The 45th Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale in Cody saw big sales for big paintings. By the time the Quick Draw ended on Saturday morning, the two live auctions and their accompanying silent auctions had raised at least $1.034 million.
Of the 107 pieces, 96 paintings and sculptures were sold during Friday night’s live auction. The total amount raised for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, and the artists was over $900,000.
“Every year’s different, but it’s always glorious,” said Katelyn Parker, the director of the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale. “We have an incredible selection committee that is comprised of industry professionals. They know our patrons, so they carefully cultivate the roster of artists.”
Big Sellers
The double-edged sword of a live auction is that pieces can go above or below their expected value when the bidding stops. That’s why all the artists are encouraged to set a minimum reserve for their work.
“We ask that they have a reserve, and we don't like to set it for them,” former executive director Kathy Thompson told Cowboy State Daily. “We ask them to be conscious of their reserve because this is a fundraiser, but we don't want to sell it for nothing.”
Thompson said many artists aren’t inclined to set a reserve because they want them to sell, whatever the price. It’s their way of showing how much they appreciate the show and their inclusion.
“Some artists say they won't put any reserve on their work because they love the show and just want their work to sell,” she said. “We ask them all to put a reserve because we value all of their art, and we want to be sure they value their art, as well.”
Here are the 11 highest-selling works from this year’s show along with information about them and the artists.
“Billy the Kid” by Dustin Van Wechel: $17,000
- Oil, 30x38inches
“Mountain goats are a favorite subject of mine,” Van Wechel said. “Stories of how they turn treacherous cliffs into casual playgrounds, their stoic presence and brilliant white coats – all provide a wealth of inspiration that is both a challenge and joy to communicate through paint.”
Van Wechel’s paintings of western wildlife frequently appear in art galleries and museum exhibitions around the world. His painting “Speed Dating” was one of the top-selling pieces at the 42nd Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, where it also won a Judge’s Award of Excellence, selling for $27,500.
“Venice” by Thom Ross: $17,000
- Oil, 40x30 inches
This painting is based on a photograph of Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild West Show cast members in Venice, Italy, in April 1890.
Ross is a renowned illustration and installation artist known for his distinctive depictions of famous people and historical events, often at life-size. His painting “Custer & the Table” sold for $18,000 during last year’s live auction.
Several of his pieces, including “Hickok and Cody,” are in the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
“Dawn of America” by Vic Payne: $17,000
- Bronze, 24x24x12 inches
“Dawn of America honors the spirit of discovery that carried Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea into the unknown,” Payne said. “More than a journey across rivers, mountains, and plains, theirs was an act of courage, trust, and vision, defining passage for a young nation still discovering the shape of its land and its future.”
Payne works out of the restored Meeteetse Mercantile building and is overseeing the construction of a new bronze foundry nearby. His bronze sculpture “Sounds of the Night” won a Judge’s Award of Excellence and was the highest-selling piece at the 42nd Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, selling for $45,000.
His sculpture “In the Land of the Tukudeka” sold for $30,000 in last year’s show.
“Calling Thunder, Singing Up a Storm” by John Potter: $19,000
- Oil, 48x36 inches
“Inspired by Chief Joseph’s story, three of his advance scouts head out from Clark Fork Canyon, north of Cody,” Potter said. “The lead scout is ‘singing up a storm’ – calling in the thunders and rain to wash away the tracks of Joseph’s Nez Perce, making their way out of the canyon.”
Potter is a Utah-based artist who spent 20 years as an illustrator and another 20 as a highly sought-after oil painter after graduating from Utah State University. His painting “We Three Chiefs” won the Two-Dimensional Award at the 44th Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale.
“Treaty of Friendship” by Santiago Michalek: $22,500
- Oil, 72x48 inches
“These great men with a complex history set their differences aside in order to bridge the divide of two cultures, which became the inception of a lifelong friendship of respect and honor,” Michalek said.
Argentine-born Michalek has been one of the most consistently popular and high-selling artists at the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale. His painting “A Matter of Utmost Urgency” won the 2025 Spirit of Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale Award and sold for $42,500, and “Horse Power” won the People’s Choice Award and sold for $38,000 at the 42nd Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale.
“Valley of the Giants: Romans 15:13” by Thomas Kegler: $22,500
- Oil, 24x48 inches
“In this vast expanse of Lamar Valley, I sought to capture the silent, spiritual resonance at the break of day,” Kegler said. “I explored the intersection of the temporal and the eternal, where the heavy forms of the bison mingle with the rising atmospheric mist. It is an invitation to pause, to breathe, and to find quietude in the enduring majesty of God’s creation.”
Kegler is a self-taught realist painter, educational film producer, and art educator based in New York. His painting won the 2026 People’s Choice and Spirit of Buffalo Bill Awards.
Kegler was the highest-selling artist of this year’s show. His Quick Draw painting sold for $17,000, bringing the two-day total to $39,500.
In the 42nd Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, Kegler’s oil painting “By the Light, Psalms 75:15-17,” which won the Spirit of Buffalo Bull Art Show and Sale award, sold for $25,000.
“Approaching Hidden Creek” by Max Werner: $22,500
- Acrylic, 30.5x38 inches
Werner is a native-born Belgian who studied and taught at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, England. In 2003, Queen Elizabeth's personal regiment, the Household Cavalry, commissioned him to do a painting commemorating the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
“The Last Wilderness” by Krystii Melanie: $22,500
- Oil, 30x24 inches
“The mountains I see from my studio are full of grizzly bears,” she said. “Sometimes they wander along our creek, so meeting one is always a possibility. This painting is about living near one of the last true wildernesses, where creatures that look so adorable are really not to be trifled with.”
Melanie is an Australian native who is a Master Signature Member of the American Women Artists. Her oil painting “Guardian of the Wilderness” won the 2025 People’s Choice Award and sold for $26,000 at last year’s show.
“The Last Wilderness” sold for well over its appraised value of $13,000.
“Statuesque” by Maeve Eichelberger: $25,000
- Hand-formed & Etched Acrylic with Handmade Silver & Turquoise. 46x25x24 inches
Eichelberger, a Colorado native, specializes in “a new form of three-dimensional collage” using plexiglass. She creates pieces for a more three-dimensional interpretation of western themes, “infused with nostalgia and beauty of our ever-changing environment.”
Built with her father, “Statuesque” combines materials to showcase a contemporary parade saddle with the allure and history of precious metal.
Her piece “Crystal Road” sold for $17,000 in last year’s show.
“High Plains Nimbus” by Tucker Smith: $27,000
- Oil, 20x24 inches
Smith has lived in Pinedale since he was 12. He spent eight years as a computer programmer and systems analyst for the state of Montana before turning to his lifelong passion of painting at age 31.
Smith’s painting “Granite Creek Bull” was one of the top-selling pieces from the 44th Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale, going for $35,000. His painting, “Sanctuary,” won one of the five Judges’ Awards of Excellence and sold for $37,500 at the 43rd Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale.
“Last Stand At The O.K. Corral” by Dustin Payne: $27,500
- Bronze, 25x35x15 inches
“This bronze captures the charged moment before gunfire erupts, preserving the emotion, personalities, and legacy of the West’s most famous showdown in history,” Payne said.
Payne was inducted into the Cowboy Artists of America in 2017. He created a life-size monument honoring the Texas Rangers titled ‘The Legend, The Lore, The Law' in front of the Texas Rangers Heritage Center in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
