Cody's Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale Brings In Another $1 Million Plus

Hundreds of people in cowboy hats spent hundreds of thousands of dollars during the 44th Buffalo Bull Art Show and Sale, culminating in over $1 million in contemporary Western art sold in Cody.

Between Friday night's live auction and Saturday morning's Quick Draw auction, the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale brought in more than $1.102 million. The amount will get even higher once additional sales from the two silent auctions and other sales are tallied into the total. 

There were plenty of intense bidding wars, high-priced pieces, and surprises during the two days of artistic flair under the massive tent set up in the parking lot of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Patrons from across the country were either strategizing their bids or goading their friends and other patrons to bid higher. 

"It's more than just an art auction," said Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale director Katelyn Parker. "It's a homecoming. It's about relationships. The people under that tent might not have seen each other since the last auction. It's an entire experience, and we're lucky to have such a generous group of artists and patrons." 

Robert Brown, owner of Big Horn Galleries, started the night by quoting the late legendary Wyoming senator and statesman Alan Simpson and his oft-stated mantra to ensure a successful auction. 

"Big high, bid often, and if you can't hear the auctioneer, just raise your hand," he said. 

Back And Forth

Of the 103 pieces that made their way up and down the runway during Friday night's auction, 93 pieces were sold by the end of the evening, bringing in over $930,500. 

Troy Black of Black and Associated Auctioneers Inc. kept the momentum going all night, as he has for the last several years. Leveraging his personal relationships with artists and patrons, he kept the bids coming in with his wry wit. 

"Troy is a master at getting money from people," former director Kathy Thompson told Cowboy State Daily in 2024. "He does all the important Western art show auctions."

When he wasn't relentlessly drumming up bids, Black quipped with surgical precision and often got the desired result. 

•   "Take another drink and tell me $4,750. (The other bidder) said she's not going to share." 

•   "You'll make more money on Monday. That's why we have Mondays." 

•   "Rob, I know you've been looking for a new conversation piece in the house." 

•   "Now's the time to bid. (Your husband) isn't paying attention." 

•   "You give me $27,000, and I won't ask again." (It didn't work that time.)

•   "Don't look at him! He can't sell it to you!

Black's humor and unwavering energy kept the bids coming in. Not every piece was sold that night, but there was a vigorous back-and-forth for every piece. 

The Big Sellers 

Auctions are a risky business for artists. Their piece could sell for double its retail value, or several thousand dollars less. 

The high-selling piece of the night was Kevin Red Star's acrylic mixed-media piece "Crow Indians Small War Party." It sold for $50,000, but that was less than its retail value of $65,000. 

The largest piece in the show was the second-highest seller. Santiago Michalek's 48 by 96-inch painting "A Matter of Utmost Urgency", which was also this year's Spirit of Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale Award, sold for $42,500, well over its retail price of $38,000. 

Artist Krystii Melaine was the biggest winner of the Friday night auction. Her oil painting, "Guardian of the Wilderness," won the 2025 People's Choice Award, which usually guarantees more bids and a higher price. 

Once her painting arrived on the runway, the bidding was fast and furious. The painting sold for $26,000, more than double its retail price of $12,000. 

Meeteetse bronze artist Vic Payne had a good night. His bronze sculpture, "In the Land of the Tukudeka," depicting a mountain lion chasing bighorn sheep, was the highest-selling sculpture at the auction, going for $30,000. 

"Scott, it might be a little difficult to get that as a carry-on," Black told Scott Leinen, the patron who purchased the piece. Payne's sculpture is 54-by-45-by-13 inches. 

The 10 pieces that didn't sell hadn't reached their reserve prices when the bidding stopped. That's just the nature of live art auctions. 

"We ask the artists to set a reserve," Thompson said. "We don't like to set it for them, and some artists won't put any reserve on them because our show is a fundraiser. But we don't want to sell them for nothing."

Many artists with pieces in the show were sitting under the tent, occasionally giving Black "the nod," indicating he could sell their piece even if it hadn't reached the reserve. 

As soon as "A Matter of Utmost Urgency" sold, Michalek got up from his table, circumvented the tables to the opposite side of the runway to thank and shake hands with the patron who purchased his painting. It's personal touches like this that have kept the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale one of the best-attended Western art auctions in the country. 

Early Birds, Big Bids

On Saturday morning, even Cody's weather was in a festive mode. Hundreds of patrons milled through the tent and out onto the Powwow Grounds to watch the 28 artists participating in the annual Quick Draw. 

Everyone was enthralled as pieces came to life in the 90 minutes the artists had to finish the pieces that would be sold later that morning. Michael Ome Untiedt even let some passing patrons contribute to his piece by handing them the brush. 

David Frederick Riley, a wildlife painter, caused quite a stir when he finished his piece before the 90 minutes were up. He caused an even bigger stir when his portrait of a bear sold for $25,000 during the Quick Draw auction, the highest-selling piece of the morning. 

"That's the best-looking bison I've ever seen," Black quipped.

The winning bid for Untiedt's painting came from 10-year-old Vaughn Holley, with her parents' eager support. She was one of the people Untiedt who had contributed to his painting that morning, and the family acquired it for $5,000. 

Dustin Payne's contribution was a small bust of a mule, which he made as a tribute to his father. He called it, "My Dad Was an Ass." 

"They say you can only get a mule when a male donkey mates with a mare," Dustin said. Vic Payne was on the runway when Payne's piece was presented. 

"If the shoe fits, you wear it," Vic said. 

Dustin sold at least 15 editions of "My Dad Was an Ass" for $1,200 each, totaling over $18,000. Chris Navarro was the top-selling bronze artist that morning, selling at least 13 editions of his $1,800 sculpture, an elk with a bird perched on one of its antlers, for a total of $23,400.

While paintings are one-of-a-kind, patrons had the option to purchase editions of the Quick Draw's bronze sculptures at their auction price once it was over. 

By the end of the Quick Draw auction, the total was $198,500. The $500 sale of an apron signed by all the participating artists, always the final item to be auctioned, brought the total to $199,000. 

The Tentative Total

Between the Friday night and Saturday morning auctions, the 44th Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale raised over $1.102 million. Three pieces by artisans from By Western Hands were also sold for $27,000. 

Both the Friday night and Saturday morning auctions had silent auctions with different pieces from the Scout's Mini Sale. The two auctions brought in at least $36,980. 

Adding in another $21,315 of pieces sold during the opening of the show back in August, the tentative total of art sold during the 44th Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale was at least $1.214 million.

The 43rd Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale reached a new high by raising $1 million before the end of the Friday night auction. This year's auction got close to $1 million before the end of the evening and easily crossed the threshold the next morning. 

The proceeds were split between the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, and local art organizations. All in all, it was another exciting year for all involved. 

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.