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April 2024 Highwaymen Auction Review

Prices continued to be strong this month, despite heading into the slower season !

There were 2 Highwaymen auctions in April:

Florida Art Auction April 13 32 Highwaymen Lots
Manor Auctions April 20 79 Highwaymen Lots

NOTE: to reiterate the use of pricing in this blog, especially for new readers:

  • All auction results listed here are hammer prices and do not include any fee’s
  • “Target prices” refer to the low estimate – not a midpoint between low and high
  • All results refer to only the original 26 Highwaymen. Sales of paintings by Backus, and other legacy and Florida artists are not included in these results.

As a quick overview of the activity this month …..

The Florida Art Auction was small, but many of the offerings were excellent. The top offering was a Harold Newton, poinciana and boat, targeted at $20,000, and was hammered at $20,000.

Manor Auctions had another strong sale. The 79 paintings brought a total of $291,000, as compared with the 75 paintings in March which hammered at $400,000 ! But the prices brought for individual paintings were still very strong. There were just not as many high priced paintings in the sale this month.

While there were only 2 auctions in April, as compared to the traditional 3 auctions loaded with high quality paintings in March, the results do not show signs of slowing down as we move into the slower season. In fact, it was clear that attendance in the auction room was down, but prices are continuing to set new highs.

I expect that as we move into the May auctions, crowds will continue to decrease as winter residents / snow birds return home, but I predict what will likely be a month with many record setting prices. I have already previewed the sales at Manor and Vero Beach for May, and the quality of the paintings being offered are of exceptional quality in both auctions. Don’t miss either of them !

The sales statistics for April can be summarized as follows:

March Auctions No. of Paintings Offered Target Price Totals Hammer Price Totals
Florida Art Auction 32 $84,300 $80,225
Manor Auctions 79 $261,450 $291,250

What are we seeing? The April auctions were smaller than January thru March. This was expected based on normal seasonal trends,… but the results were higher than expected. Hammer prices relative to target prices do not show a large gap, and in the case of Florida Art, did not reach the target, but in my view, this is because of rapidly increasing target estimates by the Auction houses.

It is interesting to note that in my previews for next month, Manor is expecting to continue the trend of higher target estimates. However, Vero Beach Auction seems to have extremely reasonable estimates placed on some very high quality offerings. In the end, bidders will bid what they are willing to pay for the paintings.

It is worth pointing out though that two philosophies exist in the market in this regard. Some people believe high estimates bring higher prices because bidders often feel more comfortable bidding higher, as those bids are supported by the higher estimates. On the other hand, there are those who believe lower estimates bring much more interest in the offerings, and as a result, the greater level of interest and larger number of bidders, brings higher prices! I expect the target estimates next month will be very interesting to watch.

As I have written in my last several blogs:

The trends are undeniable. I suspect we will now be seeing target prices moving up, …. I think we can conclude that the higher prices are here to stay.

Again – after looking at the numbers in April, I think we can conclude that target estimates have certainly moved up, (in the case of Manor they have moved up sharply) and prices have also moved up, but not necessarily as fast as the estimates.

Despite rising prices, we have seen a larger percentage of paintings NOT reaching their target prices (low estimates). This month:

Number lots Number not reaching target target price % of paintings not reaching target price
Florida Art Auction 32 9 28%
Manor Auctions 79 22 28%

I also always look at the percentage of paintings that reach or exceed their targets, as well as the number of paintings that hammered at 50% over the target, and the number of paintings that hammer at double or more than the target price.These percentages are down since December and January, when we were seeing lower target prices.

Percentage selling at or above target

Florida Art Auction 72%
Manor Auctions 72%

Percentage of paintings selling at 50% over the target prices

Florida Art Auction 9%
Manor Auctions 15%

Percentage of paintings selling at 100% more than target prices

Florida Art Auction 3%
Manor Auctions 14%

Last month I pointed to 3 artists I indicated were useful as key barometers of the market:

  • Harold Newton
  • Sam Newton
  • Willie Daniels

Why these 3 ?

