Art of the West Rounded Up for a Rebound
The Wall Street Journal, Life & Culture, July 23, 2011
For those who sell art of the American West, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic for the good ol’ days—not the cowboy era but the wild-west years of 2003 to 2008, when prices blasted to record highs.
On Saturday the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, the best-known annual sale of Western, wildlife and sporting art, will take over the grand ballroom at the Silver Legacy Resort in Reno, Nev. The auction’s totals peaked at $37 million in 2008. A year ago, by contrast, the auction brought in just $9.2 million.
“That was probably the weakest we’ve seen the market since we started 26 years ago,” said Reno art dealer Peter Stremmel, a Coeur d’Alene founder who also serves as its auctioneer. Though buyers are still being cautious, he says, he anticipates a bounce-back year.
A summer ritual since 1985, the Coeur d’Alene auction (which kept its name, despite moving from Idaho to Nevada a decade ago) is basically Art Basel for the ranching and oil set, who come for the Western camaraderie as well as for the art. To read more.