NEW YORK – Christie’s annual sale of 19th Century American & Western Art, achieved $13,153,212, the largest total for this innovative sale platform, since its inception three years ago. The sale was 116% sold by low estimate, 84% sold by lot, and 90% by value. More than 15% of the buyers and bidders who participated in the sale were new to the category at Christies. The auction showed the strength of single-owner collections with important results for works from The Morton and Norma Lee Funger Collection, and the continuing vibrance in the market for images of the west, with Western Masterworks, Property from a Distinguished Private Collection. The top lot of the sale came from the Funger Collection: Martin Johnson Heade’s Cattleya Orchid with Two Brazilian Hummingbirds, an iconic American painting, which realized $3,438,000, 287% above its low estimate. Another important result from the Funger collection was for Thomas Cole’s Hudson River School work, View Near Catskill, which brought $504,000. Pieces from the Western Masterworks also achieved major results, led by Thomas Moran’s Afterglow, Green River, Wyoming, a sweeping canvas from 1918 that made $2,228,000. Other Western Masterworks pieces among the top lots were, James Earl Fraser’s sculpture, The End of the Trail, which made $1,381,000; and Eanger Irving Couse’s Thunder Birds, which achieved $819,000. Another western piece from a different consignor, Albert Bierstadt’s South Dome, Yosemite Valley, California, made $655,200. Additionally, there was a notable result for David Gilmour Blythe’s Family Prayers and The Sequel: A Pair of Works that realized $252,000, an impressive 630% of its low estimate.

Caroline Seabolt, Head of Sale commented, “Today’s strong results are a testament to the continued strong demand for rare and important historic American Art. The cumulative total represents the largest sum yet achieved for our innovative sale platform dedicated to the genre.”

Tylee Abbott, Head of Department commented, “Christie’s continues to prove its dedication to the Western American Art field, with breakout prices for truly exceptional examples, including those by Thomas Moran, James Earle Fraser and Eanger Irving Couse. Largely driven by a diverse audience of both established Western Art collectors and clients new to the category, such success points to notable health in this especially American genre.”