  • Harold Newton is widely considered the highest priced artist. He has had strong demand, steady growth in prices, and his prices reflect the strength of the Highwaymen market.
  • Sam Newton is widely considered an excellent artist, also has generally strong demand, but always has significant numbers of paintings being offered. In most auctions, the number of Sam Newton paintings is usually the highest among all of the artists. In the last 6-8 months, there has been a general decline in prices, due to the increasing number of paintings being offered.
  • Willie Daniels is a bit of an enigma. He is widely considered to be an excellent artist, was one of the original Highwaymen, has an excellent reputation, but is at the low end of the market, generally bringing relatively low prices. In the last 6-8 months prices have shown a slight decline due to the high quantity of paintings being offered.

Having stated the above, in the last 2 months the trend for these artists has shifted.

Harold Newton continues to bring strong prices. In the April Manor auction there were 4 paintings offered, but 2 failed to reach their target prices, and a 3rd painting passed. The highest valued painting with a target of $20,000 hammered at $18,500. The next highest with a target of $12,000 passed and did not sell. The market for Harold Newton paintings (privately) is actually stronger than ever from a price standpoint. At auction, it seems pre-auction price target expectations are too high.
Likewise, the 3 Harold Newton’s offered at Florida Art Auction had the same fate. The highest valued painting with a target of $20,000, just met the target and hammered at $20,000. The next highest painting with a target of $11,000 passed and did not sell.
Clearly, something is going on here. It’s simple. Auction estimates (target prices) are too high.

Sam Newton again this month had 14 paintings on offer at Manor. Even with all having estimates of $2-5,000, 4 of the paintings did not reach their low estimate. At the same time, 3 of the paintings sold at more than 50% above the target. The market seems to be bringing Sam Newton back, and his prices have strengthened a bit as compared to that of last few months.
Florida Art Auction only had 1 Sam Newton offered. It sold reasonably at $3,100.
Conclusion: Sam Newton has definitely started to strengthen again. However, the continuing large number of paintings being offered at Manor are slowing his progress.

Willie Daniels has also come back, even more robustly than Sam Newton. 4 paintings at Manor in April all exceeded their target, with the best performing painting hammering at $8,400 against a target $4,000. A second painting hammered at $3,700 – both very strong prices for Willie Daniels.
At the same time, 3 Willie Daniels at Florida Art Auction all hammered between $1300-1500. Prices that were still stuck in the trenches. The two $1300 hammered prices did not reach their targets of $1400.
As with any of the artists, quality matters. Top quality paintings soar above target prices, while average or less than average paintings are not showing nearly as strong demand.

A few words about some of the paintings that drew strong attention and results this month.

Florida Art Auction – The first auction this month had 2 very nice Harold Newton paintings. These were the top paintings of the sale in my opinion. Strong prices, although I would have expected the Rio Mar to sell for a bit more.

Harold Newton – $20,000

Boats-on-Poinciana-Path

Boats on Poinciana Path 28×36 on Masonite

Harold Newton – $6,400

Early-Rio-Mar

Early Rio Mar 24 x 30 on Upson

The next auction up was at Manor Auctions . The crowd was noticeably smaller than usual, in contrast to the winter sales where the room was standing room only. This month there were free seats for those who came late ! Nonetheless, that did not slow down some quite spirited bidding for many of the paintings.

The Movie:
I would point out (especially for those bidding online and wondering why the sale started almost half an hour late), that those in the auction room had the privilege to hear an overview of the new film being produced on the Highwaymen by Maverick Entertainment. Maverick is run by Doug Schwab, a Highwaymen collector, who made the presentation.

