# Dave McGary artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/dave-mcgary/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T11:59:26.913Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: American
- Common media: Sculpture, Mixed media and editioned decorative works in auction cataloguing

## About Dave McGary

Dave McGary (1958–2013) was an American sculptor whose identity is represented in Wikidata, VIAF, and the Library of Congress authority system. His documented public commissions include two monuments to Chief Washakie. A 24-foot equestrian statue portraying the Shoshone leader at the Battle of Crowheart Butte was unveiled at the University of Wyoming in 2005, while a separate McGary statue of Washakie entered the United States Capitol's statuary collection. These records connect McGary with monumental sculpture, equestrian imagery, and historical commemoration in the American West. Collectors may also encounter his name in auction catalogues under sculpture, mixed media, decorative art, and editions. The available source pack does not establish a formal movement affiliation or a dependable catalogue of materials, editions, and series, so individual works should be described from their own inscriptions, dimensions, construction, provenance, and supporting documentation.

## Common works and media

The collected sources identify McGary primarily as a sculptor. Documented examples include monumental equestrian representations of Chief Washakie, while auction indexing also places works under sculpture and mixed media as well as decorative art and editions. The source pack does not provide a reliable work-by-work breakdown of materials, casting dates, edition sizes, or recurring series. For appraisal purposes, record the object's material, measurements, foundry or publisher marks, signature, inscriptions, edition number, subject, condition, and provenance before selecting comparable works.

## Market and appraisal context

Dave McGary auction results are most useful when the comparison is closely matched to the object being appraised. Relevant distinctions include medium, dimensions, date, subject, condition, restoration, surface quality, signature or inscriptions, edition information, provenance, and confidence in the attribution. Exhibition history and catalogue references may provide additional context. Public results should be compared with similarly scaled and documented works rather than treated as a single artist-wide price rule. Reported totals may handle buyer premiums and fees differently, and private sales or incomplete auction feeds may not appear in the available record. Any valuation should therefore reconcile the object's physical evidence with recent comparable public sales.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine public artist-identity research with matched auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Public records may be incomplete and should be checked against the specific object.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q98594719
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/66377215/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr97038488
- Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:In_2005,_this_24-foot_statue_of_Shoshone_Indian_chief_Washakie,_by_Cody,_Wyoming,_sculptor_Dave_McGary,_was_unveiled_on_the_University_of_Wyoming_campus_in_Laramie_LCCN2015632807.tif
- Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washakie_Statue_Detail_(27797214104).jpg
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/dave-mcgary/