Bierstadt paintings fetch $4 million at NV auction

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Two oil paintings by Albert Bierstadt featuring majestic mountains of the West have sold at auction for a total of $4 million.

Bierstadt’s 1898 “Mount Rainier” fetched $2.1 million while his 1863 “Lander’s Peak, Wyoming” went for $1.9 million.

They were the highest-selling pieces at the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction on Saturday in Reno.

Two paintings by Charles M. Russell — his 1892 “Water for Camp” and 1924 “A Dangerous Sport” — rustled up nearly $1.5 million each.

The former painting depicts a group of American Indians getting water from a stream, while the latter portrays two cowboys on horseback focused on a mountain lion.

The annual auction, which began in 1984, is billed as the world’s largest Western art sale.

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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com