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December 3, 2020
Author: W K

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swanngalleries

Specializing in rare books, fine art and everything in between.
President & principal auctioneer: @nicholowry

SWANN SALON | Join us for an evening with the Afri

SWANN SALON | Join us for an evening with the African American Art department as we salute the great Elizabeth Catlett and celebrate the recent openings of Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies.

Hear our specialists discuss Catlett’s legacy and other artworks in the Thursday, October 3 auction.

Register at the link in our bio.

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "I'm in love with this little

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "I'm in love with this little silver dollar which charmingly conceals a beautiful array of tiny nineteenth-century views of New York. It was produced by Rand McNally in 1876 for the centennial of American independence and survives, as far as I can tell, in a single other example located at the University of Virginia. It's one of those perfect little pieces you'd only find at Swann, and an ideal offering in our New York sale." — Caleb Kiffer, Specialist, Maps & Atlases⁠
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Lot 16 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "Designed by Daniel Burnham at

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "Designed by Daniel Burnham at the turn of the twentieth century, the Flatiron Building was considered a groundbreaking skyscraper in the United States due to its early steel skeleton structure and triangular design. Today, it remains one of the most iconic buildings in New York.⁠
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Upon completion in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in the city, and its magnificence has been beautifully recorded by Steichen in this evocative photograph in 1904. With its atmospheric yet modernist aura, the photograph captures the interplay between the tree branches in the foreground, the carioles on the rainy streets, and the newly built Flatiron that we can distinguish in the background at dusk.⁠
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Until today, this image stands as an iconic depiction of the building and a groundbreaking image in terms of pictorialist aesthetic. Steichen made three color variations in brown, blue-green, and yellow-green-black by using different proportions of pigments in each gum process over platinum. These prints are extremely rare on the market. The best-known greenish variation was popularized as a three-color halftone print by Alfred Stieglitz in the publication Camera Work XIV in 1906." — Alice Le Campion, Specialist, Photographs⁠
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Lot 26 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

Old Master Through Modern Prints are at auction Oc

Old Master Through Modern Prints are at auction October 17. Previewing Saturday, October 12, and Monday, October 14 through Wednesday, October 16 — 12PM to 5PM⁠
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Browse the complete catalogue and register to bid at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Pictured here is lot 183: Gustave Baumann, 'Road of a Morning,' color woodcut, 1916. Estimate $5,000 to $8,000.

The New York Sale is back on Thursday, September 2

The New York Sale is back on Thursday, September 26, after a 23 year hiatus!

Here Nicholas D. Lowry shares a few vintage posters from the auction featuring lady liberty 🗽

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "The signature book kept at Ne

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "The signature book kept at New York's Ye Olde Tavern in the early 20th century is certainly not the most important or most valuable lot in the New York Sale. It might be the most fun, though. ⁠
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Ye Olde Tavern on Duane Street was one of one of the city's most beloved dive bars in its day. The building had once housed an "African School" run by the Manumission Society through the 1840s and then a whalebone factory. Then, as the whaling trade disappeared, the owner turned the ground floor into Ye Olde Tavern. ⁠
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The management kept a large blank ledger book by the front door and invited their guests to sign their names or scrawl whatever other contributions their beer-addled brains were able to produce. College fraternities and other clubs would often rent the tavern and sign in large groups. ⁠
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Author Elbert Hubbard, in 1914, a year before his death on the Lusitania, scribbled what we suspect is an affectionate but accurate review into this signature book: "This is the place that has capitalized on its cockroaches, banked on its bacteria, and makes money out of its must. Like the place, and its grub." ⁠
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In 1920, the last whalebone shop in the city closed its doors forever, and with it, Ye Olde Tavern disappeared as well. The building still stands at 161 Duane, with its "Whalebone" sign still hanging proudly." — Rick Stattler, Director, Books & Manuscripts⁠
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Lot 177 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "This surprising classic of mi

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "This surprising classic of mid-century modern design is not only my favorite poster in the auction but also one of my all-time favorites. It is surprising because of two factors: its rarity—as we have only ever encountered this one copy before and have yet to see a second one on the market. The other factor is that it was done for a small, rather insignificant ocean liner company that sailed one-funnel vessels between South Africa and New York, the kind of company from which one would not expect great advertising art. The view of Manhattan is spectacular: the city is depicted amidst the raking shadows cast by enormously tall buildings, half at night and half by day. Its towers and spires, bridges, water towers, etc., and the brilliant night lights of Times Square explode out from between the dark canyons of buildings like a lava lamp. The colors and angles and images give the poster a dynamic nature which is suggestive of the fast-paced streets of New York and the energy of the city in general." — Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann President⁠
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Lot 157 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

