Los Angeles – On November 1, a world class selection of Western American art from The Collection of G. Andrew Bjurman achieved exceptional results at Bonhams in Los Angeles realizing $5,436,720 overall with 100% sold by value. The collection, which was amassed by Bjurman over the last few decades and encompassed 150 years of Western art, saw six figure hammers for a dozen lots including works by Oscar Edmund Berninghaus, Walter Ufer, Frank Tenney Johnson, and Joseph Henry Sharp. The proceeds of the sale will benefit Bjurman's eponymous foundation.

Members of the Taos Society of Artists were well represented in the collection and achieved the top results. Leading the sale was an oil painting by Walter Ufer (1876-1936) titled The Water Women which sold for $567,375, more than double its estimate. Ufer was a Taos Society of Artists founder celebrated for his honest depictions of the American West, in particular the Native Americans of the Southwest as is showcased in this museum-quality work. Three additional works by Ufer also found great success with A Storm Brewing sold for $252,375, Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico sold for $214,575, and February Sun sold for $201,975.

Also achieving exceptional results, Ancient Forest of the Indians by Oscar Edmund Berninghaus (1874-1952) sold for $542,175. One of the most important works by the artist to be offered publicly in many years, this beautiful example with its strong subject showcases Berninghaus' sophisticated use of sunlight and shadow. Two works by Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939), both depicting a solitary cowboy and his horse, were additional highlights of the sale. Each a masterwork showcasing the artist's ability to depict solitude on the Western range in a sympathetic and romantic way, Rim Rock Wrangler sold for $315,375 and An Idle Dreamer sold for $239,775.

Additional highlights include:

• A stellar oil painting, Chollas against the Mountains, by Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) sold for $227,175 and is a strong example of Dixon's late works executed while he was living in Tucson, Arizona.

• Spring Hunting Talk by Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), one of American art history's most beloved painters of Native Americans and the American West, sold for $277,575. Known for painting the locals of Taos, New Mexico in typical everyday scenes, Sharp captures three men in hushed conversation as the light of the day begins to wane in this work.

• The Chant, the image of which was used for the Santa Fe Railroad Company's 1935 calendar, by Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936), the first president of the Taos Society of Artists, sold for $201,975.

Later the same day, Bonhams presented an additional Western Art sale which saw an auction world record for Charles Schreyvogel's (1861-1912) iconic The Last Drop bronze when it sold for $353,175. An additional highlight of the sale was The Intruder by Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869-1959), celebrated for his specialized artistic focus on large North American mammals, which sold for $529,575. The sale overall achieved $1,967,726 with 100% sold by value.