Scottsdale Art Auction
Scottsdale Art Auction is the hottest art-buying venue in the Southwest, drawing hundreds of collectors from all over the country to attend the multi-million dollar event. The auction specializes in western, wildlife and sporting art from the 1800’s to living artists.
The annual auction was started in 2005 by three pillars of the western art community: Michael Frost of Bartfield Galleries, Jack Morris of Morris Whiteside Galleries, and Brad Richardson of Legacy Galleries.
Frost, Morris, and Richardson recognized a need for a major auction in the Southwest that catered to western, wildlife, and sporting art enthusiasts. “So often collectors are forced to hunt for work in auctions that have a mish-mash of unrelated material,” says Richardson. “We knew that collectors would appreciate having a dedicated selection of important art from which to choose.”
With their 100-plus years of combined expertise in auctions, contemporary western art, and works by deceased artists, the three men have created an art-buying event unparalleled in the Southwest. In 2012, the auction was a standing-room-only affair that garnered $16,400,000 in sales. Buyer confidence is the main factor in the auction’s success. The three principals seek only the finest works and insist that the available pieces be displayed for maximum buyer convenience.
“We hold the auction in a state-of-the-art, 10,000 square foot gallery showroom where the work is displayed for two weeks prior to the start of the auction,” Richardson says. “Buyers have an excellent vantage point to review the pieces of interest to them. They can fly in and view the works in advance and be a phone bidder to one of the 12 capable phone sales persons.”
Buyers aren’t the only ones enjoying the Scottsdale Art Auction. Consignors benefit from the record-breaking sales year after year. In 2012, Two Howard Terpning paintings both broke records one selling for $1.7 million and another $1.9 million. The highest for a living Arizona artists.
Next auction Saturday April 6.