In viewing mid-century modern posters depicting Ne

In viewing mid-century modern posters depicting New York City, it is a curious surprise to find a direct graphic line drawn between 1947 and 1956, as four of the most prominent (and spectacular) of these posters display a visual connection that is incontrovertible. Although almost never seen side by side, these four posters allow us to watch, almost in real-time, as design ideas are synthesized and developed, where new concepts are built on the backs of existing designs and previous elements are expanded upon and improved. At the link in our bio, @nicholowry shares the through-line between the four images. ⁠

New York City, in its state of inevitable change,

New York City, in its state of inevitable change, its restless power, its siren’s call to dreamers and doers, has proven irresistible to the camera’s lens. Photographers have captured the city’s steady growth toward the sky, its ever-changing neighborhoods, its residents moving and creating and living, its concrete and parks, its bridges and trains, and found within its rough and beautiful texture inspiration for high editorial fashion, gritty street art, stories to tell of those arriving and those leaving, and always much, much more. At the link in our bio is a selection of the photographers and images that have come to represent New York City—coming to auction on September 26, 2024. ⁠
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Pictured here is Ernst Haas, Yellow Cab, chromogenic print, 1952, printed 2017. Estimate $3,000 to $4,500.

Rare & Important Travel Posters are at auction Oct

Rare & Important Travel Posters are at auction October 10. Previewing is available Saturday, October 5, and Monday, October 7 through Wednesday, October 9 — 12PM to 5PM⁠
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Browse the complete catalogue and register to bid at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Pictured here is Leslie Ragan, 'New York Central System / The Highlands of the Hudson,' oil maquette, circa 1943. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

American Art opens the fall 2024 season at Swann t

American Art opens the fall 2024 season at Swann this Thursday, September 19.

Exhibition open today through 5PM and tomorrow from 12 - 5PM.

Browse the catalogue at the link in our bio.

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "We are so excited to offer wo

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "We are so excited to offer works on paper by Frank Tolles Chamberlin. Chamberlin was an immensely talented and influential California artist, but his works often do not receive the recognition I think they warrant. His mastery of watercolor, a notoriously difficult medium, is evident in these light and luminous paintings of the Los Angeles area and Greenwich. Aside from his technical brilliance, Chamberlin is notable for his interesting familial connections. He was married to artist Katharine Beecher Stetson, the daughter of writer Charlotte Perkins and artist Charles W. Stetson." — Meagan Gandolfo, Specialist, Fine Art⁠
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Lots 74, 75 & 87 coming to auction September 19. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "This portrait comes from the

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "This portrait comes from the estate of Everett Raymond Kinstler, who like Sargent, was the premier portrait artist of his era. Kinstler's ownership gives us an insight into how devoted he was to his field and how tradition can inform the works of a contemporary artist. The sitter, called "Joy," is also an intriguing figure. Considered very modern for her time, she was a divorcee and noted for her athleticism." — Meagan Gandolfo, Specialist, American Art⁠
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Lot 27 coming to auction September 19. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

“Isadora was my strongest weakness. She was like

“Isadora was my strongest weakness. She was like music. When she moved, it was like the sound of violins,” said Russian-American painter Abraham Walkowitz of his muse, modern dancer Isadora Duncan. From the 1910s until her untimely death in 1927, the artist produced thousands of illustrations of the dancer in motion. Fluid and gestural, the surveys—most often watercolor outlined in ink—are a significant documentation of not just Duncan, but of the modernist movement in art and culturally at large. ⁠
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Read more about Abraham Walkowitz's artistic practice and relationship with Isadora Duncan at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Pictured here is Abraham Walkowitz, group of four watercolors of Isadora Duncan. At auction September 19. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "One of the most distinguished

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "One of the most distinguished painters and printmakers of the 20th century, Will Barnet’s work has been exhibited at nearly every major museum in America. Meticulous in his arrangements, Barnet was known to create studies and preparatory drawings for his works. This is perhaps why his compositions, despite their minimalist configuration, feel expertly devised and wholly complete. ⁠
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In 1983, Barnet collaborated with the Metropolitan Opera House to create a color lithograph and poster for their production of Peter Grimes. The present study is likely the result of another, ultimately unrealized, collaboration between the two for their 1987 production of Tosca. The pastel work depicts the lead character, Floria Tosca, as she throws herself off a parapet in a fit of distress. Even in Barnet’s signature two-dimensional style, we feel the gravity of Tosca's motion, her deep umber cape floating behind her, face covered from her impending fate. — Bella Savignano, Administrator, Fine Art⁠
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Lot 127 coming to auction September 19. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

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