Virtually all collectors know that there have been two film productions in the works for years. A movie and a documentary series. Without getting into details, they both have been plagued with numerous delays. This is a new and third film project, which is clearly on the fast track. Maverick produces and distributes more than 100 movies every year. So the experience is there. As Doug stated in his presentation, there are 2 key requirements to make a movie. Money and Distribution. They have both, and everything else is relatively easy.
Doug reported that the film script will be done in the next couple of weeks. It will be a fictionalized movie based on/ inspired by the Highwaymen. It is targeting a young audience. Afterall, when the Highwaymen started painting, they were mostly teenagers! The Director has been chosen. Casting will take place in May and June. Filming will be completed in July and August. The film will be available on multiple streaming platforms (not movie theaters) by October/November. Doug indicated that with Maverick’s typical distribution, the film is expected to be viewed by 100 million viewers on a global basis. It’s all simple, exciting, and happening on a very accelerated timetable. I’m looking forward to it. Congratulations Doug !!!

Back to the Auction ….
Let me start with the two most interesting sales of the Manor sale.

Willie Daniels – $8,400

Golden-Dawn

Golden Dawn 24 x 36 on Masonite

Willie Reagan – $6,400

Golden-Hour

Golden Hour 24 x 30 on Upson

The two Willies struck gold with these two golden paintings. In the case of the Willie Daniels, this painting soared above its target price of $4,000. It is actually one of his most common scenes painted by Willie Daniels, but the color palette and the palette knife work were exceptional. The golden color was also very unusual for Daniels (not as obvious in the photographs). These added up to a combination of unique factors which drove the aggressive bidding by several interested collectors.

The Willie Reagan, also with a target estimate of $4,000, was an interesting and subtly beautiful painting. It was said to be one of the very first few paintings that he completed. Again, bidding in the auction room was very active. Interestingly, these two paintings were the 75th and 79th paintings sold at the auction of 79 Highwaymen paintings. With fatigue setting in at the end of the very long sale this month, these two paintings generated a lot of excitement and ended the Highwaymen sales on a very up-beat note.

George Buckner – $7,000

Green-Riverside

Green Riverside 24 x 36 Oil on Upson

George Buckner – $5,800

Poinciana

Poinciana 16 x 20 Oil on Canvas

These two George Buckner paintings are interesting for several reasons. First, they are among the highest priced paintings at the sale (The $7,000 painting was 4th highest, and the $5,800 is clearly in the top 10). However, it points out how difficult it sometimes is to read and predict hammer prices based upon estimates.

First up was the very nice Green Riverside with a target price of $8,000 and a High estimate of $12,000. It fared poorly with a hammer price of $7,000. Even as the 4th highest price of the auction, this result was viewed as a disappointment to all I spoke with. Nonetheless, it is a very nice painting and the buyer got it at a very nice price!

That sale was then immediately followed by the Poinciana, another nice painting less than half the size of Green Riverside, and with a target of $3,500 (and High estimate of $5,500). This painting immediately opened with online bidding of $5,600, and hammered at $5,800.

Thus, the first, and much larger painting sold at a price below its target Low estimate, while the second, small painting sold at a price above its High estimate. Both were sold within 2 minutes of each other, to the same set of bidders. While auction estimates are typically reasonably accurate, this case demonstrates just how far wrong estimates can sometimes be. Any collector buying at auction should recognize this and not assume that all paintings have reasonable and accurate pre-auction estimates.

Curtis Arnett-$7,000

Byzantium-Sky

Byzantium Sky 24 x 30 on Canvas

Curtis Arnett is clearly an artist whose interest in his work, and prices, are on the rise. This was a well-executed painting, but exceptionally dark. Nonetheless, no one could understand the interest level that drove it to a hammer price of $7,000 when the target price was $1,500. You don’t see many paintings that sell for more than 4x its target price ! Maybe it was the exotic name?

Despite having 14 Sam Newton paintings in this sale, none reached a hammer price of $10,000. The highest priced Sam was a small painting entitled Self Portrait, which hammered at $8,800.

