Edgar Alwin Payne’s ‘Glacier,’ depicting the Sierra Nevada Palisade Glacier. Estimate: $30,000-$40,000). John Moran Auctioneers image

MONROVIA, Calif. – John Moran’s Oct. 24 California and American Fine Art auction is on track to feature just over 200 works of fine art from top-tier American artists, including Guy Rose, Phil Dike, George Benjamin Luks, Franz A. Bischoff, Joseph Morris Raphael, William Clapp, Edgar Payne and Emil J. Kosa Jr. Estimates range from the low thousands to six figures, and Moran’s is expecting a strong turnout, as seen at their previous California & American Fine Art Auction event in March, which realized over $860,000 in sales. Absentee and Internet bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

Works by important California impressionists tend to dominate the offerings at Moran’s flagship spring and fall art auctions; one work in particular by Hollywood artist Edgar Alwin Payne (1883-1947) should excite California collectors. Titled simply Glacier, the work depicts the Palisade Glacier in the Sierra Nevada, and has been assigned a $30,000 to $40,000 estimate (above).

Maynard Dixon’s (1875-1946, San Francisco) Inyo Mountains – Evening, will make its way to the block with a $20,000 to $30,000 estimate. A smaller example, the work is one of a number of paintings by the artist executed under different lighting conditions on the range; in this example, the day’s last light casts the mountains in an orange and buttery yellow glow, which contrasts with the purplish-gray shadows in the crevices of the mountain face.

Another finely worked impressionist composition, this one by Mischa Askenazy (1888-1961, Los Angeles), echoes early influence of Japanese prints and aesthetics on the developing impressionist movement. Askenazy positions a seated woman in a kimono reviewing prints of Kabuki theater actors before a folding screen. Executed in a soft, somewhat muted palette, the work, aptly titled Woman Looking at Woodblock Prints is estimated to bring between $7,000 and $9,000 at the block (below)

Mischa Askenazy’s pastel-toned impressionist painting titled ‘Woman Looking at Woodblock Prints.’ Estimate: $7,000-$9,000. John Moran Auctioneers image

An exceptionally large landscape depicting Grand Lake in Colorado in the manner of Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902 New York, N.Y.), should prove an interesting dark horse highlight. The expansive work measures 60 inches by 93 inches, and is rendered in exceptional detail. Indians and horses in the foreground are depicted in minute scale against the backdrop of a lush riparian landscape backed by massive snow-capped peaks (estimate: $60,000 to $90,000)

Moran’s is offering a number of works by important early 20th-century women artists. One figural work by Los Angeles-based artist Donna Schuster (1883-1953) is expected to perform quite well at the block – the charming painting depicts a woman in a ruby red dress lounging in a patio chair; the light reflecting off the smock casts her face in a rosy glow, and contrasts with the vegetation flanking her (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000). Another Los Angeles-based artist, Mabel Alvarez, is represented in the October catalog by a painterly depiction of a partially nude seated woman deeply engrossed in a book. The figure’s copper red hair and the Persian green wall behind her create a dynamic, captivating composition (estimate: $10,000 to $15,000).

Anne Estelle Rice’s (1879-1959, Philadelphia, Pa.) depiction of French bathers at the Brittany seaside offers a colorful window into early 20th-century French leisure culture, and is expected to earn $20,000 to $30,000 at the auction block.

Anne Estelle Rice’s oil painting of bathers on a Brittany beach has been assigned a $20,000-$30,000 estimate. John Moran Auctioneers image

For the second time this year, Moran’s will offer a dog sledding-themed work by well-known itinerant Alaskan painter Theodore Roosevelt Lambert (1905-1960). In March, Lambert’s Arctic Night Dog Team achieved a $39,650 price realized, just over the $25,000 to $35,000 estimate. Collectors will now have the chance to purchase Resting in Silence, depicting an idle dog sled team before a snow-covered cabin. The thoughtfully arranged, painterly composition is a fine example of the artist’s disciplined focus on his Alaskan surroundings and attention to light’s effects on the often blindingly white landscapes he encountered during his travels throughout the territory. Resting in Silence is expected to hammer between $15,000 and $20,000.

Early Alaskan scenes proved popular at Moran’s March California and American Fine Art Auction. Moran’s is set to offer Theodore Roosevelt Lambert’s (1905-1960, Levelock, Alaska) ‘Resting in Silence’ with a $15,000-$20,000 estimate. John Moran Auctioneers image

Moran’s is also offering a  collection of modernist works by Los Angeles-based painter Ben Abril (1923-1995) including Grand Central Public Market on Hill Street Between 3rd and 4th Street, Los Angeles, California, a sweeping view of downtown Los Angeles circa 1939. The large-scale painting is one of five works by the artist to be featured in Moran’s October California and American Fine Art catalog, and is expected to hammer between $8000 and $12,000.

A handful of Los Angeles-subject paintings by local artist Ben Abril (1923-1995) will make their way to the block at Moran’s October sale, including ‘Grand Central Public Market on Hill Street Between 3rd and 4th Street, Los Angeles, California.” Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. John Moran Auctioneers image

John Moran’s Oct. 24 California and American Fine Art Auction will begin at 6 p.m. Pacific time / 9 p.m. Eastern.

Full-color auction catalogs are available now and are priced at $30 including shipping. For inquiries regarding catalog orders, bidder registration or consignment to future auction events, contact John Moran Auctioneers at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 626-793-1833.