May 24, 2018Swann NewsContemporary Art Records & Results: Contemporary Art Read more about Records & Results: Contemporary Art Abstract Attractions We offered nearly 400 works by some of the twentieth century’s greatest innovators in our May 22 auction of Contemporary Art. Abstract works ruled the day, with…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature May 17, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature Science fiction ruled on May 15 at our auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature. Selections from the Estate of Stanley Simon, featuring 84 rare and first editions of cornerstones…
Read more about Contemporary in 3D May 16, 2018 Contemporary Art Contemporary in 3D Our May 22 auction of Contemporary Art features a selection of recent sculpture and multiples by some of the world’s most famous living artists. Here are a few of our favorites.…
Read more about Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints May 11, 2018 Prints & Drawings Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints With highlights spanning six centuries, our auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints on May 8 offered works by the greatest innovators in the field. The sale totaled more than…
Read more about The Sci-Fi Collection of Stanley Simon May 10, 2018 Books & Manuscripts The Sci-Fi Collection of Stanley Simon Stanley Simon of New York City was a passionate life-long collector of sci-fi, thriller and fantasy first editions. His paramount collection of almost 100 first editions, nearly all of them signed,…
Read more about Records & Results: Graphic Design May 9, 2018 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Graphic Design Our auction of Graphic Design on May 3 offered vintage posters that defined the styles of the twentieth century. In a highly-curated selection of just over 250 lots, the highlight…
Read more about Specialist Selections from Contemporary Art May 8, 2018 Contemporary Art Specialist Selections from Contemporary Art We asked the Contemporary Art department to pick their favorite work from their May 22 auction. For people who see dozens–if not hundreds–of works of art each day, it takes…
Read more about Ancient Then & Ancient Now: Piranesi’s Views of Rome May 7, 2018 Prints & Drawings Ancient Then & Ancient Now: Piranesi’s Views of Rome Giovanni Battista Piranesi spent eight years researching the ancient ruins of Rome before completing his magnum opus, Le Antichità Romane. A complete set of the 220 engravings in four volumes is a…
Read more about Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics April 30, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics Our auction of Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics on April 26 featured highlights by artists of the twentieth century and scarce volumes from fine presses. Leading the sale…
Read more about How Car Posters Drove Graphic Design April 25, 2018 Vintage Posters How Car Posters Drove Graphic Design In the dawn of the motor car, most automobile purveyors relied on a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, touting ever-evolving technology and styles to drive car sales. A selection…
Read more about Have You Met Breuer? An Architectural Archive April 24, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Have You Met Breuer? An Architectural Archive An archive of illuminating material from the office of the great modernist architect and designer Marcel Breuer leads the architecture section of our April 26 auction of Fine Illustrated Books &…
Read more about Records & Results: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks April 23, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks Our April 19 auction The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks was led by the only known extant print of River Rouge Plant, Detroit (with Ford signage on freight car), 1947,…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana April 16, 2018 Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana Our auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana on April 12 was the department’s highest-grossing sale in four years, continuing an upward trajectory as each offering of Americana and African Americana…
Read more about A Walker Evans Print, The Only One of Its Kind April 13, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks A Walker Evans Print, The Only One of Its Kind The cover lot of our April 19 auction, The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks is the only known extant print of Walker Evans’s graphic silver print, River Rouge Plant, Detroit, Michigan…
Read more about Records & Results: African-American Fine Art April 9, 2018 African American Art Records & Results: African-American Fine Art We held our highest-grossing auction to date on April 5, totaling $4.5M—more than $1M over the high estimate of the sale. The 160 works that made up the highly curated…
Read more about Dream vs. Reality in the Civil War April 6, 2018 Printed & Manuscript Americana Dream vs. Reality in the Civil War Personal correspondence and manuscript material are always a highlight in our auctions of Printed & Manuscript Americana. On April 12, we’ll be offering a selection letters from Thomas Belknap, a clerk…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana April 2, 2018 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana Institutional purchases dominated the buying field at our auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana on March 29. The top lots of the auction were almost entirely manuscripts, archives, early…
Read more about #5WomenArtists: Lisa Crescenzo’s List March 30, 2018 Prints & Drawings #5WomenArtists: Lisa Crescenzo’s List As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…
Read more about William Johnson’s Jitterbugs March 30, 2018 African American Art William Johnson’s Jitterbugs Two extremely scarce prints from William H. Johnson’s Jitterbugs series will make their auction debut with African-American Fine Art on April 5. The series was conceived and executed during Johnson’s tenure in New York…
Read more about #5WomenArtists – Lauren Goldberg’s List March 29, 2018 Vintage Posters #5WomenArtists – Lauren Goldberg’s List As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…
Read more about #5WomenArtists: Christine von der Linn’s List March 28, 2018 Illustration Art #5WomenArtists: Christine von der Linn’s List As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…
Read more about #5WomenArtists: Atina Sutton’s List March 27, 2018 African American Art #5WomenArtists: Atina Sutton’s List As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…
Read more about #5WomenArtists: Deborah Rogal’s List March 26, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks #5WomenArtists: Deborah Rogal’s List We’re jumping into Women’s History Month to offer a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell…
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs March 26, 2018 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Our auction of Autographs on March 22 offered a selection of letters, photographs and works by some of history’s greatest game-changers, with communications by founding fathers, letters from artists and…
Read more about Huey Newton’s Portraits & The Founding of the Black Panthers March 23, 2018 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Huey Newton’s Portraits & The Founding of the Black Panthers New findings in our March 29 auction of Printed & Manuscript African-Americana clarify information behind iconic portraits of Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton. Ensconced in a wicker…
