The 2 day trade show specializes in vintage  cowboy and Indian art and antiques. The display booths were buzzing with activity and sales happening with regularity at my booth and with others around the show complex this weekend. Many fine paintings by artists such as William Edgar Paxson, Ace Powell, Birger Sandzen, Olaf C. Seltzer, Charles Partridge Adams, and many others were to be seen at one of the biggest and most important western americana shows in the country, Brian Lebel’s Denver Old West Show and Auction at the Denver Merchandise Mart every June.

If you have any old west or Indian collectibles for sale, or would like a discreet evaluation, please feel free to contact Mike Raunig at 303-829-4055 or via email at trdngpost@aol.com.

"Fur Cap~Cree" 1905 w/c by Edgar S. Paxson

The Ray (Grandson of Edgar) and Shirley Paxson home in Butte, Montana was filled with hundreds of pieces of original art and prints, vintage photographs, books, personal belongings including a buckskin suit, a presentation silver walking stick, a tremendous Plains Indian tomahawk, an antique Winchester rifle with buckskin rifle case, art works by other noted artists, and many more personal belongings and collectible items of the great master artist of Montana, Edgar S. Paxson.

Vintage Photo of Paxson in His Buckskins Hunting

Ray’s passing several years ago left Shirley in the possession of the entire collection of Paxson material and with Shirley’s passing in March of 2011, Michael Raunig of Raunig Art Enterprises has acquired the entire collection from the estate. We are currently cataloguing all of the material and will be marketing it over the coming weeks and months. Some highly important, never before seen paintings are in the collection. There are some very rare personal items that belonged toEdgar S. Paxson which are one of a kind and highly collectible. This is an extremely important and highly desirable collection of  rare objects of Montana history as well as within the historic western American art communities. If you are desirous of purchasing some of the material, please contact Michael Raunig. You can email me at: trdngpost@aol.com

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire some fresh, many never before seen and most one of a kind items that belonged to Edgar S. Paxson and his descendants Ray and Shirley Paxson!

Michael S. Raunig, Owner ~ Raunig Art Enterprises

Edgar S. Paxson oil

Raunig Art Enterprises seeks to discreetly purchase western art and Indian beadwork of the late 19th and early 20th century as well as contemporary western art by noted living artists. Especially interested in artists from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Cowboy, Indian/Native American, western landscapes, wildlife or historic frontier paintings are highly desired to add to my collection.

Artists such as William “Bill” Gollings, Edward Borein, O. C. Seltzer, William Standing, Ace Powell, Edgar Paxson, Hans Kleiber, Ralph Earl DeCamp, Charles Partridge Adams, Joseph Henry Sharp, Nick Eggenhofer, Carl Rungius….and many many more. Please see my long artist list on my web site for further details.

Please email trdngpost@aol.com or call me personally at 303-829-4055 for a discreet evaluation.

Thanks you,  Mike Raunig, Owner ~ Raunig Art Enterprises

The CU Art Museum presents two paintings by the noted Colorado landscape painter Charles Partridge Adams, including a never-before-shown, large-scale painting of Rocky Mountain scenery near Estes Park, titled Sunrise on the Mountains, circa 1920, recently conserved by the CU Art Museum, and gifted to the museum’s permanent collection by the artist’s sons. The exhibition will also feature the more intimate Untitled (Mountain Landscape), circa 1920, which likely depicts Moraine Park.   Born in Massachusetts, Charles Partridge Adams moved to Denver at the age of 18 and eventually became perhaps the most prolific and well known of the turn-of-the-century Colorado painters. Receiving artistic encouragement from Helen Henderson Chain, herself a pupil of George Inness, Adams shied away from the grandiose style employed by his contemporaries, preferring to accentuate the emotive in his landscapes and ushering in a long tradition of modernist landscape painting in the Rocky Mountain region.

SHOW LINK: http://cuartmuseum.colorado.edu/exhibition/highlights-of-the-collection-charles-partridge-adams-paintings/

Raunig Art Enterprises is always interested in purchasing works by Charles Partridge Adams and any other historic Colorado artist. Contact me for a discreet evaluation at: trdngpost@aol.com or call 303-829-4055

Michael Raunig, Owner

Raunig Art Enterprises

William "Bill" Gollings Statue ~ Cheyenne Wyoming

Wyoming sculptor Jerry Palen unveiled a 7-foot-tall statue of cowboy artist William “Bill” Gollings.

By Becky Orr
CHEYENNE — Brothers Chase and John Farrell climbed onto the statue’s sandstone base after the unveiling ceremony. “I like the spurs,” said John, 7, as he pointed to the back of one of the cowboy’s boots. The Savannah, Ga., boys and their mom, Sherry, are in town to visit relatives. The boys said they enjoyed playing on the statue’s seven-ton base. Their fun is what artist Jerry Palen is after. A Wyoming artist, Palen created the 7-foot-tall bronze of cowboy artist William “Bill” Gollings. “I hope people can touch it, love it and enjoy it,” Palen said at Friday’s dedication ceremony. He added that he hopes the statue will help make people more aware of the beauty of Wyoming and its wonderful people.

At Friday’s ceremony, officials pulled away a black curtain to reveal the bronze likeness of Gollings. It is located outside the Wyoming Arts Council, 2320 Capitol Ave., across from the State Capitol. A playful breeze stirred the leaves on the council lawn during the event, which occurred under a brilliant blue sky. The Gollings depicted in the statue is braced for the wind as his hat is on tight, Palen said. His chaps are blowing in the wind too. The statue honors Gollings, considered Wyoming’s foremost artist. He was a working cowboy who died in 1934 at age 54.

Gollings is shown with one boot resting on a saddle that he designed. He holds an artist’s palette in one hand and a paint brush in the other. “It’s not a buttoned-up, three-piece statue,” said Renee Bovee of the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. “There’s some whimsy that shows in it.” Gollings was a contemporary of Charles Russell and Will James. He also designed saddles. A bow and arrows sculpted in the bronze are signs of Gollings’ sympathy for the Indians of that era, Palen said. The bronze is a belated tribute to Gollings, said Dr. Bill Ward of Saratoga. “He was a true cowboy artist and lived on the range and painted on the range. He is to Wyoming what Charlie Russell is to Montana,” Ward said. Gollings was an excellent cowboy and top hand on the range, Ward said. He had a paint wagon on the range and operated a small studio in Sheridan. “I like (his work) because it is realistic art of what life was then,” Ward said. “He wasn’t a romantic like Russell. He was a realist.” Four of Gollings’ oil paintings from about 1918 hang in the state Capitol. Ward has collected Gollings’ works for more than 50 years. Most of them have been donated to the University of Wyoming art museum. Ward and his wife, Carole, of Saratoga, along with Wagonhound Ranch and Livestock near Douglas and Jerry and Peggy Palm of Centennial donated the money for the statue. Ward said the project cost $82,000. Gollings never has been properly recognized as an artist, Ward said. “It’s very satisfying to see it done. I’m glad to see him here.”

Original article: http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2010/10/16/news/01top_10-16-10.txt

Raunig Art Enterprises seeks to purchase original works by Bill Gollings. If you have one of his pieces, contact me at trdngpost@aol.com or call 303-829-4055

Mike Raunig, Owner
Raunig Art Enterprises

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