August 8, 2014Swann CommunicationsVintage Posters WWI&II, Grand Prix and Tennis Images Led Swann’s Top August Posters Auction of All Time Read more about WWI&II, Grand Prix and Tennis Images Led Swann’s Top August Posters Auction of All Time Coming on the heels of tremendous media coverage (see: The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, Luxury Travel Magazine, Robb Report and Slate), Swann’s August 6 auction of Vintage Posters grossed more…
August 4, 2014 African American Art African-American Artists on Martha’s Vineyard Martha’s Vineyard, an affluent summer colony located on an island south of Cape Cod, has long attracted African American artists. The town of Oak Bluffs has been a favored vacation…
Read more about The Richard A. Long Collection of African-American Art Comes to Swann July 25, 2014 African American Art The Richard A. Long Collection of African-American Art Comes to Swann On October 9, as part of our Fall African-American Fine Art auction, Swann will offer the collection of Richard A. Long. Among these 60 works are pieces by early pioneers…
Read more about “The Great War” in Posters July 18, 2014 Vintage Posters “The Great War” in Posters Summer 2014 marks 100 years since the start of World War I, also known as The Great War. Sparked by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria on June 28,…
Read more about Keep Calm and Poster On July 11, 2014 Vintage Posters Keep Calm and Poster On The image is so iconic, it’s been co-opted countless times, but in Swann Galleries’ upcoming Vintage Posters auction we have the original: a 1939 Keep Calm and Carry On poster. When…
Read more about Top Lots: Melville’s Whale, Signed Flannery O’Connor Firsts, Rex Stout Titles June 23, 2014 19th & 20th Century Literature Top Lots: Melville’s Whale, Signed Flannery O’Connor Firsts, Rex Stout Titles Topping our June 19, 2014 auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature was a first American edition of Herman Melville’s seminal Moby-Dick, which brought $40,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $18,000…
Read more about Celebrating Bloomsday 2014 June 16, 2014 19th & 20th Century Literature Celebrating Bloomsday 2014 To celebrate the life and literary oeuvre of James Joyce on the international holiday that is Bloomsday, we are looking back on some of the many editions of James Joyce’s…
Read more about Top Lots: Winslow Homer, Preston Dickinson & James D. Smillie June 14, 2014 American Art Top Lots: Winslow Homer, Preston Dickinson & James D. Smillie The first of its kind at Swann to break $1 Million, the American Art auction on Thursday was our highest-grossing sale in this category ever, with a sale total of…
Read more about Barkley L. Hendricks in Conversation with Nigel Freeman at Swann June 13, 2014 African American Art Barkley L. Hendricks in Conversation with Nigel Freeman at Swann Last week Swann Galleries had the pleasure of hosting an artist talk with Barkley L. Hendricks, whose “unique work resides at the nexus of American realism and post-modernism, a space…
Read more about Records & Results: African-American Fine Art June 12, 2014 African American Art Records & Results: African-American Fine Art An auction focused on the politically charged and artistically fertile period of the 1960s and 70s, Swann Galleries’ African-American Fine Art auction titled The Shape of Things to Come on…
Read more about Naturalist Charles Burchfield June 11, 2014 American Art Naturalist Charles Burchfield If you’ve got summer on your mind these days–and who doesn’t?–you may be drawn to some of the bucolic images in Swann’s June 12 auction of American Art. And, among…
Read more about Assemblage Artist Noah Purifoy at Auction for First Time June 5, 2014 African American Art Assemblage Artist Noah Purifoy at Auction for First Time Swann Galleries is pleased to offer the first significant work by assemblage artist Noah Purifoy to come to auction in our upcoming sale of African-American Fine Art titled The Shape of Things…
Read more about Taking a Closer Look: A Map of Kyoto as the Imperial Capital of Japan May 30, 2014 Maps & Atlases Taking a Closer Look: A Map of Kyoto as the Imperial Capital of Japan The June 3, 2014 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books is marked by a number of unique or exceedingly rare examples of cartographic material and…
May 22, 2014 American Art Let It Snow: Guy C. Wiggins’s Views of New York City With Memorial Day approaching, all of us here in New York are hoping for warm weather. But, among the most charming images in our June 12, 2014 auction of American…
Read more about Kara Walker: The Talk of the Town May 22, 2014 African American Art Kara Walker: The Talk of the Town Swann’s African-American Fine Art Department discusses art-world sensation Kara Walker. Kara Walker is one of the most well-known, respected and controversial artists of her generation. She’s been a star in…
Read more about Sense of Play: Will Barnet’s Nude with Cats May 21, 2014 American Art Sense of Play: Will Barnet’s Nude with Cats Among the highlights of our June 12, 2014 auction of American Art—and the image that graces the catalogue cover—is Will Barnet’s Play, a watercolor and oil on paper from 1975. Barnet…
