October 23, 2024Deborah RogalPhotographs & Photobooks Photographers Who Captured the Changing Landscape of the American West Read more about Photographers Who Captured the Changing Landscape of the American West America was, in some ways, founded on the idea of land. A restless push West, a desire to “discover,” to claim, and to shape, has formed the American identity. Here,…
Read more about Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — October 31, 2024 October 7, 2024 Photographs & Photobooks Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — October 31, 2024 This October Fine Photographs auction will center photography as it developed and impacted the American West as well as the use of photography in exploration and documentation
Read more about Auction Highlights: The New York Sale — September 26, 2024 September 3, 2024 American Art Auction Highlights: The New York Sale — September 26, 2024 In honor of the 400th anniversary of the founding of New York City, Swann Galleries is bringing back the New York sale.
Read more about New York Through Photographs August 8, 2024 Photographs & Photobooks New York Through Photographs New York City, in its state of inevitable change, its restless power, its siren’s call to dreamers and doers, has proven irresistible to the camera’s lens. Photographers have captured the…
Read more about This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2024 Auctions in Review July 15, 2024 19th & 20th Century Literature This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2024 Auctions in Review In the 2024 Winter-Spring season, Swann Galleries continued to provide high-quality auctions of unusual and rare material. Several single-owner collections were featured, including Illustration Art: Featuring Highlights from the Collection…
Read more about The Woman’s Eye: Seven Women Photographers to Know May 6, 2024 Photographs & Photobooks The Woman’s Eye: Seven Women Photographers to Know Though utilizing a variety of artistic practices and genres, from portraiture, self, and of others to photojournalism and social documentary, the photographers highlighted here have all used the camera to record…
Read more about Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — May 16, 2024 April 23, 2024 Photographs & Photobooks Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — May 16, 2024 Swann’s May 16 auction of Fine Photographs is headlines by two iconic female photographers.
Read more about Records & Results: The Subculture Sale — February 8, 2024 February 14, 2024 Vintage Posters Records & Results: The Subculture Sale — February 8, 2024 “The Subculture Sale was an exciting foray into relatively new territory for Swann Galleries, not focusing on works from previous centuries, but, on the personally memorable. Among the scores of…
Read more about Nicholas D. Lowry’s Specialist Picks: Favorite Lots from The Subculture Sale January 31, 2024 Vintage Posters Nicholas D. Lowry’s Specialist Picks: Favorite Lots from The Subculture Sale Nicholas D. Lowry shares his picks for The Subculture Sale. Bidding open now through February 8.
Read more about Collectors on Collecting: An American Century by Dr. James Pearl January 30, 2024 Photographs & Photobooks Collectors on Collecting: An American Century by Dr. James Pearl Dr. James Pearl reflects on the process of amassing his collection of American photography. Coming to auction at Swann Galleries February 15.
Read more about Auction Highlights: An American Century: The Collection of Dr. James & Debra Pearl & Fine Photographs — February 15, 2024 January 23, 2024 Photographs & Photobooks Auction Highlights: An American Century: The Collection of Dr. James & Debra Pearl & Fine Photographs — February 15, 2024 This special auction highlights 100 lots from the Collection of Dr. James and Debra Pearl. Rich in American landscape.
