Two Western-motif paintings by W. R. Leigh that will be sold at Heritage Auctions' Art of the American West Signature Auction have combined pre-auction estimates of $700,000. These painting are from the collection of the family of Erik Jonsson, the co-founder of Texas Instruments and the former mayor of Dallas. 

The pre-auction estimate of sales prices for W. R. Leigh’s Home, Sweet Home (above) and Renegade at Bay (below) are $400,000 and $300,000. "Acquired in the early 1940s, these works belonged to Eric Jonsson, co-founder of Texas Instruments and one of the most revered mayors Dallas has ever known, deservedly credited with putting Dallas on the business map," said Kirsty Buchanan, consignment director for Western Art at Heritage. 

"Home, Sweet Home and Renegade at Bay both demonstrate Leigh’s expert draftsmanship and evoke the strong narrative quality that collectors seek in his work." Ms. Buchanan further added that both paintings are museum quality and quintessential Leigh.

"Home, Sweet Home was painted during the Depression and is a very introspective canvas," said Buchanan. "A major work, this large painting reveals an emotional depth and a restrained energy pulsing just beneath the surface, while Renegade at Bay was painted prior to Leigh’s 1944 national exhibition, where it received critical acclaim as an audience favorite."

Home, Sweet Home is an oil-on-canvas painting. It shows three men sharing a campfire set against a golden Southwestern sky, containing all the elements that have made Leigh’s work a perennial favorite among Western art collectors. Heritage Auction’s Art of the American West Signature Auction takes place in Dallas, Texas, on November 5, 2011. For more information, visit HA.com.