413 - Autographed and Inscribed Hollywood Photographs (over 100 total)
Sold $5,175
We are once again thrilled to offer art and artifacts from the collections of Iron Eyes Cody and his neighbor, artist Clarence Ellsworth, through the estate of Victor Buck.
Iron Eyes Cody (1904-1999) began his acting career in the 1930s and worked in more than 200 films. But it's his portrayal of the "Crying Chief" in the now infamous "Keep America Beautiful" television advertising campaign that keeps his image in the forefront of our minds. The environmental commercial showed Cody shedding a tear after trash is thrown from the window of a car and it lands at his feet.
Clarence Ellsworth (1885-1961) was a self-taught artist who traveled extensively throughout the American West. For a time he called Denver home, working as a staff artist for the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. It wasn't long before Hollywood beckoned and he and his wife headed West to continue his artist career, this time as title artist for the studios.
After his death, Iron Eyes Cody's collection (which included a lot of Ellsworth's artwork and effects), went to this manager and estate executor Victor Buck, a successful entrepreneur and antiques dealer who often rubbed-elbows with Hollywood's elite.
If this story seems familiar to you, perhaps you are a fan of the History Channel's American Pickers. An episode that aired in 2015 shows Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz making a stop in Arizona to purchase a few items from the Victor Buck estate.
Lots: 61, 253, 368, 369, 370, 372, 373, 385, 413, 414.
Brian Lebel's Old West Auction - June 11, 2016
Lot 373 - Collection of San Ildefonso & Santa Clara Pottery
Sold $605