Read more about Auction Highlights: The Subculture Sale — February 8, 2024 January 8, 2024 Vintage Posters Auction Highlights: The Subculture Sale — February 8, 2024 Highlights from the February 8 Subculture Sale
Read more about 2023: Year in Review December 19, 2023 Swann 2023: Year in Review 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…
Read more about A Brief Introduction to Post-War Japanese Photography October 3, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks A Brief Introduction to Post-War Japanese Photography Post-war Japanese photography witnessed significant developments and innovations that reflected the changing social, cultural, and political landscape of Japan. The devastation caused by World War II had a profound influence…
Read more about Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — October 5, 2023 September 12, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — October 5, 2023 Our October 5, 2023, Fine Photographs auction features a wide range of rare and important work including an unusually large-format example of Harry Shunk and Jànos Kender’s Le Salut de…
Read more about Specialist Picks: Fashion Photography from the April 27, 2023 Auction April 19, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Specialist Picks: Fashion Photography from the April 27, 2023 Auction Beyond Fashion: Photography in a Category Overlooked in the Fine Art Lexicon Though ostensibly fashion photography is simply intended to sell a product or a lifestyle, the category also offers…
Read more about Fine Photographs: Featuring 100 Works from the Stephen White Collection — April 27, 2023 Auction Highlights March 29, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: Featuring 100 Works from the Stephen White Collection — April 27, 2023 Auction Highlights We are excited to present A Singular History of Photography: 100 Works from the Stephen White Collection in our spring Fine Photographs auction. This dynamic sale tells the history of…
Read more about Records & Results: Fine Photographs Winter 2023 March 7, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Fine Photographs Winter 2023 The February 2023 timed-app exclusive sale of Fine Photographs brought $996,156 with 220 of the 266 lots offered finding buyers, an 83% sell-through rate by lot. I am thrilled to…
Read more about Photographs from the Richard T. Rosenthal Collection February 22, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Photographs from the Richard T. Rosenthal Collection An eclectic collection driven by an eye for the interesting, unusual, and beautiful, as well as intellectual interests as wide-ranging as car racing, early cased imagery, crime, and botanical studies,…
Read more about Fine Photographs: February 23, 2023 Auction Highlights January 24, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: February 23, 2023 Auction Highlights The Photographs season begins with an exciting online auction featuring an array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century highlights. The sale is headlined by Irving Penn’s exceptionally bold and textural Blast, 1980;…
Read more about 2022: Year in Review January 3, 2023 19th & 20th Century Literature 2022: Year in Review 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…
Read more about Rare Vintage Print of Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother’ Brings $305k in October 2022 Auction of Fine Photographs October 24, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Rare Vintage Print of Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother’ Brings $305k in October 2022 Auction of Fine Photographs The Thursday, October 20 sale of Fine Photographs at Swann Galleries brought $1.2M with a strong showing for American photography and portfolios. Romana Javitz & Dorothea Lange The top lot…
Read more about Romana Javitz: Champion of FSA Photographers October 14, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Romana Javitz: Champion of FSA Photographers Romana Javitz was curator of The New York Public Library’s Picture Collection from 1928 to 1968, where she assembled one of the most historically important and artistically significant collections of twentieth-century photographs.
Read more about Fine Photographs: October 20, 2022 Auction Highlights September 27, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: October 20, 2022 Auction Highlights A range of exciting photographs includes a vintage 1936 example of Dorothea Lange’s iconic Migrant Mother from the personal collection of the legendary Romana Javitz, who developed the New York…
Read more about This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2022 Auctions in Review August 22, 2022 19th & 20th Century Literature This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2022 Auctions in Review 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.
Read more about Beefcake Photography August 16, 2022 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Beefcake Photography 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.
Read more about JEB & Shelby Sharie Cohen on Photographing the Lesbian Community August 12, 2022 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History JEB & Shelby Sharie Cohen on Photographing the Lesbian Community 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.
Read more about Photographers Who Galvanized Landscape Photography… April 5, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Photographers Who Galvanized Landscape Photography… …And some who are still experimenting and expanding the genre.
Read more about Fine Photographs: April 14, 2022 Auction Highlights March 14, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: April 14, 2022 Auction Highlights Edward S. Curtis — The North American Indian The April 14 auction will be headlined by the seminal Portfolio I from Edward S. Curtis’ The North American Indian, featuring many of his…
Read more about Records & Results: 70 Years of Photographs at Swann February 14, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: 70 Years of Photographs at Swann On February 10, 2022, we held Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann, not only did the sale mark the 70th anniversary of photography auctions at the house…
Read more about Danny Lyon’s Civil Rights Photography February 7, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Danny Lyon’s Civil Rights Photography Related Reading: Do you have photographs by Danny Lyon we should take a look at? Learn about how to consign to an auction, and send us a note about your item.
Read more about Deborah Rogal’s Specialist Picks: 5 Photographs from the 70th Anniversary Sale February 7, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Deborah Rogal’s Specialist Picks: 5 Photographs from the 70th Anniversary Sale Armed with seven decades of photography history at her disposal, and nearly 20 years in the field, Swann photographs and photobooks director, Deborah Rogal, shares five of her favorite images…
Read more about Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann January 4, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann Over 70 years ago, Swann held the first auction dedicated to photography in the United States. This 1952 photography auction was astonishingly early for a sale devoted to a medium…
Read more about 2021: Year in Review December 22, 2021 Swann 2021: Year in Review As we close out another successful year at Swann we look back at our record-filled sales.
