The Russell Live Auction

Your bidding on items in First Strike, Art in Action, and The Russell Live Auction events indicates your acceptance of the terms and conditions set forth in these Bidding Procedures. These terms are subject to amendment before or during the sale.

The art and items depicted in this catalogue will be offered for sale on March 20-22, 2025 at The Russell auction events hosted by the C.M. Russell Museum (Museum). The Museum is not responsible for postponements of the sale due to conditions out of its control.

Bidders need not be present to participate in The Russell auction events. Absentee, Telephone and Internet bidding are allowed for this sale. A 2025 Absentee/Telephone Bid Form is available in the auction catalogue and online. For the First Strike Friday Night auction, this form must be received at the Museum by noon on Friday, March 21, 2025. For The Russell Live Auction, this form must be received by noon on Saturday, March 22, 2025. See additional details on the form.

The purchase price shall be the sum of the hammer price plus a buyer's premium. For all lots created by contemporary (living) artists, a buyer's premium of 12% will be added to the hammer price of each piece of art purchased. For all other lots, a buyer's premium of 17% of the hammer price up to and including $1,000,000 and 12% in excess of the final bid price above $1,000,000 will be added to the hammer price of each piece of art purchased. A 3% transaction fee will be applied to any credit card purchase. Successful bidders shall pay for their purchases during or immediately following the auction. All sales are final, and there will be no exchanges or refunds. Terms of purchase will be cash, check, cashier's check, wire transfer or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express).

ABSENTEE/TELEPHONE BIDDING: As a service to those wishing to place bids other than live bidding, Absentee/Telephone and Internet bidding options are available. Absentee/Telephone bidders agree to provide a valid credit card number on their completed and signed forms and further agree that said credit card may be charged for the purchase, including the buyer's premium (set out herein) for any amount up to, or including, the total amount due unless other arrangements have been made for another form of payment to be completed within three (3) days of conclusion of this sale. Absentee and telephone bid forms will not be accepted or executed if submitted without the signature of the bidder or their authorized agent. Absentee/Telephone Bid Forms must be filled out in their entirety. The form MUST be signed to be considered complete and must state the maximum bid price the bidder is willing to pay EXCLUDING the buyer's premium (set out herein). If identical bids are received for the same item lot, the bid received first shall take precedence. Absentee bids will be executed in competition with other absentee, telephone, internet bids and/or live bids and against applicable reserves. Unsuccessful bids will not be acknowledged, but sales results will be posted and available within ten (10) days of conclusion of the sale at cmrussell.org. The Museum will make every effort to contact bidders on the requested lots, but assumes no responsibility for missed calls or failure to execute any bids. Internet bidding connectivity may be offered through a third-party service provider but such bids will be subject to the same Billing Procedures.

ONLINE/INTERNET BIDDING: Online winning bidders through LiveAuctioneers are subject to an additional 5% fee on the hammer price. This fee will be reflected in the buyer's premium amount on the invoice. If you intend to pay with a method other than the credit card used for registration, you must contact knichols@cmrussell.org no later than 24 hours after the online auction closure. Otherwise, we will default to the card on file, and an automatic payment will be processed within 72 hours of receiving your invoice. A 3.75% transaction fee will be applied to any credit card purchase.

All art pieces are offered AS IS, where is, with all faults.

All bidders attending The Russell auction events must obtain a registered bid number from Museum staff. Bid numbers are nontransferable. Registered bidders will be responsible for paying for all art pieces and lot items purchased with their registered bid number.

The Museum is an agent for the owner of the art pieces. There are no guarantees, warranties, or representations of merchantability, fitness, nor of any other kind, express or implied. The Museum assumes no risk, liability, or responsibility for the genuineness, authenticity, or authorship of any offered or purchased item. All artists' names and dates recorded in this catalogue are not to be taken as unqualified attributions to the artists named. No attributions to any artist or date are made or intended as to authorship or date of execution. Therefore, none of the property in this catalogue is subject to any guarantee of authenticity and all of the property is sold AS IS. Catalogue descriptions are for informational purposes only and should not be taken as an affirmation of fact. No statement, anywhere, whether oral or written, whether made in this catalogue, an advertisement, a bill of sale, a salesroom posting or announcement, or elsewhere, shall be deemed such a warranty, representation, assumption of liability, or guarantee of genuineness. All items are available for your examination prior to bidding. Your bidding will signify that you have examined the items as fully as you desire, or that you have chosen not to examine them.

