“It is a toss-up whether the scenery or the adornment of Marilyn Monroe is the feature of greater attraction in River of No Return,” reviewed The New York Times in 1954.
That spangled beaded costume Monroe wore would become even more of a hit, nearly 60 years later, when it landed on the auction block. To those who remembered, one look at the costume recalled Monroe’s saloon girl lyrics: “Love is a traveler, On the River of No Return, Swept on for ever.”
Love is indeed a traveler, most especially a time traveler, when it comes to astute collectors of Western memorabilia and art. These relics of the past are preserved and loved, and then offered to the rest of us to carry on the tradition.
From the Upham family that finally sold its treasured Billy the Kid tintype to Debbie Reynolds who put her heart and soul into saving Hollywood’s wardrobe past, collectors passed on the baton to those who they hoped would cherish these mementos of our collective Western heritage.
Included in the following pages are highlights from Reynolds’s movie memorabilia auctions, such as the above saloon dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in 1954’s River of No Return, as well as other notable Western art and collectibles of the year.
Check out the slide show to see the top-selling Western collectibles of 2011.
Photo Gallery
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction
July. 23, 2011
Mount Rainier
By Albert Bierstadt
April 2, 2011
Song of the Yellow Flower
By Bert Geer Phillips
Why Collectors Love It: Given that Phillips is famous for helping found the Taos Society of Artists, it makes sense his Indian paintings are the favorite among collectors. With New Mexico’s centennial this year, we anticipate more folks will be opening up their wallets to purchase works by New Mexico’s historical artists.
Sotheby’s New York
May 18, 2011
Lakota Chief Black Bird’s Ceremonial Shirt
Why Collectors Love It: In the American Indian Art arena, collectors rarely have the chance to bid on a 19th-century ceremonial shirt with photographic provenance of its owner (Inset: Chief Black Bird is shown wearing it while touring with Fred T. Cummins’s Indian Congress in 1899).
Brian Lebel’s Old West Show & Auction
June 25, 2011
California Vaquero
By Edward Borein
Why Collectors Love It: Borein may primarily be known for his pioneer cowboy etchings, but his best portrayals are found in watercolors like this one…and it isn’t often you see a black cowboy in Old West art.
Scottsdale Art Auction
April 2, 2011
Turning the Leader
By Charles M. Russell
Why Collectors Love It: Painted at the height of the American watercolor movement, this 1899 watercolor appeals to both collectors of Russell and of the medium.
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction
July 23, 2011
Water for Camp
By Charles M. Russell
Why Collectors Love It: Even though Russell is known as the “Cowboy Artist,” collectors gets the most bucks for the artist’s Indian works. (Coeur d’Alene set the still-existing record—$5 million—for Russell’s 1918 oil Piegans). Water for Camp holds an eyewitness appeal, as Russell painted this 1892 oil on canvas during his trips to Chinook, a Blackfoot, Assiniboine and Gros Ventre camping ground that had been partially opened to Montana settlers in 1888. He visited whenever he wasn’t working as a cowboy for the Bar R brand during 1890-93.
C.M. Russell Museum Auction
March 19, 2011
The Bronco Buster
By Charles M. Russell
Why Collectors Love It:
This 1894 watercolor shows off the artist’s impressive knowledge of horse anatomy (note how the cowboy’s quirt dangles from his wrist, as opposed to the cowboy fist in Remington’s bronze on the next slide).
Cowan’s Auctions
March 25, 2011
The Bronco Buster (Cast 37)
By Frederic Remington
Why Collectors Love It: This is Remington’s first bronze, copyrighted in 1895.
Scottsdale Art Auction
April 2, 2011
Pretty Mother of the Night
By Frederic Remington
Why Collectors Love It: This nocturne appeared on the cover of the November 1905 Cosmopolitan magazine, which serialized Remington’s 1906 novel, The Way of an Indian.
Heritage Auctions: John Wayne
October 6-7, 2011
Why Collectors Love It: The Duke wore this cowboy hat in at least three of his Westerns, so he clearly was partial to it…why wouldn’t his fans be as well? Makes perfect sense to us that a hat worn by the Duke would set the record for a costume cowboy hat.
Heritage Auctions:
John Wayne
October 6-7, 2011
John Wayne’s Best Actor Golden Globe from True Grit
Why Collectors Love It: True Grit came back in a big way after the Coen Brothers remade it, with fans saying the Duke’s is the only one worth watching, and others saying they enjoyed both versions. Either way, the movie’s stock went up, as did collectibles tied to it.
Profiles in History: Debbie Reynolds
December 3, 2011
Marilyn Monroe’s sequined leotard from Bus Stop
Why Collectors Love It: As saloon singer Cherie, Marilyn Monroe wore this leotard while singing, off-key, “That Old Black Magic” to win the heart of a cowboy played by Don Murray. Monroe fans know this leotard was made by her favorite designer William Travilla. He also created the garb for River of No Return and that iconic subway dress that garnered $4.6 million at this auction.
Profiles in History:
Debbie Reynolds
June 18, 2011
Marilyn Monroe’s saloon girl outfit from River of No Return
Why Collectors Love It: Marilyn Monroe fans want to own something she personally wore or possessed; for Western movie fans, what’s better than the sexy gold charmeuse gown she wore as saloon girl Kay, while singing the title song for the 1954 film?
Scottsdale Art Auction
April 2, 2011
Indian Summer, Green River, WYBy Thomas Moran
Why Collectors Love It: Green River, Wyoming, was Moran’s first stop in the West while he was traveling with Hayden’s geological survey in 1870; we like to think this 1913 oil on canvas shares one of his first memories of Green River and its Indians.
Scottsdale Art Auction
April 2, 2011
Bad Face StrategyBy Tom Lovell
Why Collectors Love It: Lovell was just making his foray into historical Western art in the 1970s when he earned the 1977 gold medal from Cowboy Artists of America for this oil painting. The CAA prestige still goes a long way with Western art collectors.
High Noon
January 29, 2011
Wild Horses
By Will James
Why Collectors Love It: James specialized in cowboy drawings, so an oil painting by him is a rare find.
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