April 1, 2018Swann CommunicationsPrints & Drawings A Look Inside the Catalogue: Old Master Through Modern Prints Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Old Master Through Modern Prints At Auction May 8 Old Master Through Modern Prints The highlight of this wide-ranging event from our Prints & Drawings department is Tête de femme, de profil, 1905, an…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Graphic Design March 30, 2018 Vintage Posters A Look Inside the Catalogue: Graphic Design At Auction May 3 Graphic Design This auction celebrates innovation in the field of graphic design, with a colorful offering of vintage posters, along with a coterie of fine…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics March 29, 2018 Books & Manuscripts A Look Inside the Catalogue: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics At Auction April 26 Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics is a multifaceted auction that spans media and disciplines. Early twentieth-century graphic design and the fine arts include a never-before-offered trade catalogue…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Illustration Art March 13, 2018 Illustration Art A Look Inside the Catalogue: Illustration Art At Auction June 5 A look inside the highly-anticipated catalogue for our upcoming Illustration Art auction. Complete Catalogue Comic Strips Comics that defined the twentieth century include Peanuts strips by…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks March 1, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks A Look Inside the Catalogue: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks At Auction April 19 The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks features a rare vintage print of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic Premier at La Scala, Milan, circa 1933, and Robert Frank’s quirky Portrait of art…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books February 3, 2018 Maps & Atlases A Look Inside the Catalogue: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books At Auction June 7 This auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books encompasses a broad range of American and European cartography. Complete Catalogue Maps Highlights…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript Americana January 30, 2018 Printed & Manuscript Americana A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript Americana Our April 12 auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana illustrates the multifaceted tapestry of American history, featuring a cypress twig cut by General Lafayette at George Washington’s tomb, attractively framed in…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: African-American Fine Art January 30, 2018 African American Art A Look Inside the Catalogue: African-American Fine Art Two highlights of this sale on April 5 are significant, vibrant paintings by modernist New York artists. Beauford Delaney’s large Untitled (Village Street Scene), 1948, depicts a Greenwich Village corner in…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript African Americana January 16, 2018 Printed & Manuscript African Americana A Look Inside the Catalogue: Printed & Manuscript African Americana On March 29 we will offer Printed & Manuscript African Americana, an array of material that encompasses a wide range of the African-American experience, from letters by Frederick Douglass to his…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Autographs January 15, 2018 Autographs A Look Inside the Catalogue: Autographs Gracing this March 22 sale is a poem completed by Walt Whitman on his deathbed, transcribed by a secretary and signed, with holograph edits. It was his last poem, entitled A…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings January 14, 2018 Prints & Drawings A Look Inside the Catalogue: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Here’s an overview of our auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings on March 13: Diego Rivera’s scarce lithograph El sueño (La noche de los pobres), 1932, leads a…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books January 14, 2018 Books & Manuscripts A Look Inside the Catalogue: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books This sale on March 8 will feature an extensive selection of early Spanish books on a variety of subjects including agriculture, heraldry and genealogy, history, horses, law, literature, medicine, theology…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books August 31, 2017 Maps & Atlases A Look Inside the Catalogue: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books At Auction December 13 Complete Catalogue Maps An example of Abraham Ortelius’s map of Iceland will be included, famously and prominently featuring one of the most beloved aspects of…
Read more about Identifying Types of Photographic Prints August 11, 2017 Photographs & Photobooks Identifying Types of Photographic Prints Our Photographs & Photobooks department has put together a cheat sheet for identifying some of the more common types of photographs we handle. A cyanotype print is made by…
Read more about Swann Summer Reading List 2017 July 13, 2017 Swann Swann Summer Reading List 2017 We spoke to specialists at Swann about their extracurricular activities. Unsurprisingly, their interests are generally aligned with their specialty! We asked them to talk about what they’re reading, and compiled…
Read more about Specialists in the Field: The New Museum June 30, 2017 Contemporary Art Specialists in the Field: The New Museum Specialists at Swann keep up with the cultural heartbeat by frequenting museum exhibitions. Over the summer, we’ll be sharing some of their experiences, beginning with Diana Flatto and Jessica Feldman…
