There was standing room only for over four hundred eager collectors of Western art in the Scottsdale Art Auction sales room on Saturday, April 10th in Scottsdale, Arizona. An additional 72 bidders throughout the United States kept 10 telephone lines busy during the six hour, two session event. When the hammer fell on the last of 320 lots sales totaled $8,800.000.

Top lot for the auction was Charles M. Russell’s 15 ¼ inches by 21 inches oil, Smoking Them Out (estimated at $1,800,000 to $2,800,000) that was fiercely contested by three telephone bidders and fetched $3,151,000. Other lots of special interest included Henry Farny’s 17 ½ inches by 11 inches gouache, Checking the Trail, (estimated at $300,000 to $500,000) that brought $494,500; Ernest Blumenschein’s Taos Canyon Group, a 20 inches by 16 inches oil, (estimated at $300,000 - $500,000) that hammered down for $322,000; Norman Rockwell’s 21 ½ inches by 18 ¼ inches oil, If Mother Could Only See Me Now (estimated at $100,000 - $200,000) that sold for $276,000 and Olaf Wieghorst’s Payday, a 24 inches by 30 inches oil (estimated $75,000 - $100,000) that reached $149,500.

The sale got off to a strong start with 96% of the morning session lots selling to an enthusiastic crowd. The first session ended with a stunning bidding war for a rare collection of small scale, replica Western wagons by Dale Ford. Competition for the collection of 24 wagons quickly surpassed the high estimate (estimated at $70,000 - $120,000) and concluded with a telephone buyer at $506,000.

In addition to the wagons, this year’s sale included a significant number of other three dimensional works. Highlights among the 87 bronzes included Tim Shinabarger’s 23 ½ inches high Sik Sik Shell Game (estimated at $8,000 - $12,000) that brought $37,375 and Joe Beeler’s Ready to Ride, a 25 ½ inches high bronze (estimated at $14,000 - $18,000) that fetched $25,875.

Other notable achievements in the sixth annual auction were 14 G. Harvey paintings and bronzes that totaled $459,042, Gerald Delano’s 5 oils that fetched $330,625, Martin Grelle’s 5 oils that brought $206,425, and 6 paintings by Frank McCarthy’s that sold for $119,475.