Charles Partridge Adams, Charles Craig, Gerard Curtis Delano, Birger Sandzen, Raphael Lillywhite, William Henry Bancroft, George Elbert Burr, James Emery Greer are but a small sampling of historic artists of Colorado that produced works in the late 19th and early to mid 20th century. Much of the attention of collectors and dealers around the country is directed to it’s neighbor state New Mexico with the popularity of the Taos Six group and other early New Mexico artists that formed the Taos Society of Artists. Those of us who love and live in Colorado can quietly collect fine early paintings by these Colorado masters without all the media hoopla and high end prices that dominate the early New Mexico artists.

Raunig Art Enterprises seeks to purchase paintings by Colorado artists as well as other artist who have depicted Colorado images in their works.

If you have any Colorado art, feel free to contact Raunig Art Enterprises for a discreet evaluation.

Happy Collecting!

Mike Raunig, Owner ~ Raunig Art Enterprises  303-829-4055

While the art market in general has been somewhat challenging, the sale of these two major works for record prices proves once again that the best works by the top artists and fresh to the market are still in very high demand.

If you have any western American art you are considering selling, contact Raunig Art Enterprises for a discreet evaluation and expedited handling if it is of the highest quality by the masters of historic western art such as Olaf Seltzer, C.M. Russell,Edgar Paxson, Ace Powell, Edward Borein, Joseph Henry Sharp, E. I. Couse, Ralph Earl DeCamp, Asa Ace Powell, Charles Partridge Adams, Charles Craig, or any other historic painting of western subject matter, including cowboys, Indians, western landscapes.

Come by and check out the the web site of Raunig Art Enterprises.

Mike Raunig, Owner ~ Raunig Art Enterprises ~ 303-829-4055

Some highlights of the sale were the Edgar Paxson small oval oil painting of Chief Joseph which set an all-time world record for a Paxson at $163,800.  The large canvas by Gerard Curtis Delano entitled “In Bonnet and Paint” went for $438,750.  A sweet little Sydney Laurence snow scene entitled “Cache” sold well over its auction estimate for $35,100. The cover lot, E.I. Couse’s wonderful painting “Kachina Painter” was able to sell for the second highest price realized at auction for his work at $753,000.

The lesson here is that high quality images that are fresh to the market continue to set records and bring premium prices. I personally think this market adjustment is good for the art world as we are at a time where we finally can separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of quality and value. Gone are the days when collectors simply pay high prices for a signature. They now have become much more insistent on quality and provenance and that is a good thing for the market as a whole.

 Congratulations to Mike, Stu and Peter on another successful auction and the best party in the art business!

If you would like to discuss the auction, or the purchase of high quality art, feel free to contact Mike at Raunig Art Enterprises or call 303-829-4055.

Sioux Moccasins ~ 1885

I seek to purchase all manner of Plains, Plateau, Southwest Indian antiques including beadwork items such as pipe bags, moccasins, pouches, knife cases, rifle scabbards, navajo weavings, navajo blankets, etc. If you have a collection, estate property or individual items, please contact me at Raunig Art Enterprises (click link) for a discreet evaluation.

Arapaho Childs Knife Case ~ 1890

We especially love Native American weaponry such as tomahawks, knives, bows, tacked or decorated rifles, and any related antiques.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Mike Raunig, Owner ~ Raunig Art Enterprises

E.S. Paxson ~ War Bonnett ~ Watercolor

I am an avid collector of works by the famed Montana artist Edgar S. Paxson. Paxson was a contemporary of C.M. Russell and was a major force in documenting the frontier history of Montana as well as the life and culture of Native American Indians.

If you have a work by E.S. Paxson you would like to discuss, please contact me by email at mike@westernamericanart.com.

Mike Raunig, Owner
Raunig Art Enterprises

Early Horn Knife ~ Blacksmith Made 1850

An essential accouterment of the American Indian was the knife. It was a tool and weapon carried at all times for ready use. My fascination for Indian and Frontier knives has developed into a collection of over 200 early primitive knives. My focus is on handmade or blacksmith made knives of the frontier, used by both the white frontiersman as well as the Native Americans. My period of interest is from 1725-1890. I look for a combination of character, patina, and crafty construction when I seek out new knives for my collection.

Early Indian Knives & Lance Point

If you have any early American knives you would like to sell, please contact me for a discreet evaluation. Please send an email along with photos for review to:  mike@westernamericanindianart.com

Blackfeet Dag Knife ~ 1850

Please look at my website for more interesting antiques of the American Western Frontier. Always paying cash for fine western art, Plains beadwork and weaponry, early American paintings, antique guns including Indian rifles.

Come back again…Mike Raunig, Owner ~ Raunig Art Enterprises

William Standing ~ "Moving Camp"

William Standing (1904-1951) has become yet another highly sought after artist hailing from the great state of Montana. Standing was a versatile artist who worked in many genres including cartoon drawings for post cards and calenders, roughly composed oil sketches, portrait work, highly refined and well executed oils of western scenes. His work has been displayed in Washington, D.C., Paris and New York to name a few. Standing, an Assiniboine Indian attended schools at Wolf Point Mission School as well as Haskell Indian School. He lived his entire life in Oswego, Montana and died prematurely of a single vehicle automobile accident. Purportedly, the state patrol indicated there were 300 feet of skidmarks before his vehicle left the roadway. His independence and his spirit lives on through his distinctive and haunting images of western scenery and Indian life in northeastern Montana.

Ace Powell oil

Ace Powell is a legend in the Montana western art scene. Ace was a prolific painter and sculptor who produced an incredible amount of material. The Kalispell dealers and collectors kept him busy painting as fast as he could put the work out. Ace was never as skilled as other early Montana painters like C.M. Russell, O.C. Seltzer, J.H. Sharp, Edgar Paxson, but there is a certain mystique within the Montana collecting and dealing fraternity about Ace Powell that many artists never acquire. It is a combination of being prolific, Powell’s charismatic personality and famed drinking sessions, being heavily marketed by several local art dealers, etc. Whatever the formula, Ace Powell has become a highly sought after Montana artist not only in his home state, but regionally as well.

Ace Powell oil ~ "Peace Offering"

If you have any Ace Powell works that you are considering selling, please contact Mike at Raunig Art Enterprises for a full consultation. You can email me at mike@westernamericanindianart.com

William "Bill" Gollings photograph

William “Bill” Gollings started painting professionally in Sheridan, Wyoming in the early 20th century and funded his art school tuition through selling rights to publication of several oil paintings to a mid-western publishing firm who used the western images to create calenders, lithographs, post cards, etc.

Gollings was a working cowboy and lived the western lifestyle first hand. He befriended famous Taos Society painter Joseph Henry Sharp who advised Gollings on color usage and exploring a more painterly, impressionistic style.

By 1912 or so, Gollings had blossomed into what now is considered to be one of the finest artists who first-hand, documented the western cowboy and Indian life of the western frontier.

Raunig Art Enterprises seeks to purchase paintings and etchings by one of Wyoming’s most talented historic artists, Bill Gollings. If you have any artwork, including original oils, watercolors, period calenders, lithographs, please contact Mike at Raunig Art Enterprises or via email at: mike@westernamericanindianart.com

William "Bill" Gollings ~ Oil on Canvas