Los Angeles – On August 7, Bonhams will present an exceptional auction of California and Western Paintings & Sculpture, which includes 142 California Impressionist, Fauvist and Tonalist styles by artists such as William Wendt, Guy Rose, Joseph Kleitsch, Joseph Raphael, Edgar Payne, Selden Connor Gile, Armin Hansen and Granville Redmond. The Pacific Northwest is also represented in a special collection of early 20th century Alaskan landscapes by Sydney Laurence and Eustace Paul Ziegler, and the American West with works by Joseph Henry Sharp, Maynard Dixon, and Edward Borein.

Leading the sale is Patriarchs of the Grove by William Wendt (1865-1946), a painting distinguished by its early provenance and extensive publication history (estimate: $250,000-350,000). Images of Patriarchs of the Grove dominated the art scene of Southern California from just after the Great War until the dawn of the Great Depression. It was reproduced in the most respected publications of the time, including the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles County Museum, and Stendahl Galleries. The work was acquired circa 1929 following exhibition with Stendahl Galleries, where it remained in the same family for over 80 years. The original owners of this work were Mr. and Mrs. Alvah Griffin Strong, a direct descendant of Henry Alvah Strong, a co-founder and the first president of the Eastman Kodak Company. Patriarchs of the Grove is among a coveted handful of the artist’s large-scale prize-bestowed canvases and exemplifies Wendt’s ability to capture the magnificence of the California landscape.

Additional highlights include: 

• Laguna Beach by Guy Rose (1867-1925). Considered the leader in California Impressionist painting, this work is classic plein air painting that reveals Rose’s influences and talent with a high key palette and subtle variations of blues and whites. Estimate: $150,000-250,000.
• Sydney Laurence’s Mount McKinley, 63° North Latitude, Alaska, Altitude 20.390 Feet (estimate: $80,000-120,000), one of the earliest and largest known depictions of Denali painted by Laurence. 

• Armin Carl Hansen’s Cowboy Sport (Bulldogging) (estimate: $70,000-100,000). Formally trained in San Francisco and Europe and known for painting fishing scenes, maritime seascapes, Hansen produced his first rodeo compositions in 1913. In 1930, he reintroduced the subject in a Los Angeles exhibition, which stood out among his seascapes and led a reviewer to declare that Hansen had "gone western."