Three choice lots from upcoming Heritage auctions
Western Art
Illustrator-turned-fine artist Eric Bowman is known for his vivid scenes of the American West. His oil on board Desert Blush, depicting a cowboy on horseback against an all-encompassing pink-orange backdrop, is being sold to benefit the Couse-Sharp Historic Site. In the heart of Taos’ central historic district, the site features the former homes and studios of E.I. Couse and J.H. Sharp, two of the American-born artists who formed the Taos Society of Artists in 1915.
Eric Bowman Desert Blush
Oil on board
12 x 12 inches (30.5 x 30.5 cm)
Auction: July 22
Entertainment
“Munchkin” Tommy Cottonaro wore this bow-bedecked jacket during two of the most memorable sequences in The Wizard of Oz: “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead.” After production wrapped on the film, MGM hired Cottonaro to wear the costume at the movie’s Hollywood premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on August 15, 1939. That night, five days after The Hollywood Reporter called Oz “brilliantly inventive and arrestingly beautiful,” the film broke an attendance record at the theater.
Munchkin Townsman Jacket from The Wizard of Oz
MGM, 1939
Auction: July 28
U.S. Coins
The 1829 Capped Head Left half eagle, with the Small Date and planchet, is a landmark rarity, even in a series replete with rare issues. It represents the first date of a new design type for the half eagle that was struck from 1829 through 1834. PCGS CoinFacts estimates eight or nine business-strike examples are known, and PCGS founder John Dannreuther has confirmed the existence of two proof specimens, with one of those included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
1829 Capped Head Left Half Eagle, PR66+ Cameo
Extremely Rare Small Date Variety, BD-2
Auction: August 10