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December 2, 2019
Author: W K

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Specializing in rare books, fine art and everything in between.
President & principal auctioneer: @nicholowry

African American Art is at auction Thursday, Octob

African American Art is at auction Thursday, October 3. Previewing is available Saturday, September 28, and Monday, September 30 through Wednesday, October 2 — 12PM to 5PM⁠
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Browse the complete catalogue and register to bid at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Pictured here is Lot 130: Nelson Stevens, 'Uhuru - Nina,' acrylic on linen canvas, 1978. Estimate $60,000 to $90,000.

New York, we love you ❤️ Pictured here are vi

New York, we love you ❤️

Pictured here are vintage travel posters from the 1970s advertising travel to NYC.

The New York Sale is back at Swann on September 26

The New York Sale is back at Swann on September 26! Featuring, fine photography, vintage posters, fine art, maps and ephemera celebrating the Big Apple. ⁠
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Pictured here is Lot 147: William Klein, 'Dolores wants a Taxi, New York (Vogue),' 1958; printed 2021. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.

Will Barnet came to New York City in 1930 with a s

Will Barnet came to New York City in 1930 with a scholarship to attend the Art Students League. Far less traditional and academic than the Boston Museum School, which he previously attended, the Art Students League was an environment of experimentation and gave young artists the freedom to pursue their own paths. Barnet counted Stuart Davis and Charles Locke as two of his early mentors who showed the young artist new styles. It was during this early period that Barnet's compassion and warmth towards his subjects came to the forefront. While Barnet's work of the 1930s focused on others' quotidian dramas, the outbreak of World War II spurred a period of looking inward. Perhaps turning to more intimate subjects of his young family acted as a cocoon against the War's atrocities or an effort to recapture the humanity of his earlier works. The present work is typical of this period when Barnet was experimenting with bright swathes of vivid color in place of shadow, and he switched his focus to scenes of domesticity.⁠
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Pictured here is Will Barnet, 'Yellow Bed,' oil on canvas, 1941. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.

Born in New Jersey into a family of artists, Frede

Born in New Jersey into a family of artists, Frederick Judd Waugh studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins and Thomas Anshutz and at the Académie Julian in Paris. After his training, Waugh worked in England as a professional artist and illustrator. He became known primarily as a marine painter and claimed British artists Henry Moore and Julius Olsson as his influences.⁠
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He returned to the United States in 1907, working in Kent, Connecticut, before ultimately settling in Provincetown, Massachusetts. There has been speculation that Waugh was influenced by his younger contemporary Winslow Homer, as the two had painted on Monhegan Island in 1911 and 1914. However, in Reckoning with Winslow Homer: His Late Paintings and Their Influences (Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, 1990), Bruce Robinson notes that Waugh claimed to only become aware of Homer's work after returning to the United States in 1907, and by then he had already established a successful career painting in this style.⁠
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During his career, Waugh earned several prizes and distinctions in England and the United States, including becoming a full Academician of the National Academy in 1911.⁠
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Pictured here is Frederick Judd Waugh, 'Running Surf,' oil on canvas board, 1937. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.

Born into a prominent Michigan family (her grandfa

Born into a prominent Michigan family (her grandfather, Henry H. Crapo, was governor of the state from 1865 to 1869, and her father was a successful lumber baron), Letta Crapo-Smith spent much of her childhood in Detroit society. In 1890, she traveled to Paris, where she studied at the Académie Julian. She stayed in Europe for nearly two decades, living and working in France, Italy, and England. She exhibited extensively and was the first female from Detroit included in the Salon des Artistes Français in 1890.⁠
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'Home of Madame H' pictured here echoes Crapo-Smith's early subjects, especially from when she lived abroad. During this time, Crapo-Smith focused on genre scenes and wholesome peasant life before rampant industrialization took hold in the United States and Europe. Crapo-Smith continued to seek these subjects out, spending the summers of 1901 and 1902 painting en plein air in Egmond, Holland, with George Hitchcock, who helped establish a small art colony in the Dutch village.⁠
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Around 1906, Crapo-Smith returned to Detroit, becoming involved with the Detroit Society of Women Painters and serving as their President from 1907 to 1914, when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was forced to stop painting.⁠
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Pictured here is Letta Crapo-Smith, 'Home of Madame H,' oil on canvas, circa 1909. Estimate $12,000 to $18,000.

