December 22, 2021Swann
2021: Year in Review
As we close out another successful year at Swann we look back at our record-filled sales.
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Kelsie Jankowski
November Sales at Swann Bring $6.7M November at Swann Galleries featured a marathon of fine art auctions including a two-day sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints and Master Drawings,…
Our Maps & Atlases Specialist, Caleb Kiffer, often has the pleasure of handling rare and unique items in his sales. For example, take a look at the Charles Currier lithographic…
Related Reading: Examining Edward Gorey’s Market Get Notifications for Auction Day
We tasked our Modern & Post-War Art Director, Harold Porcher, to share the top lots to watch in the upcoming auction on December 2. Fine Sculpture Abstract Works Abstract Works
Maps Caleb Kiffer’s Specialist Picks for Maps: Lots 43, 74, 121, 134 & 172 Atlases & Books with Maps Color Plate & Illustrated Books Historical Prints & Drawings Caleb Kiffer’s…
Lot 225: Leslie Ragan, Rockefeller Center New York / New York Central Lines, circa 1936. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000. American West: California National Parks, New Mexico & Arizona Lots 170…
Abstract Expressionism and Mid-Century Abstract Art European Abstract Art, Art Brut and Abstract Figuratism Geometric Art, Post-Painterly Abstraction and Early Pop Art Pop Art and Contemporary Figurative Art British Contemporary…
An astonishing single owner sale of Contemporary Artists’ Books, many known only via institutional copies, includes an abundance of deluxe issues produced in impossibly small limitations often out of the…
The Tuesday, November 2 Old Master Through Modern Prints sale will be offered as part of a two-day auction event with Master Drawings on the block Wednesday, November 3. Old…
Over the years Swann has offered a number of signatures from figures who have captured the zeitgeist of their era, dominating the headlines and defining the taste and interests for…
“We are beyond thrilled with the results of the October 7, 2021 auction, which was a historic sale for Swann Galleries: our first auction to hammer over $4 million. Great…
American Revolution material brings strong results, alongside Latin Americana The fall 2021 offering of Printed & Manuscript Americana was held on Thursday, September 30 delivering remarkable results across the board.…
We opened our fall 2021 season with the single-owner sale of The Virginia Zabriskie Collection on Tuesday, September 21. The success of the auction was the result of a multi-department…
Swann is so proud to have not only made it through the heart of the pandemic but also to have done so with grace, professionalism and more than just a modicum of success. Throughout it all we were able to keep our focus and not only continue providing the wonderful services we are known for but also to begin carving out new and exciting niches in brand new collecting areas.
Auction Brings $1.3M and Records Abound New Record for Tom of Finland, Shattering Top Price Set by Swann Last Year “Swann’s third annual auction of LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture &…
Early Printed Book, Archives, Vernacular and Fine Art Photography, Among other Material, Draws Interest Among Collectors The house’s inaugural Focus on Women sale on Thursday, July 15, 2021 brought $333,893…
Modern & Post-War Art, Fine Photographs & Contemporary Art Auctions of Modern & Post-War Art, Fine Photographs and Contemporary Art at Swann Galleries in late May and early June 2021…
The American Art sale on June 30, 2021 will include notable works from prominent artists working in America beginning in the mid-1800s and continuing through the contemporary era. Below we…
Harriet Lyons was a founding editor of Ms. Magazine, a journalist, and an art collector. In 1971, she wrote a cover story for the Village Voice about women’s sexuality in art at…
Our May 6, 2021 sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints delivered $1.8 million in sales and saw seven print records set. “There was robust and consistent interest in Old…
Auction Brings $3.9 Million – Second-Highest Grossing Sale in Department Thirteen-Year History Our spring offering of African American Art on April 22, 2021 was the second highest-grossing sale in the…
Our March 25, 2021 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana brought interest from collectors and institutions alike, as well as buyers both new and familiar from across the globe.…
Our March 11, 2021 sale of Fine Photographs saw strong results across the auction with humanist works and portraits drawing interest from collectors. “We were pleased to see strength across…
The house closed out February 2021 with an exceptional sale of Fine Books & Autographs, which saw a 90% sell-through rate and exceeded the total high estimate, bringing in $522,632.…
Our winter 2021 offering of Vintage Posters on February 18 saw the highest recent sell-through rate of the house’s large biannual sale in the category, “This is particularly gratifying under…
