Auction Highlights: Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim — February 6, 2025

At Auction Thursday, February 6 at 12:00 PM ET

On Thursday, February 6, Swann Galleries proudly presents “Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim” to honor the legacy and enterprise of a trailblazing collector. With over 80 artworks from the estate, this auction showcases postwar and contemporary Black art focusing on abstraction. It includes works by many important African American artists, including Charles Alston, McArthur Binion, Ed Clark, Beauford Delaney, Norman Lewis, Richard Mayhew, Alma Thomas and Jack Whitten. The auction will also feature a significant group of paintings by Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA, the British painter born in British Guiana.  

Scipio-Brim was a successful New York lawyer who privately cultivated her practice of collecting over decades: visiting artist’s studios, museums, galleries and auctions, acquiring work by artists long before they reached their current acclaim. This collection demonstrates both her intellect and genuine passion for the arts. 

Read Nigel Freeman’s essay on Patricia Scipio-Brim and her collection here.

Postwar Abstraction

Amongst many great examples of postwar abstraction, Alma Thomas’s Untitled work from her Atmospheric Effect series is a standout. Each composition in this series depicts spectral bands of color inspired by photography published by NASA. They were first exhibited in her important 1970 solo exhibition “Alma Thomas: Earth and Space Paintings” at the Franz Bader Gallery, Washington DC, and are highly prized by collectors today.  

Other postwar works include a watercolor-and-gouache on paper by Beauford Delaney, executed during his time living in the Clamart neighborhood of Paris in the late 1960s; Norman Lewis’s A Certain Total from 1951; and double portrait from Jack Whitten, completed in 1964.   

Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA

In contemporary art, Patricia Scipio-Brim had a particular interest in the inventive abstractions of Frank Bowling—owning several of his paintings. One of the auction highlights is Looking for Carmen, 2006. This richly multi-layered painting is a fine example of Bowling’s collaged canvases from the 1990s and early 2000s. The artist’s composition balances daring paint passages and surfaces with flair, all atop his signature support of colorful collaged canvas.  

Contemporary Art

Additional contemporary artworks in the collection are from Faith Ringgold, Ann Tanksley, Gregory Coates, Tomashi Jackson, and Christine Neptune. You can see more highlights here on our landing page. Please let us know if you would like descriptions and digital images of any of these works, or to arrange a private viewing by appointment. The collection will be exhibited publicly for the first time at Swann, with a printed catalogue.

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