Records & Results: Contemporary Art — November 26, 2024

The November 26, 2024, Contemporary Art auction served as the first with Nigel Freeman as Swann’s head of fine art. “High prices for excellent examples of Pop art prints by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein led our Contemporary Art auction. Strong sales for a diverse group of work by contemporary Black artists, in particular Richard Mayhew, Emma Amos, Thaddeus Mosley and Vanessa German, signaled the growing breadth of this category at Swann Galleries,” noted Freeman. The auction earned $1,067,020 with a 71% sell-through rate by lot, and brought 11 new buyers to the house.

Auction Records

Auction records included Andy Warhol’s Golda Meir, color screenprint on Lenox Museum Board, 1980, a record for the print at $45,000; and Richard Mayhew’s Ridge, gouache and pastel on paper, circa 2005, set a record for a work-on-paper by the artist at $55,000. Emma Amos’s Crown, color carborundum etching with aquatint, 2002, matched our previous print record for Amos at $21,250.

Pop Art

The top lot in the auction was Andy Warhol’s Black Bean from the portfolio Campbell’s Soup I, color screenprint, 1968, which brought $57,500. Additional Pop Art highlights included Roy Lichtenstein’s Crying Girl, color offset lithograph, 1963, at $37,500

Sculpture

Sculpture included a prototype for Richard Artschwager’s Pregunta II, acrylic painted wood in two parts, 1983, which earned $50,000; two circa-1990s glazed terracotta vessels by Simone Leigh at $37,500 apiece; Thaddeus G. Mosley with a circa-2000 carved walnut sculpture, at $35,000; and Vanessa German’s Power Figure, mixed media assemblage, circa 2013, which brought $17,500.

Paintings

Top spots for paintings in the auction were won by Mildred Thompson with Atmospheric Exploration, oil stick on vinyl, 2002, at $40,000; Benny Andrews with Funeral Procession, oil with fabric and paper collage, 2006, at $40,00; Sir Frank Bowling with Half Moon Balloon, acrylic and acrylic gel on collaged and stitched canvas, 1992, at $25,000; and Hunt Slonem with The Blues and Diamonds, oil and diamond dust on canvas, 2016, at $22,500.