Read more about Artists of the WPA & the Dawn of a New American Identity December 20, 2021 The Artists of the WPA Artists of the WPA & the Dawn of a New American Identity The New Deal not only established a great legacy, but a greater generation of artists whose works defined the American spirit.
Read more about Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women November 5, 2021 Focus On Women Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women This past summer Swann held its first auction devoted to works by women. We are pleased to annouce another edition of this sale, to be held in June 2022, once again spearheaded by Devon Eastland, our Early Printed Books Specialist, but offering a wide assortment of material
Read more about Spotlight on Stephen Shore’s Color Photography October 11, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Spotlight on Stephen Shore’s Color Photography Stephen Shore’s extensive career has been defined by a quest to discover everyday America through its vernacular architecture and landscape. Ambitious, Shore rose to prominence at a young age. At…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Fine Photographs—At Auction October 21, 2021 September 27, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Upcoming Highlights: Fine Photographs—At Auction October 21, 2021 Our Fine Photographs auction features rare and important vintage works, including items from the Collection of Aron M. Mathieu, founder of Modern Photography magazine.
Read more about Virginia Zabriskie Collection Opens the Fall 2021 Season at Swann September 23, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Virginia Zabriskie Collection Opens the Fall 2021 Season at Swann 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…
Read more about Dada & Surrealism from the Virginia Zabriskie Collection September 8, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Dada & Surrealism from the Virginia Zabriskie Collection During her time as a gallerist, Virginia Zabriskie was keyed into the zeitgeist of the era. She embraced the Dada Manifesto and Surrealist ideals, presenting several exhibitions that explored these…
Read more about LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Auction Bests Itself for the Third Year in a Row August 23, 2021 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Auction Bests Itself for the Third Year in a Row 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 &…
Read more about Highlights From The Virginia Zabriskie Collection August 20, 2021 American Art Highlights From The Virginia Zabriskie Collection We are honored to offer the collection of Virginia Zabriskie in a special single-owner auction that opens our 2021 fall season. Virginia Zabriskie’s personal collection was built during a pioneering career spanning more than five decades, marked by audacity and innovation in a field that was seldom encouraging to professional women.
Read more about First Sale Dedicated to the Accomplishments of Women at Swann Exceeds High Estimate July 20, 2021 Focus On Women First Sale Dedicated to the Accomplishments of Women at Swann Exceeds High Estimate 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…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Focus on Women — At Auction July 15, 2021 June 28, 2021 Focus On Women Upcoming Highlights: Focus on Women — At Auction July 15, 2021 What You Need to Know on Auction Day This auction will be held live and conducted remotely. There will not be bidding in the room, though we accept order bids,…
Read more about May & June 2021 Fine Art Sales Roundup for Swann Galleries June 24, 2021 Swann May & June 2021 Fine Art Sales Roundup for Swann Galleries 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…
Read more about American Street Photography of the 1940s–50s May 14, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks American Street Photography of the 1940s–50s The roaming photographer, camera slung around her neck or gripped in a hand, walking city streets, sitting in a café, invisible, but watching, capturing, finding enduring, candid, illustrative moments, is…
Read more about Photographs & Photobooks: May 2021 Auction Highlights May 5, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Photographs & Photobooks: May 2021 Auction Highlights Exploring the thematic and visual diversity of the photographic medium, this auction covers twentieth-century masters as well as contemporary practitioners and items from the visual vernacular: albums, archives, and individual objects.
Read more about Self-Portrait Photography April 13, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Self-Portrait Photography A Little Self(ie) Love Whether you love them or hate them, selfies have become a large part of self-representation in contemporary culture. Though the term selfie tends to refer specifically…
Read more about Play Ball!: The Unlikely Tradition of Baseball Ephemera at Swann April 1, 2021 Swann Play Ball!: The Unlikely Tradition of Baseball Ephemera at Swann 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…
Read more about Dorothea Lange, Ed van der Elsken, Peter Hujar & More Shine in March 2021 Sale of Fine Photographs March 15, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Dorothea Lange, Ed van der Elsken, Peter Hujar & More Shine in March 2021 Sale of Fine Photographs 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…