We are proud to announce the sale of the Dennis Farina Western Art Collection as part of its 27th annual Old West Show & Auction weekend event, June 11-12, 2016 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, TX. Approximately ten pieces from the popular actor’s estate will cross the block, consisting primarily of early-to-mid twentieth century Western illustration and pulp art, and featuring action-packed scenes of cowboys, lawmen and bank robbers, by artists such as Buck McCain, Olaf Wieghorst and Richard Lillis.
Dennis Farina (1944-2013) was a familiar face in both film and television. A busy actor, he is probably best known for his role as Detective Joe Fontana on “Law and Order.” Frequently cast as either a mobster or a cop, he was “discovered” while working in the burglary division of the Chicago Police Department. Though his characters were cops and robbers, Dennis, like so many men of his generation, wanted to be a cowboy. In a 2005 “TV Guide” article he was quoted as saying, “I would love to play a real old-style cowboy like Rooster Cogburn.”
Brian Lebel, auction owner (and fan of western pulp and illustration art himself), is thrilled to be offering the actor’s collection. “I always liked the characters Dennis played,” Lebel says. “He could be both serious and comedic at the same time. The art in his collection is like that too.”
The Dennis Farina Art Collection: Lots 77 - 84.
Brian Lebel's Old West Auction - June 11, 2016
Lot 77 - Harry Kane Kirchner (1912 - 1988)
Untitled: Poker Game
Sold $182
Lot 79 - Richard Lillis
Untitled: Gunfight
Sold $188
Lot 82 - Keith Christie (b. 1935)
Sold $708