Read more about Postwar Innovations in Printmaking May 5, 2017 Contemporary Art Postwar Innovations in Printmaking These examples come from our May 11 auction of Contemporary Art. From the initial proliferation of engraving in the fifteenth century to the explosion of lithography in the late 1800s,…
Read more about Danny Lyon & New Photojournalism April 7, 2017 Photographs & Photobooks Danny Lyon & New Photojournalism The Photographs & Photobooks department contributed to this post on Danny Lyon’s eponymous portfolio in our April 20 auction of Images & Objects: Photographs & Photobooks. The New Journalism movement…
Read more about Politics & Satire: The Etchings of James Gillray May 25, 2016 Maps & Atlases Politics & Satire: The Etchings of James Gillray With the presidential primary election in full swing, we’re all up to our eyeballs in satirical columns and cartoons. In the spirit of the season, we thought we’d look at…
Read more about A Rare Manuscript Map from the Dutch East India Company: Java May 21, 2016 Maps & Atlases A Rare Manuscript Map from the Dutch East India Company: Java With an almost two hundred year history, the Dutch East India Company (known in Dutch as Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC), was the dominate force in European trade and navigation of Asia…
Read more about Grimm’s Fairytales Signed by Anne Frank Comes to Auction May 4, 2016 19th & 20th Century Literature Grimm’s Fairytales Signed by Anne Frank Comes to Auction Through her poignant writing and tragic story, Anne Frank has become a source of inspiration for millions. Two of our upcoming auctions feature items related to Frank, including Anne and Margot’s…
Read more about The First Auction of Photographs in the United States February 24, 2016 Photographs & Photobooks The First Auction of Photographs in the United States February 14, 1952 Much has changed over the course of our 75-year history here at Swann Galleries, from new departments to the expansion our exhibition space. One small but…
Read more about Elizabeth Catlett’s Varied Mediums December 11, 2015 African American Art Elizabeth Catlett’s Varied Mediums An accomplished graphic artist and sculptor, Elizabeth Catlett was known for her poignant depictions of African-American life, Mexican life (after her relocation to Mexico following a grant from the Rosenwald…
Read more about The Foundation of a Capital: Early Maps of Washington D.C. December 5, 2015 Maps & Atlases The Foundation of a Capital: Early Maps of Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., with its neoclassical architecture and grand monuments, almost seems as if it arose organically over centuries on the shores of the Potomac. In reality, the Capital City was…
Read more about Remembering Eldzier Cortor December 2, 2015 African American Art Remembering Eldzier Cortor Thanksgiving weekend was tinged with grief this year as the art world mourned the loss of painter and print-maker Eldzier Cortor. Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1916, his family moved…
Read more about Leather Bindings, Decorative Dust Jackets and Beyond November 20, 2015 Art Press & Illustrated Books Leather Bindings, Decorative Dust Jackets and Beyond While the old adage tells us that we certainly shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, it’s hard to ignore the artistry that goes into binding books and creating dust…
Read more about Rare Vintage Posters for the Titanic November 13, 2015 Vintage Posters Rare Vintage Posters for the Titanic A subject of fascination since its dramatic demise during its maiden voyage, the legacy of White Star Line’s Titanic has continued to ripple throughout the auction world for years. While…
Read more about Autographs: The Little “F” in Freud’s Signature October 15, 2015 Autographs Autographs: The Little “F” in Freud’s Signature Written by Autographs Specialist Marco Tomaschett: Autograph collectors all encounter it at one time or another: the perfectly illegible autograph. The impossible convulsive scrawl of Giacomo Puccini, or the idiosyncratic…
Read more about Egon Schiele: A Look at the Artist’s Evolving Self-Image September 22, 2015 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Egon Schiele: A Look at the Artist’s Evolving Self-Image Egon Schiele is celebrated among the Austrian Modern Masters Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, who are best remembered for their insightful portrayal of the human condition. Schiele’s style was informed…
Read more about Biography of Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) July 30, 2015 African American Art Biography of Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) On September 15, 2015 Swann Galleries offered The Art Collection of Maya Angelou. Author, poet, actress and champion of civil rights, Dr. Maya Angelou was one of the most dynamic voices…
Read more about Walt Whitman Standing in Solidarity with the Secret Six June 12, 2015 19th & 20th Century Literature Walt Whitman Standing in Solidarity with the Secret Six Walt Whitman was in Boston overseeing the publication of his third edition of Leaves of Grass when he attended the trial of a man who was friendly with the Thoreaus, the…
Read more about A Famous Cartographic Blunder: The Island of California May 15, 2015 Maps & Atlases A Famous Cartographic Blunder: The Island of California For more than a century the state of California was thought to be an island. How? Misinformation by way of maps. In Mapping the West: America’s Westward Movement 1524-1890 (2002),…
Read more about Vernacular Imagery, Photobooks & Fine Photographs December 18, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Vernacular Imagery, Photobooks & Fine Photographs Swann’s second sale devoted to Vernacular Photography showed the strength of this growing segment of the photo market, with strong results for esoteric material. The top vernacular lot was…