The Artists of the WPA were on display in our February 4, 2021, auction. The multi-departmental sale was headed by Harold Porcher, the house’s director of Modern and Post-War Art,…
Swann Galleries opened the winter/spring 2021 season with a robust sale of Illustration Art. The auction saw record prices for several works, as well as auction debuts from artists. Original…
In a year that was unlike any in our lifetimes, Swann’s specialists and staff proved to be as resilient and innovative as ever, bringing forward new and safe ways to…
The December 10, 2020, sale of African American Art was met with enthusiasm from collectors. The sale saw nine auction records set, as well as an auction debut from contemporary…
The Audubon name is synonymous with art of the natural world. Most renowned for his iconic Birds of America, master naturalist John James Audubon expectantly encouraged and cultivated his two…
Our first sale of Modern & Post-War Art on Thursday, December 3, 2020, proved to be a major success with a sale total of $739,155 (over $200,000 above the sale’s…
Our Thursday, November 19, 2020, sale of Contemporary Art boasted exceptional prices for works on paper, prints, and editions. The auction delivered three records, with Abstract Expressionist artists drawing significant…
Jane Austen Leads Fine Books & Manuscripts at Swann Our Tuesday, November 17, 2020, sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts saw great success across categories with a 90% sell-through rate…
Our Thursday, November 12 sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints brought in “a strong turnout of new buyers and bidding was aggressive for modern American prints and many other…
“Our market continues to be dynamic and varied. We saw strength in the FSA and other Depression-era photography as well as in other classical material. The bidding was also lively…
Our Photographs & Photobooks department takes us on a virtual tour through the October 22 sale of Fine Photographs. Deborah Rogal on The Estate of Evelyne Z. Daitz Related Reading:…
Auction Discoveries: Frank Lemen and Anthony Hansen “With over an over 80% sell-through rate, and with 16 of the top 17 lots selling to collectors, our Thursday, October 15, 2020,…
Our Thursday, September 24, 2020 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana brought an 82% sell-through rate by lot, totaling over $600k with at least 23 institutions purchasing a total of…
Swann Galleries opened the fall 2020 season with a whirlwind sale of American Art on Thursday, September 17, 2020. “We were delighted to start the fall season at Swann with…
Swann Sets New Auction Record for Tom of Finland The second iteration of Swann Galleries’ LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History sale on Thursday, August 13, 2020, was a resounding…
Our sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts on Thursday, July 30, 2020 boasted high prices across categories with early printed books leading the sale, two records being recorded for literature, and autograph material from world leaders garnering attention.
Our July 16, 2020 sale of Illustration Art features an iconic work by N.C. Wyeth—one of the most popular illustrators of all time—with impeccable provenance. The Black Arrow, A Tale…
“The importance and legacy of Al Hirschfeld’s theater portraits lie in that Hirschfeld gave us nearly a century’s eyewitness record of a very elusive art form,” notes specialist, Christine von…
A Full Month of Fine Art Sales at Swann Delivers Record Prices Swann offered four sales of Fine Art this June, each one proving audiences are undeterred by the remote…
Our July 9 sale of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books features a strong selection of pictorial maps, including a rare example of a chart of Greenwich…
Our sale of African-American Fine Art on June 4, 2020 was met with much fanfare, despite an online-only format due to social distancing guidelines in New York City. The sale…
Our Thursday, May 7, 2020 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana was held live online and was conducted remotely. “This was a strong auction regardless of the circumstances. The…
Our Thursday, March 5, 2020 sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings saw success: “With more internet bidding, particularly via the Swann App, than any previous sale in the 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings category at Swann, with action from across the United States, Europe and Asia, and nearly 20% of buyers new to Swann. The most robust sections of the auction were the American prints and modern European prints and drawings,” noted Todd Weyman, the house’s director of prints and drawings.
![Grace Meschery-McCormack shares about two copies of Fernando de Rojas’s ‘La Célestine,’ including a limited edition copy illustrated by Pablo Picasso.
At auction April 22. Learn more about the works at the link in our bio.
#Rarebooks #rarebookdealer #antiquarianbooks #auctions
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