A.P. Hays was no stranger to Western Art Collector.He liked to sit in the front row of auctions he attended, so he ended up in a lot of our pictures. This is how I met Hays, who went by Abe. “You put me in the magazine,” Abe told me many years ago. I asked if he was an artist. “No, but I like a lot of artists.” Hays would pop up here and there over the years, and he even helped us write about Maynard Dixon on several occasions.
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Walls of Walpi, oil, 16 x 20 in. Estimate: $75/125,000
Hays was a vocal supporter of Dixon. He also collected the artist’s works, many of which will be available to bidders on April 12 during the Scottsdale Art Auction in Arizona. Hays, who initiated the sale of his Dixon work in 2024, died in January 2025 after a long illness. The works he collected were not only incredible examples from the artist, but many were also featured prominently in Don Hagerty’s book The Art of Maynard Dixon.
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Navajo Song, watercolor and graphite, 4¼ x 8¼ in. Estimate: $8/12,000
The Dixon portion of the sale will not only include important oil paintings, but also preliminary works, color studies and drawings in both graphite and pen and ink. The range of the works should delight collectors of all types—they start at $1,500 on the low end and go into six figures on the high end.
One of the major Dixon pieces in the sale is the 1927 oil Walls of Walpi, estimated at $75,000 to $125,000. The work originated in 1923 after Dixon and his second wife, Dorothea Lange, went to Walpi on the Hopi Reservation in Northern Arizona. Lange didn’t stay long before returning to San Francisco, but Dixon stayed for four months. Hagerty, in his book on Dixon, calls Walls of Walpi“a haunting, almost ghostly image bathed in the golden light and dust of Hopi country.”
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Barn and Poplars, oil on canvas mounted to board, 15½ x 19¼ in. Estimate: $60/90,000
Several noteworthy landscape pieces include the 1941 oil Mesa Toward Sunset (est. $35/55,000); a 1935 oil titled Barn and Poplars (est. $60/90,000); and the 1935 oil Oasis (est. $50/75,000). In many instances, these paintings are mentioned by name in Hagerty’s book, or in one of Hays’ books on the artist.
One of the smaller works that is already generating quite a bit of pre-auction buzz is Campo Santo Study,which shows a white, sun-lit cross framed against a shadowy mountain face. The work exemplifies Dixon’s modern sensibility and also seems to call out to modern Western painters who have been so influenced by his work. The piece is estimated at $10,000 to $15,000 but could easily soar past those numbers.
Maynard Dixon (1875-1946), Oasis, oil, 16 x 19½ in. Estimate: $50/75,000
The Hays Collection of Dixon material will be up for bid starting at 10 a.m. on April 12. Immediately after the Dixon material will be the second session of the Scottsdale Art Auction. —
Scottsdale Art Auction
April 11-12, 2025
Session I, April 11, 1 p.m.
A.P. Hays Maynard Dixon Collection, April 12, 10 a.m.
Session II, April 12, 1 p.m.
7176 Main Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, (480) 945-0225
www.scottsdaleartauction.com
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