Read more about Charles Dickens Reveals His Inspiration March 19, 2018 Autographs Charles Dickens Reveals His Inspiration A very formal letter by Charles Dickens to Lord Robert Grosvenor was a highlight of our March 22 auction of Autographs. The letter, dated July 9, 1838, was…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings March 15, 2018 Prints & Drawings Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Our auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings on March 13 offered an especially grand selection of original works by some of the greatest artists of the last…
Read more about Records & Results: Early Printed Books March 12, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: Early Printed Books Our March 8 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books coincided with the opening of Rare Book Week in New York City. With 94% of offered lots sold, the…
Read more about Records & Results: Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection March 9, 2018 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection offered premier examples of advertising and propaganda from around the world, and broke several auction records. Nicholas D. Lowry, President of…
Read more about Monet: The Master at 16 March 8, 2018 Prints & Drawings Monet: The Master at 16 Before the term “Impressionism” and the overthrow of the established art world, Claude Monet was just a creative teenager. A rare example of Monet’s early experiments with en plein air…
Read more about Records & Results: Icons & Images: Photographs & Photobooks February 28, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Icons & Images: Photographs & Photobooks We opened the 2018 season with a $1.6M auction of Icons & Images: Photographs & Photobooks on February 15. Important rare and unique work, both fine art and vernacular, brought…
Read more about The Earliest French Erotica February 27, 2018 Books & Manuscripts The Earliest French Erotica A titillating section in our March 8 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books contains two scarce early examples of French erotica. L’Escole des Filles, ou La Philosophie…
Read more about Erik Nitsche’s Modernist Vision February 23, 2018 Vintage Posters Erik Nitsche’s Modernist Vision One of many highlights in our March 1 sale of Vintage Posters is a run of posters designed by Erik Nitsche in a series of campaigns for General Dynamics. Nitsche’s…
Read more about Gail Chisholm: A Life in Posters February 16, 2018 Vintage Posters Gail Chisholm: A Life in Posters Nearly a quarter of our March 1 auction of Vintage Posters was devoted to highlights from the collection of renowned poster dealer and aficionado Gail Chisholm. The sale opened with more…
Read more about Photographer Lewis Hine & The Invention of the Photo Story January 29, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks Photographer Lewis Hine & The Invention of the Photo Story Daile Kaplan Reflects on Lewis Hine’s Legacy Swann Vice President and Director of Photographs & Photobooks Daile Kaplan is the preeminent scholar of Lewis Hine. Her books on his work…
Read more about Vintage Posters 101 January 23, 2018 Vintage Posters Vintage Posters 101 So you’ve fallen in love with a vintage poster. What next? Here are some of the most important things to consider when talking about, looking for, and decorating with vintage…
Read more about What Sets A Chart Apart? January 19, 2018 Maps & Atlases What Sets A Chart Apart? We asked specialist Caleb Kiffer to reminisce about some of the most interesting and important charts we’ve handled in the last few years. Why charts? We wanted to explore (pun…
Read more about Bertha Trujillo: Matadora in Photographs January 17, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks Bertha Trujillo: Matadora in Photographs On May 30, 1968, Bertha Trujillo became the first woman awarded a doctorate of matadorship, the highest technical level achieved in bullfighting. The photographs appearing in our February 15 auction…
Read more about The Top Five Fahrenheit 451s January 4, 2018 19th & 20th Century Literature The Top Five Fahrenheit 451s According to our Literature specialist John D. Larson, there are five first editions of Fahrenheit 451 of interest to collectors. As with all important modern first editions, a set of criteria…
Read more about 2017: Year in Review December 28, 2017 Swann 2017: Year in Review In our diamond anniversary year, we offered a star-studded roster of 30 auctions, setting nearly 100 records and introducing countless items to the market, including a previously unknown photograph of Harriet…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art December 19, 2017 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art The grand finale of our 2017 roster was a successful auction of Illustration Art on December 14. Highlights of the sale ranged from large-scale oil paintings to sentimental children’s characters…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 8, 2017 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Maps were so plentiful at our December 5 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books that one could be forgiven for getting lost. Many buyers chose…
Read more about Ingeborg Willy & the Making of Snow White December 7, 2017 Illustration Art Ingeborg Willy & the Making of Snow White A scrapbook, presumably kept by an inker at Walt Disney Studios, reveals much about the production of Snow White. The album is a highlight in our December 14 auction of Illustration…
Read more about Daffydils: A Cartoon Festschrift November 30, 2017 Illustration Art Daffydils: A Cartoon Festschrift Festschrifts, usually academic in nature, can also be jovial. An exceptional example, coming to auction in our December 14 sale of Illustration Art, features contributions from some of the greatest…
Read more about Schedel’s Map: The Last View of the Old World November 28, 2017 Maps & Atlases Schedel’s Map: The Last View of the Old World A historic map shows us where we’ve been, not only geographically but also in terms of the extent of our knowledge, our beliefs and even our technology. Two works coming…
Read more about Records & Results: Contemporary Art November 18, 2017 Contemporary Art Records & Results: Contemporary Art In our most encyclopedic offering of Contemporary Art to date, the November 16 auction saw active bidding, with works by Josef Albers, Jean Arp and Christo exceeding their estimates and…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature November 16, 2017 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature Our auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature on November 14 offered a veritable library of scarce first editions and inscriptions by authors from the last two centuries. More than…
Read more about Arthur Luiz Piza November 14, 2017 Contemporary Art Arthur Luiz Piza Arthur Luiz Piza, a Brazilian mixed media artist trained in Paris, leads an ever-growing section of Latin American art in our biannual auctions of Contemporary Art. An especially unusual piece…
Read more about Children’s Literature for Adults November 13, 2017 19th & 20th Century Literature Children’s Literature for Adults Children’s literature is a perennially popular genre. We were all children once, and the antics of Willy Wonka and imagination of Max shaped our early lives in a way that…