Read more about The Hall-Harte Archive of Suffragist Photographs December 3, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks The Hall-Harte Archive of Suffragist Photographs We are delighted to offer a suffragist archive of rare and important photographs documenting “The Liberty Bell Tour, Votes for Women.” The march was organized by Louise Hall and her life-partner Ethel…
Read more about Nicholas Lowry on Travel Posters from the Julius Paul Collection December 2, 2014 Vintage Posters Nicholas Lowry on Travel Posters from the Julius Paul Collection Swann President and Posters specialist Nicholas D. Lowry writes beautifully about the December 17 auction of Travel Posters from the Julius Paul Collection. Read on for his notes on the sale.…
Read more about Swann FAQ: What Is an Edition? December 1, 2014 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Swann FAQ: What Is an Edition? Among the items that Swann auctions are books, fine art prints, photographs, posters and maps–all of which have their own definition of the word “edition.” When it comes to prints,…
Read more about Thomas Paine’s American Crisis Makes the Albany News November 24, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana Thomas Paine’s American Crisis Makes the Albany News “These are the times which try men’s souls…” so begins Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis, arguably his second most famous work. Our 2014 annual fall Americana auction, Swann will offer…
Read more about The 14th State: Thomas Jefferson Signs Vermont Statehood Act November 20, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana The 14th State: Thomas Jefferson Signs Vermont Statehood Act Among the highlights of today’s auction of Autographs was one of 28 copies of the act making Vermont the 14th state in the Union signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of…
Read more about Fluxus: The Art of the Everyday November 12, 2014 Contemporary Art Fluxus: The Art of the Everyday Examples of Fluxus artwork appear in many of our auctions, and demand seems to be on the rise for works by the group, which was active from the early 1960s through…
Read more about Wearable Art: Basquiat Tags a Jacket November 4, 2014 Contemporary Art Wearable Art: Basquiat Tags a Jacket A highlight in our upcoming auction of Contemporary Art is a leather jacket tagged by various 1980s graffiti artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988). These artists frequented the popular four-floor after-hours…
Read more about In Memoriam: W. Michael Mathes, by Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D. November 3, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana In Memoriam: W. Michael Mathes, by Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D. On November 6, 2014 Swann auctioned The Latin Americana Library of Dr. W. Michael Mathes. The catalogue for the auction begins with a biography of the sale’s namesake, written by…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Diego Rivera’s Printmaking Career October 25, 2014 Old Master Through Modern Prints Notes from the Catalogue: Diego Rivera’s Printmaking Career Diego Rivera (1886-1957), the painter who helped establish the Mexico Mural Movement and was a leading figure in Social Realism, was born in Guanajuato in North-Central Mexico. In 1897, Rivera…
Read more about American Books Printed Before the Bay Psalm Book? October 17, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana American Books Printed Before the Bay Psalm Book? The Bay Psalm Book is often described as the first book printed in America. Issued in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640, it was certainly the first book printed in the English…
Read more about O. Winston Link: A Turbulent Past October 15, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks O. Winston Link: A Turbulent Past O. Winston Link’s photographs have infused Swann’s Photograph Department auctions with a consistent, quiet power for years, but lot 175 brings a new dramatic force to the October 17, 2014…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Dr. Amalia Amaki on Dr. Richard A. Long October 7, 2014 African American Art Notes from the Catalogue: Dr. Amalia Amaki on Dr. Richard A. Long Dr. Amalia Amaki, noted art historian and artist, wrote the catalogue introduction for The Richard A. Long Collection of African-American Art. Dr. Amaki, a native Atlantan, received her Ph.D in…
Read more about Must-See Fall Show: Norman Lewis & Lee Krasner at the Jewish Museum September 16, 2014 African American Art Must-See Fall Show: Norman Lewis & Lee Krasner at the Jewish Museum Last week, From the Margins: Lee Krasner and Norman Lewis opened at the Jewish Museum. The exhibition combines the works of an unlikely pair: Lee Krasner, a female Jewish artist…
Read more about What Is an After Print? September 5, 2014 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings What Is an After Print? One of the most common questions we get asked at Swann is what it means when a lot is catalogued with the word “after” in parentheses following an artist’s name.…
Read more about 75 years of Madeline September 4, 2014 Illustration Art 75 years of Madeline In honor of the 75th anniversary of everyone’s favorite French schoolgirl, our Art Books specialist Christine von der Linn submitted this post. This Saturday, September 6, 2014, marks the 75th…
Read more about White Line: Blanche Lazzell and the Provincetown Printers September 3, 2014 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings White Line: Blanche Lazzell and the Provincetown Printers Swann Galleries’ upcoming September 23 auction featuring American Prints & Drawings includes Blanche Lazzell’s Tulips, color woodcut on Japan paper, 1920, created by the artist in Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1920. Lazzell (1878-1956) was…