GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) – A high school student who’s an aspiring artist paid $3,500 for a painting that an art expert says is by the late Western artist C.M. Russell.

Tim Seery, 16, is a sophomore at C.M. Russell High School in Great Falls, has volunteered at the city’s C.M. Russell Museum and has attended Great Falls’ annual Russell auction for the past five years or so.

With release of the catalog for the 2009 auction, Seery spotted an opportunity: the Matador Dance Program. It is a small, mixed-media painting of a matador. Unsigned, the piece comes with a certificate of authenticity from Ginger Renner, a leading authority on Russell art.

Seery, who has been saving money from odd jobs, said that when he saw the matador piece in the catalog he contacted another Russell expert “to see whether it might be in my price range, which was very limited.” With encouragement from that person, Seery registered for a bidder’s card and awaited last Friday’s auction.

He had competition; three other people were interested in the painting. Bidding stalled at $3,000 and auctioneer Bruce Brock sought $4,000.
“I couldn’t do that,” Seery said. “My limit was $3,500. So my spotter suggested we offer him half, and we did. He took it, and then he kept calling for new bids for another 17 seconds that seemed like an eternity. When I finally got it, I was relieved and tremendously excited.”

After the auction, Seery took his bidder’s card to the buyers’ room and paid $3,500 for the painting, which measures 6.5 inches by 4 inches.

“I was almost in disbelief that I was actually touching it,” he said.

Said Renner, “It was a good price for a Russell, but an incredible investment for a high school student.”
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Information from: Great Falls Tribune,
http://www.greatfallstribune.com

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-03-23-09 1609EDT