Between 1929 and 1935, Rockwell Kent made two of h

Between 1929 and 1935, Rockwell Kent made two of his three voyages to Igdlorssuit, Greenland, aboard the Hans Egede, a Danish steam merchant ship. Charly Mortensen, the ship's telegraph operator to whom the present watercolor was dedicated, befriended the artist during his treacherous but spiritually fulfilling expeditions.⁠
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Kent was a celebrated artist and illustrator who was just as famous for his world voyages. He was born in Tarrytown, New York, and enrolled in Columbia University as an architecture student in 1900. He soon abandoned his studies in favor of painting, inspired by his time with William Merritt Chase. He attended the New York School of Art. He studied under Robert Henri, who introduced Kent, Edward Hopper, and George Bellows to the artist colony on Mohegan Island, where the young artist remained year-round. His love of nature and solitude pushed him to go on expeditions, often accompanied by his son, Gordon. With the ultimate goal of sailing around Cape Horn onboard a freighter in 1922, Kent traveled as far as Tierra del Fuego; the trip inspired his second illustrated book. Although he purchased a large farm in Au Sable Forks, New York, in 1927, Kent could not be tied to one place. His 1930 book N by E was based on his recent voyage and shipwreck in Greenland. By the time he was commissioned to illustrate an edition of Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Kent was able to call on his own perilous expeditions for inspiration.⁠
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Pictured here is Rockwell Kent, 'Sailor's Farewell,' watercolor and pencil, 1935. At auction Septmeber 19. Estimate $15,000 to $20,000.

The New York Sale is at auction September 26. Prev

The New York Sale is at auction September 26. Previewing Saturday, September 21, and Monday, September 23 through Wednesday, September 25 — 12PM to 5PM⁠
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Browse the complete catalogue and register to bid at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Pictured here is Lot 138: Ted Croner, 'Taxi - New York - Night,' 1947-48, printed 1990s. Estimate $3,000 to $4,500.

Louis Ritman is best known for his sun-dappled, im

Louis Ritman is best known for his sun-dappled, impressionistic works portraying intimate scenes of women in gardens or interiors. Within the past 20 years, there has been a renewed interest in Ritman's work; he was considered to be one of the preeminent American Impressionists of his generation but fell into relative obscurity after his death. His works are in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among other important American art institutions.⁠
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Featured in the September 19 American Art auction is Ritman's 'Interior,' oil on canvas, circa 1940. Estimate $$15,000 to $20,000.

American Art is at auction September 19. Previewin

American Art is at auction September 19. Previewing Saturday, September 16, and Monday, September 16 through Wednesday, September 18 — 12PM to 5PM⁠
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Browse the complete catalogue and register to bid at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Pictured here is Lot 94: Will Barnet, 'Yellow Bed,' oil on canvas, 1941. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.

Happy International Dog Day from one of Swann’s

Happy International Dog Day from one of Swann’s favorite guard dogs ❤️

Stompers, a West Village boot store, was owned by

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 Street that exhibited leather fetish art. Weingarden exhibited many artists and illustrators in its circle, including Tom of Finland, Domino, and Rex. ⁠
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Read more about Weingarden, the gallery, and the artists who occupied its walls at the link in our bio.⁠
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Pictured here is a flyer for the 1978 group exhibition at Stompers featuring Tom of Finland and Etienne. Estimate $1,500 to $2,500.

Swann is closing out the summer season tomorrow, A

Swann is closing out the summer season tomorrow, August 22 with LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History beginning at 10:30 AM ET

Visit the link in our bio to browse the catalogue and register to bid.

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "Beyond Peter Hujar’s extrem

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "Beyond Peter Hujar’s extremely dramatic depiction of Ethyl Eichelberger, I love this poster as a memorial of the theater/drag legend and her career. She knew she wanted to play the iconic women of history, and she made it happen, because, as she said of herself, 'Who would cast me as Medea?' I'd love to see what her experimental, one-woman show about a 1500s Italian duchess would look like - complete with acrobatics, accordion playing, and what I imagine would be total historical accuracy.” - Colby Byrne, Administrator, Vintage Posters⁠
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Lot 278 coming to auction August 22. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

SWANN SALON | Join us this coming Monday, August 1

SWANN SALON | Join us this coming Monday, August 19 ahead of our sixth annual LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History auction for a special Swann Salon to engage in dialogue about the artworks, literature, manuscripts, and archives featured in our sale.

Artists whose works are included in the sale will be joined by Swann specialists who helped build the auction, as well as independent curators to touch on the ways that the evolving cultural and artistic landscapes enrich the LGBTQ+ community.

Register at the link in our bio.

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