The Museum as agent for the owner makes no representations whatsoever that the buyer of any art piece will acquire any reproduction rights thereto.

The Museum reserves the right to withdraw any lot at any time before the actual sale and shall have no liability whatsoever for such withdrawal.

The Museum reserves the right to reject a bid.

Some of the lots in this sale carry reserves or minimum selling prices. This is a confidential figure below which a lot will not be sold. The reserve will not exceed the low estimate. The Museum may act to protect the reserve by bidding through the auctioneer. The auctioneer may open bidding on any lot below the reserve by placing a bid on behalf of the Museum as an agent for the owner of the art pieces. The auctioneer may continue such bidding up to the amount of the reserve, either by placing consecutive bids or by placing bids in response to other bidders. Reserves and estimates are subject to change at any time prior to the offering of each lot. If the reserve is not met, the auctioneer may withdraw the item from the sale.

Unless announced otherwise by the auctioneer, all bids are per lot as numbered in the catalogue. For your convenience, the catalogue includes pre-sale estimates for all items offered for sale in the auction. These estimates are approximate valuations and should be taken as educated projections based upon the current market, comparable items and recent sales, not as actual prices. Bidding, opening bid, and bidding increments will be determined by the auctioneer at his sole discretion. The auctioneer may withdraw a lot for any reason he deems appropriate. At the auctioneer's sole discretion, no bid of less than one-half the low estimates will be accepted from any source: phone bidding, absentee bidding, internet bidding, or bidding at The Russell live auction events. The final winning bid may be less than, or more than, any printed or advertised estimate.

In the event of any dispute between bidders, or in the event of doubt as to the validity of any bid, the auctioneer shall have the final discretion to determine the successful bidder, cancel the sale, or reopen and resell the lot in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, the museum's sale record shall be the final and conclusive record of the sale.

Upon acknowledgment of the winning bidder by the auctioneer, title to the art piece shall pass to the bidder subject to compliance by the buyer with all other Bidding Procedures. The auctioneer retains all authority and discretion allowed by law. The buyer assumes full risk and responsibility for the lot. In addition, buyer may be required to sign a confirmation of purchase. The Museum reserves the right to impose a late charge of 18% per annum of the total purchase price if payment is not made in accordance with this paragraph.

Unless exempted by law, buyer will be required to pay any and all taxes pertaining to sales (sales tax, transaction privileged, etc.). It is buyer's responsibility to pay any applicable use tax imposed by their state of residence on the total purchase price. In the event that sales tax has not been included in the invoiced amount and it is subsequently determined that the Museum was required to collect sales tax in connection herewith, buyer shall reimburse the Museum upon demand for any sales tax (or equivalent) assessed or due as a result of goods or services provided by the Museum hereunder, unless buyer provides the Museum evidence of exemption from such taxes.

Pickup or shipping arrangements for art purchases are the responsibility of the buyer. However, no lot may be removed from the premises until the buyer has paid the purchase price in full. Buyer may make arrangements with representatives of the Museum for shipment of purchased items. However, such shipping is at the entire risk of buyer, as the Museum shall not be responsible for acts or omissions in shipping or packaging or those of other carriers, whether recommended or selected by the Museum or not. We kindly ask that all items be removed from the Museum warehouse within 30 days of auction end to avoid a $5 daily storage fee.

These conditions of sale and any other applicable conditions, rights & obligations herein shall be governed by, construed & enforced, in accordance with the laws of the State of Montana. If these conditions are not complied with by the buyer, the Museum or its assigns may, in addition to other remedies available by law, including without limitation the right to hold the buyer liable for the total purchase price stated on the signed confirmation for purchase slip, either (a) cancel the sale and retain as liquidated damages any and all payments made by the buyer or (b) resell the property privately or at public auction on three days notice to the buyer for payment of any deficiency in the purchase price and all costs including handling charges, warehousing, the expense of both sales, the commissions, reasonable attorney fees, any and all other charges due and incidental damages.

If the Museum is prevented by fire, theft, or any other reason whatsoever, from delivering any property to the buyer, the Museum's liability shall be limited to the sum actually paid therefore by the buyer. In no event will the liability of the Museum to any buyer with respect to any item exceed the purchase price actually paid by such purchaser for such item.