#7 • Scott McDaniel "Aurora and Eight Stars" Painting

Part of June 2026 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $1,600.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

An original oil painting on canvas entitled Aurora and Eight Stars by Alaska artist Scott McDaniel (1926-2012), depicting a sled dog team traversing a frozen landscape beneath a spectacular display of the northern lights. A musher and team of eight dogs make their way across the snow-covered foreground, silhouetted against a distant line of spruce trees and an expansive midnight sky illuminated by sweeping curtains of emerald and turquoise aurora. McDaniel masterfully captures the quiet grandeur and immense scale of the North, employing subtle tonal transitions and atmospheric lighting to evoke the stillness and majesty of an Arctic winter night. Scott McDaniel was among the most widely collected painters associated with Alaska during the latter half of the twentieth century. After relocating north, he devoted his career to portraying the romance and beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, developing a distinctive style centered on luminous aurora borealis displays, dog teams, and remote landscapes. His paintings and reproductions were exhibited and distributed throughout Alaska, earning him a devoted following and establishing his work as an enduring visual symbol of the North. Today, his paintings remain highly sought after by collectors for their nostalgic realism and evocative treatment of light and atmosphere. Signed lower right, the painting is housed in an ornate carved and gilded wooden frame and measures approximately 24.5" x 20.25" overall with a sight area measuring approximately 16" x 12".