Read more about Marco Tomaschett: Snippets of History May 12, 2014 Autographs Marco Tomaschett: Snippets of History Marco Tomaschett, Swann Galleries’ Autographs specialist, wrote this piece about clipped autographs, which appeared in Antiques & Auction News last week. Here is his piece in its entirety: Since there are few…
Read more about Moneta Sleet, Jr. and Coretta Scott King May 5, 2014 African American Art Moneta Sleet, Jr. and Coretta Scott King On this date in 1969, Moneta Sleet, Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for this image of a mourning Coretta Scott King, with daughter Bernice, at the funeral…
Read more about Records & Results: Vintage Posters April 29, 2014 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Vintage Posters The three top lots in Swann Galleries’ April 24, 2014 auction each set new auction records in a sale marked by incredible results for esoteric images. Lot 1 was Bertold Löffler’s Kunstschau…
Read more about Dreaming Youths: Oskar Kokoschka’s Transition to Expressionism April 28, 2014 Old Master Through Modern Prints Dreaming Youths: Oskar Kokoschka’s Transition to Expressionism Among the highlights of our April 29, 2014 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints is Oskar Kokoschka’s Die Träumenden Knaben, with text and eight color lithographs, 1906-08. Die Träumenden Knaben…
Read more about Collectors on Collecting: Sam Speigel on Collecting Edward Gorey April 24, 2014 Art Press & Illustrated Books Collectors on Collecting: Sam Speigel on Collecting Edward Gorey On May 7, 2014 Swann will auction The Edward Gorey Collection of Samuel Speigel, and the catalogue for that sale opens with this charming recollection from Speigel himself: Collecting Edward…
Read more about Records & Results: Vernacular Photographs April 21, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Vernacular Photographs Last week Swann Galleries held an auction devoted to Vernacular Photography, which was the first sale of its kind. Two items led the auction–bringing $22,500 each–and they could not…
Read more about Battle of the Nile Sketch: The French Fleet on the Eve of Its Destruction April 16, 2014 Maps & Atlases Battle of the Nile Sketch: The French Fleet on the Eve of Its Destruction Swann Galleries’ June 3, 2014 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books offers an unparalleled sketch from life of the Battle of the Nile attributed to Captain James…
Read more about Avery Willard Model Visits Swann April 15, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Avery Willard Model Visits Swann New discoveries are often made during our auction previews. Sometimes a guest will identify a place depicted in a work of art, or recognize a name in an inscription. One…
Read more about Artwork from the Collection of Artist James D. Smillie April 11, 2014 American Art Artwork from the Collection of Artist James D. Smillie In the 2014 Spring season, Swann is pleased to offer a selection of works from the collection of American painter/printmaker James D. Smillie. Smillie (1833-1909), a New York artist known…
Read more about A Look Inside the Birdman of Alcatraz April 8, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana A Look Inside the Birdman of Alcatraz Our April 2014 sale Printed & Manuscript Americana offers a rare and fascinating lot related to Robert Stroud, known as the Birdman of Alcatraz. This research archive contains many hundreds…
Read more about A Fleeting Moment: Edward Hopper’s Evening Wind April 4, 2014 American Art A Fleeting Moment: Edward Hopper’s Evening Wind Edward Hopper was born in Nyack, New York, just north of New York City. After briefly studying at the Correspondence School of Illustrating, he attended the New York School of…
Read more about Pablo Picasso’s Linoleum Cuts April 3, 2014 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Pablo Picasso’s Linoleum Cuts Picasso produced more than 150 color linoleum cuts in the 1950s and 60s, but none stood out more for their boldness of execution and sheer artistry than his colorful, semi-abstract portraits…
Read more about Gay New York March 28, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Gay New York Among the highlights of our April 17, 2014 auction of Vernacular Photography is a small archive of photographs and ephemera relating to cross-dressing and gay rights in New York City…
Read more about Cyanotypes: Into the Blue March 25, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Cyanotypes: Into the Blue The cyanotype or blueprint process has a poetic quality that embodies a painterly aesthetic and is defined by particular visual characteristics, in this case, a distinctive and rich “prussian blue”…
Read more about Significant George Washington Carver Archive Coming to Auction March 25, 2014 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Significant George Washington Carver Archive Coming to Auction Among the highlights of our March 2014 auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana is an extraordinary archive of letters written by George Washington Carver between 1925 and 1937. The…
Read more about What is vernacular photography? March 24, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks What is vernacular photography? What is vernacular photography? According to our director of Photographs & Photobooks Daile Kaplan, it is photography taken for the sake of the photograph.
