000-$700,000 estimate. 

Not many works by Ufer, the Taos Founder and American Master, come to auction; certainly not many of this quality.  Great to see this piece do well.
 

"The Red Door" by Victor Higgins sold for $304,200 with premium, just surpassing the $200,000-$300,000 estimate.

This 20 x 24" oil in canvas is a unique display of Higgins embracing the modernism that influenced the Western Art genre after 1900; note the creeping shadows and long, thin rectangular clouds, the bent over and hooded figure walking by.  

Kyle Polzin (b. 1974) has been in high demand in the Western Art market for awhile.  His pieces have routinely sold at auction above their estimates.  

The four Polzin lots in this year's Scottsdale sale did not disappoint, each selling above their estimates.  The majority of the 42 year old artist's work are his dark and quiet still life pieces.  The artist cannot produce the works quickly, because he is so meticulous in his detail and in research of his subjects.

A couple disappointments:

The C.M. Russell watercolor and gouache on paper, "The Scout" did not sell.  This 14 x 11" original from 1900 was estimated to sell at $75,000-$100,000.

This is a wonderful watercolor by an American Master, and the only Russell in the auction. I thought it would sell quickly, but that is the risk and reward of auctions; you never know how the bidders will bid or how the hammer will fall.

Fortunate for collectors who were unable to bid during the auction, all unsold pieces can be purchased post auction on the Scottsdale website. 
 

"Advancing Scouts" didn't sell! I was out of the room when this piece by Oscar Berninghaus came up for bid, so I didn't get to see how the room responded, but what a disappointment.  This large action scene with two Indians has Berninghaus written all over it. A bright blue sky with puffy clouds surround the scouts as they approach the threat ahead of them.  They trek slowly across the beautiful desert terrain, exposed; just them, their horses and the tension in the moment.  

It is a fantastic scene I was excited to see in person.  Too bad this 40 x 30" oil on canvas did not meet its $250,000-$350,000 estimate.   
 

As mentioned in the previous blog, they did it again. With a sale-through rate of 82% and brining over $8.7 million, the 2016 Scottsdale Art Auction was a huge success.  The auction house is already looking forward, now seeking consignments for their April 8th sale in 2017.

On a separate, but exciting, note, the Dallas Art Fair kicks off this week!  The Signet Art team will be visiting the show and, as we do every year, we will cover it here on the blog.  Stay tuned!

-M.P. Callender

The 2016 Scottsdale Art Auction

The Scottsdale Art Auction was founded in 2005 by Michael Frost of Bartfield Galleries in New York, Jack Morris of Morris Whiteside Galleries in South Carolina, and Brad Richardson of Legacy Galleries with locations in Arizona, Wyoming, and Montana.  It is one of the biggest fine art auctions of the year focusing on American Western and Wildlife art.

It’s a great auction every spring with some of the major artists of the Western art scene, both historical and contemporary.  I’ve always wanted to go to the Scottsdale Art Auction, and this year they offered a strong showing of Taos School artists…one of my very favorite periods of American art.  When the catalogue arrived at our offices and I saw the almost 400 lots being offered, I knew this was an auction I didn’t want to miss. 

So we loaded up and headed for Arizona!

This year’s auction was Saturday, April the 2nd, and, as with every year, the morning and afternoon sessions brought a crowd of live, telephone and Internet bidders. Every one of the 500 seats in the 10,000 square foot showroom above Legacy Gallery was taken as bidding began – and standing room in the back was full.  With 386 lots to get through, each artwork went quickly. 

An original 48 x 48" by Kyle Polzin, "Ranch Rig" was estimated at $50,000-$75,000, was hammered down at $130,000

The auctioneer and the Scottsdale floor team did a superb job interacting with bidders to make sure bids were heard and taken.  There were a few misunderstandings during the first session - a bidder backed out after landing the winning bid on a work, and a phone got disconnected during the heat of a bidding war – but the auctioneer and staff handled each situation with professionalism and a touch of humor to keep the sale rolling and on time.

There were important historical works by Walter Ufer (1876-1936), several originals by Frederic Remington (1861-1909), a watercolor by C.M. Russell (1864-1926), and great offerings by Victor Higgins (1884-1949), O.E. Berninghaus (1874-1952), and E.I. Couse (1866- 936). 

There were also nice pieces from well-known contemporary artists in the genre like G. Harvey (b. 1933), Martin Grelle (b. 1954), William Acheff (b. 1947) Ed Mell (b. 1942) the currently popular and highly sought-after Kyle Polzin (b. 1974), among others.

Collectors chat and peruse art at the cocktail party the night before the auction

A collector studies a Joe Beeler (1931-2006) oil on canvas estimated at $4,000-$6,000

These auctions are a ton of fun to attend.  There is the cocktail party the night before where you can peruse and talk art with experts and other collectors while enjoying complementary hors d'oeuvres and drinks.

I had the opportunity to talk with Michael Frost, one of the founders of Scottsdale Art Auction and an authority on Western American Masters, and he was as personable as he was knowledgeable.   I’d corresponded with Frost over the years for his professional consult on items we were appraising, so it was great to shake his hand and meet face to face to talk the art market.

Auctions are a good resource for collectors to acquire art, often times at prices lower than the gallery market.  When approaching the secondary market, both buyers and sellers need to be confident in the auction house they are working with.

The Scottsdale Art Auction is an event art enthusiasts and collectors can utilize with ease of mind – whether they are buying or selling, both consignors and purchasers are in great hands with the capable and experienced people at the Scottsdale Art Auction.

Walter Ufer, "Drilling Homewards" Oil on canvas, 20 x 25" Estimated $500,000-$700,000

This year, Scottsdale did it again.  They held an amazing auction with quality artwork presented and sold to their collectors with professionalism, expertise and proficiency.  

We highly recommend this auction house, if you are looking to purchase or sell any American Western Art – check them out!

Stay tuned! Sales results for the auction have not been released yet (they had a $13 million dollar sale in 2015), but when the results are out we will post another blog on the final outcomes. 

-M.P. Callender