Punks, goths, mods, beatniks, club kids, and hippies: a shortlist of an endless supply of social factions that make up the fabled “underground.” In the grander societal context, they are…
2024 was an eventful year for Swann that brought about exciting changes, including the reorganization of our Fine Art Department, which saw Nigel Freeman step in as the head of…
Stompers, a West Village boot store, was owned by classical composer Louis Weingarden. The store also featured a gallery in the backroom of its retail space at 259 West Fourth…
Lili Elbe was a Danish painter, trans woman, and one of the earliest recipients of gender-affirming surgery in 1930. The child of Ane Marie Thomsen and spice merchant Mogens Wilhelm…
Swann Galleries is excited to present the sixth iteration of the LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History. The sale will take place on Thursday, August 22, and will feature an exciting selection of fine art, illustration, photography, manuscripts & archives from the expansive range of the LGBTQ+ community.
Swann Galleries announced on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, the reorganization of their fine art offerings under the leadership of Nigel Freeman. This change comes with the news of the retirement…
Highlights from the February 8 Subculture Sale
Swann Galleries continued to offer exceptional auctions of quality material in 2023. The year featured several collections, including a special selection of 100 works from the Stephen White collection in…
The August 17, 2023, LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History auction was a testament to the growing interest in the newly defined area of collecting. In keeping with previous years,…
When you think of queer photography what images come to mind? For a lot of people photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe or Peter Hujar come up, especially their more provocative works.…
This summer’s LGBTQ+ auction is a testament to the growing interest in the newly defined area of collecting. As in previous auctions the material represents a broad and exciting swath…
2022 was a historic year for Swann in more ways than one. The house celebrated its 80th year of auctions, bringing with it the 70th anniversary of the first photography…
The winter-spring auction season at Swann is a masterclass in marathon training, and the 2022 iteration proved no different with 20 auctions held between late January and the middle of August.
Beefcake imagery was appropriated by the gay community for its own benefits to become a visual testimony of same-sex desire during the pre-Stonewall era.
the market established with the LGBTQ+ sales. Both photographers speak here in their own words, discussing their approach as well as the transformations they have witnessed as artists.
“I think I’m in the tradition of a certain kind of American artist (…) Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline—they all had this austere beauty to them. They found beauty…
This August, Swann is proud to host its fourth annual, LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History sale. The success of our first three auctions stands as part of the art…
In our 80 years as a company, Swann has always been an auction house dedicated to niche markets with specialists who are experts in their respective fields, but often our…
As we close out another successful year at Swann we look back at our record-filled sales.
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 &…
Tom of Finland, perhaps the most iconic creator of erotic gay art, understood his role as a liberator. His images of men unleashing their deepest fantasies have provided an outlet for…
Monday, August 16 at 6PM ET Swann President Nicholas D. Lowry will be in conversation with Memphis Brooks Museum curator Dr. Rosamund Garrett and photographer Mark Seliger. They will discuss…
This year Swann Galleries holds a third annual auction dedicated to the art, material culture, and history of the LGBTQ+ community, bringing to market both familiar artists as well as…
This year Swann Galleries holds a third annual auction dedicated to the art, material culture, and history of the LGBTQ+ community, bringing to market both familiar artists as well as…
With the arrival of baseball’s Opening Day, spring is truly here. Swann does not handle baseball memorabilia in the traditional sense, leaving the encapsulated gem-mint rookie cards and game-worn jerseys to…
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…
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…
Antonio Lopez, the bold and blazingly talented fashion illustrator, designer, and stylist of the 1960s-80s was a true iconoclast. He broke racial and sexual barriers decades before it was considered…
David Wojnarowicz was a multifaceted artist known for works that put the AIDS epidemic at the forefront of New York contemporary art, such as his iconic images from the documentary…
Richmond Barthé, Beauford Delaney, Kehinde Wiley, Freddie Styles, and Glenn Ligon produced artworks that are in sole ownership of the manifestation of their physical entities. They chose these modes of representation that best suit them, without the gaze of the heteropatriarchy and white cis-gendered gay men.
Our second annual auction dedicated to the art, material culture, and history of the LGBTQ+ community features items by and from major figures and trailblazers; Richmond Barthé, JEB, Paul Cadmus, Antonio Lopez, Harvey Milk, Freddie Styles, Toyen, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, David Wojnarowicz and more.
At Auction August 13, 2020 A Portion of Proceeds to Benefit NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project 19th & 20th Century Trailblazers Our second annual auction dedicated to the art, material…
Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day, 1971. Upcoming at auction. Remembering & Creating History Swann Galleries’ inaugural Pride Sale in June 2019 was met with a full house and eager international…
What are the inherent challenges in telling a history that is still being unearthed, and what can media and material objects add to that story? Against the backdrop of the…
Historic Pride Sale at Swann Brings Market Premiers and Auction Records The Pride Sale on Thursday, June 20 offered a curated selection of LGBTQ+ art, photography, literature, autographs…
The Gay Day Archive Today, at least a million spectators line the Pride parade route along Fifth Avenue each year. But in its earliest days, the celebration was a much smaller event…
“Every woman who wants to be beautiful should be beautiful” Among the many items up for auction in our June 20 Pride Sale, is an archive of personal effects of Candy Darling an enduring trans icon, American actress…
The Pride Sale An Exploration & Celebration of the Art, Influence & History of the LGBTQ+ Community We invited Eric Marcus, the founder and host of the Making Gay History…
An Exploration & Celebration of the Art, Influence & History of the LGBTQ+ Community Our first Pride Sale, being held in the same month as WorldPride and the 50th anniversary…
Pictured here is Marvin Newma