March 2025 Auction and Market Review

Section 2: THE MARCH HIGHWAYMEN MARKET

The market in March was, simply put, very active. In addition to the auctions, there was a steady stream of sales events offering large selections of both Highwaymen and Legacy art. Two new galleries have opened up in Ft. Pierce in March, and a third is scheduled to open in April in Vero Beach.

Opinions on the market are wide ranging. I ask people all the time for their views on “where the market is going”, and I receive comments like:

“The market is strong and never better. Look how the market is absorbing all these paintings”
… to the other extreme, with comments like
“Too many buyers are sticking with less expensive paintings. There are too many paintings by the better artists coming into the market, and too few buyers willing or able to purchase a $10,000 painting every month”

Both types of statements are actually true. The very large quantity of paintings offered are being absorbed. The higher priced paintings, such as the majority of Harold Newtons, have clearly showed a softening.

Looking back a year ago, Manor Auction averaged 3-5 Harold Newton paintings per auction, with generally successful results. Thus far this year at Manor:

January: 8 Harold Newtons auctioned. Of the 3 top paintings, each with a low estimate of $10,000 or more – none reached the low estimate.

February: 8 Harold Newtons auctioned. Of the 6 highest estimated paintings, none reached the low estimate.

March: 10 Harold Newton paintings auctioned. Although the top painting of the group sold at its low estimate of $25,000, 7 of the 10 paintings did not reach their low estimates, and one passed.

Clearly, for the bellwether high-end Highwaymen painter – Harold Newton -the number of paintings being auction monthly is growing beyond the ability of the market to continue paying the high prices that were previously paid.

All one has to do is look at the pricing chart for Harold Newton (attached at the end of this post), to understand the trend in the market. The paintings are being sold, and purchased by collectors, but prices are clearly softening. Manor Auction results provide the clearest trends because the auctions are monthly, the number of paintings auctioned are increasing, and the prices have generally been weakening (likely due in large part to the increased number being auctioned).

Of course, I am not suggesting that the entire Highwaymen market is following the path of Harold Newton. When a truly exceptional Harold Newton comes to auction, the prices are strong, as were the two Harold Newton’s this month at Manor and Rennick. At the same time, when an average 24×36 RioMar on Masonite comes to market, as they seem to every month at Manor, the prices reflect the constant growing monthly supply.

Other artists whose paintings have been increasing in quantity, with predictable results, have been Sam Newton and Willie Daniels. In the case of Sam Newton, Manor auctioned 17 paintings in January, 14 in February, and 14 in March. Each month this represented more than 20% of the auction. While it’s rare to see a poorly painted Sam Newton (he is one of the most consistently good artists), the market cannot absorb such a disproportionately high percentage of paintings by one artist without having the predictable results on pricing. Rennick had an astonishing 27 Sam Newton paintings auctioned in March. Resulting prices are not what they were just a year ago.

At the same time, different Highwaymen artists move at their own pace and direction, without regard to what is happening with Harold and Sam Newton. We have seen this month a surge in values for Robert Butler. Butler has always had a “niche market” collector base that is passionate for his work. There are collectors who only collect Butler. His prices have always been solid in the scheme of Highwaymen prices, but recently, and this month in particular, his prices seem to have reflected interest that was beyond the general level of interest in the market.

Butler was the top performing artist this month at Manor. With 3 paintings auctioned, 2 soared above their HIGH estimates, and the third hammered above its mid-estimate. Only one other painting in the entire Manor auction sold above it high estimate.

Likewise at Rennick, while the 4 Butler paintings did not exceed the estimates, the prices still seemed strong with enthusiastic bidding. It would seem to be a case where the estimates were simply too high !
Other artists who are bucking the general market and rising faster than average … Robert Lewis and Mary Ann Carroll. Since the beginning of this year, these artists have seen above average prices for their paintings. While Mary Ann Carroll has always seen above average prices for her paintings, Robert Lewis has always been at the lower priced end, but has recently been showing above average price growth.

And finally, Rodney Demps, historically one of the lowest valued Highwaymen artists, is also seeing a new day in the sun! While his quick and poorly painted later paintings still consistently bring prices only in the $500-700 range – recently his early, more traditional looking paintings are starting to bring much higher values. Additionally, there are also later paintings that are modern, yet very carefully painted, that are also bringing high prices. I have personally seen several late paintings in the last month that have sold for over $2,500, and the early jumbo painting on upson at Rennick this month hammered at $5,000.