Read more about Camille Pissarro: Prolific Impressionist Printmaker March 4, 2014 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Camille Pissarro: Prolific Impressionist Printmaker Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was among the most significant players in the Impressionist movement and co-wrote the manifesto for the Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes, Peintres, Sculpteurs et Graveurs. Of the eight exhibitions held…
Read more about American Modernism: John Marin’s Brooklyn Bridge February 26, 2014 Prints & Drawings American Modernism: John Marin’s Brooklyn Bridge Swann Galleries’ March 6, 2014 auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings features a run of etchings by John Marin that capture the dynamism of New York City…
Read more about They’re All Ears: Folsom Prison Mugshots February 26, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks They’re All Ears: Folsom Prison Mugshots Before the system of identifying individuals by fingerprint was developed, the authorities relied on the distinct, intricate hollows and folds of a person’s ear in order to positively link them…
Read more about The Photobook Library of Bill Diodato: An Eye on the American Scene February 19, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks The Photobook Library of Bill Diodato: An Eye on the American Scene The vast American scene has long captivated photographers. Some took to the road while others focused on the urban street. The portrait studio also emerged as a site of aesthetic…
Read more about The Photobook Library of Bill Diodato: Provocateurs & Innovators February 19, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks The Photobook Library of Bill Diodato: Provocateurs & Innovators As collector Bill Diodato knows, photography begins with the birth of the photobook. Long before the white wall or editioned print–and more than century before galleries and museums exhibited pictures–photographers…
Read more about Bill Diodato on Collecting February 12, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Bill Diodato on Collecting On February 27, 2014, Swann will auction the Library of Bill Diodato, comprising an excellent assortment of photobooks and photographs. Diodato–a prominent commercial and fine-art photographer–shares his thoughts on collecting…
Read more about The Glory of Gorey: Swann to Offer the Sam Speigel Collection February 11, 2014 Illustration Art The Glory of Gorey: Swann to Offer the Sam Speigel Collection On May 7, 2014, Swann will auction one of the top private collections of Edward Gorey books, illustrations and ephemera as part of our Art, Press & Illustrated Books sale.…
January 30, 2014 African American Art James Amos Porter, The Father of African-American Art History Swann’s African-American Fine Art Department, writes about the catalogue cover image for the upcoming auction Shadows Uplifted: The Rise of African-American Art. The cover for our February 13 auction catalogue is…
Read more about Of Provenance & Peter Rabbit January 22, 2014 Illustration Art Of Provenance & Peter Rabbit Christine von der Linn, Swann’s Art & Illustrated Books expert, shares some insight into this week’s 20th Century Illustration auction: One of the challenges of putting together a sale of…
Read more about California Artists Pauline Powell Burns and Beulah Woodard January 16, 2014 African American Art California Artists Pauline Powell Burns and Beulah Woodard Among the featured artists in Swann’s February 13, 2014 auction, Shadows Uplifted: The Rise of American-American Fine Art, are Pauline Powell Burns and Beulah Ecton Woodard. These early Californian artists…
Read more about Man-Cave-iana: The Birth of the Drool January 14, 2014 Illustration Art Man-Cave-iana: The Birth of the Drool Renewed interest in and appreciation of so-called genre illustration art has resulted in the growth of colorful and not-so-colorful descriptives for this type of material: Pulp, Pin-Ups, Nudies and Calendar…
Read more about Charles Schultz’ Peanuts in Illustration Sale January 13, 2014 Illustration Art Charles Schultz’ Peanuts in Illustration Sale Few comic strips are more beloved than Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts, and few characters more enduring than Charlie Brown and his irrepressible beagle Snoopy. Schulz, a dog lover, even coined…
Read more about Seussian Advertisements: The Early Work of Theodor Seuss Geisel January 2, 2014 Illustration Art Seussian Advertisements: The Early Work of Theodor Seuss Geisel Swann Galleries is pleased to offer original illustrations by Dr. Seuss–also known as Theodor Geisel–in our January 23, 2014 auction of 20th Century Illustration, including some early advertisements by the…
Read more about The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Brooklyn Bridge December 9, 2013 Photographs & Photobooks The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a monumental architectural triumph of New York City, constructed on May 24, 1883, which supports, to this day, the colossal weight of bridge-walkers, automobiles and its…
Read more about One of a Kind: Josef Hoffmann’s Wiener Werkstätte Poster December 3, 2013 Vintage Posters One of a Kind: Josef Hoffmann’s Wiener Werkstätte Poster A unique item among the scarce posters in the recently restituted Julius Paul Collection that Swann is auctioning on December 18, 2013 is Josef Hoffmann’s hand-stenciled poster announcing the opening of the…
Read more about Herman Melville: Neighbor November 20, 2013 19th & 20th Century Literature Herman Melville: Neighbor Thanks to John D. Larson, Swann’s 19th & 20th Century Literature Specialist, for contributing this post: It’s a fine thing (call it geographic serendipity) to share a similar address with someone who…
Read more about Sol LeWitt Before Minimalism November 11, 2013 Contemporary Art Sol LeWitt Before Minimalism Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) was a pioneering figure in the establishment of Minimalism and Conceptualism during the postwar era. He studied art at Syracuse University and moved to New York City to…