The auction catalogue described this painting as a “…self portrait of Sam and Monica Newton. No other examples known”. While I am not suggesting this is not Sam Newton pictured in the painting, there is no part of either individuals face showing, and there is no documentation referenced to suggest it is a self portrait. So I have to ask the question – who determined this is a self portrait? And how? It’s a nice painting, but there is clearly a very large premium placed on it’s statement that Sam Newton is sitting at that table!

Sam Newton-$8,800
Self-Portrait
Self Portrait 14 x 18 on Masonite

I always like to ask, were there any bargains at this sale? That is becoming less and less frequent with the relentless rising of prices. However, one artist who has been having better and better paintings come to market, and whose prices have not risen accordingly, is Johnny Daniels. This auction had 4 Johnny Daniels paintings, with the most expensive and least expensive being the most interesting examples:

Johnny Daniels-$5,500

Tranquility

Tranquility 30 x 48 Oil on Masonite

Johnny Daniels-$2,000

Still-Waters

Still Waters 20 x 24 Oil on Masonite

Tranquility was a gorgeous painting with a massive presence. At 30 x 48, it stands out anywhere. There are typically not more than 5-6 paintings of this size being offered during the course of an entire year. The auction catalogue stated that this was the only JDaniels of this size offered in 10 years of auction records. It went on to call the painting “A museum worthy large format of Daniels work” The catalogue estimated the painting at $7,000 – $14,000. It hammered at $5,500. Someone got a masterpiece, at a bargain price.

Still Waters was the least expensive of the 4 JDaniels paintings. The way the hyacinths and water lilly’s were painted was beautiful and unique. They are typically represented in 1 or 2 much larger clusters. The golden sunrise was also beautifully painted. The catalogue estimated the painting at $2,500 – $5,000. It hammered at $2,000. Another bargain.

In Conclusion !

The April auctions continued to set a new benchmark for Highwaymen prices. I expect that we will be seeing continued growth during the coming few months, but not at the same rates we have witnessed since January.

As many of you may have seen in this facebook group, I have recently updated my website (www.TheHighwaymenCollector.com) with auction prices through the end of the first quarter, 2024. They confirm the rapid increase in prices that I have been reporting in these blogs during the last several months.
Note: The website link above in blue cannot be used in the pdf document. Please copy the address if you would like to access the website.

hico-price-index

If you look further at the website, you will see that the average auction price (with buyers fees), for all Highwaymen paintings during 2023 was $3,465. The average price for January thru March, 2024 was $4,292.

This represents an average increase from all of 2023, as compared with the first quarter of 2024 of 24 %. The only category of paintings that have shown a slight decline are small paintings on upson (small being defined as 16×20 or smaller). Clearly, large paintings have shown the greatest growth.

The system also tracks what I refer to as the HiCo Index (Highwaymen Collector), since I started compiling data at the beginning of 2018. Using the averages for 2018 sales, the index stands at 306.57 at the end of this first quarter – meaning Highwaymen prices have risen, on average, 307%, since 2018.

Next Month ! ………

I believe next month will be “take a breather month”. April will have only 2 auctions, as well as my own participation at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.

Vero Beach Auction May 4 12 noon, On-line only

The preview is available on Live Auctioneers.

Manor Auctions May 25 1 pm, On-line and on-site at Manor

The preview has just been listed on Live Auctioneers, and on the Manor website
Billed as Manor May Madness
A large sale with more than 100 Highwaymen paintings being offered.
The sale includes interesting groups MA Carroll, L Roberts, H Baker, and R Demps.

Happy Hunting !

www.TheHighwaymenCollector.com
Buying and selling Highwaymen art of exceptional quality, unusual scenes, and rare paintings by the Buckners. Always available: select paintings published in books and catalogues.

Look for my report on artist pricing comparisons and growth (Quarter 1 2024 vs 2023) in the
next April blog. Which artist’s prices are growing the fastest. Results may surprise you.