October 1, 2019Swann CommunicationsPrints & Drawings Fall 2019: Old Master Drawings Read more about Fall 2019: Old Master Drawings This auction traces the development of draftsmanship over several centuries from late-Gothic, early-Renaissance works of the fifteenth century, to Baroque and Rococo drawings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Read more about Collecting Works by African-American Photographers October 1, 2019 African American Art Collecting Works by African-American Photographers A superb selection of images by African-American photographers is set to come across the block in our Fall 2019 sale of African-American Fine Art. Here we take a look at the offering that includes artists from the Harlem Renaissance through today.
Read more about Artist Profile: Vincent D. Smith September 30, 2019 African American Art Artist Profile: Vincent D. Smith Born in 1929, Vincent D. Smith was a Brooklyn native and innovative African-American artist. By the late 1950s, he incorporated various modern approaches into his figurative painting practice, including expressionism, collage, politically- and socially-conscious subject matter.
Read more about McArthur Binion: An Artist of “Simplicism” September 27, 2019 African American Art McArthur Binion: An Artist of “Simplicism” Describing himself as a “Rural Modernist,” McArthur Binion is known for his paintings that encapsulate both simplicity and complexity. Our Fall 2019 sale of African-American Fine Art on October 8 features a stunning mid-career work by Binion that captures his laborious technique and beckons the viewer in for a closer look.
Read more about Two Books Once Owned by Herman Melville Come to Swann September 27, 2019 Autographs Two Books Once Owned by Herman Melville Come to Swann Two volumes from Herman Melville’s personal library come to auction at Swann Galleries October 10.
Read more about Rare Martin Lewis Etching Debuts in Fall 2019 Prints & Drawings Sale September 26, 2019 Prints & Drawings Rare Martin Lewis Etching Debuts in Fall 2019 Prints & Drawings Sale Swann Galleries opened the fall 2019 season with an exceptional sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings featuring an auction debut for a rare early print by Martin Lewis and a record price for a print by Edvard Munch.
Read more about Documenting the Underground Railroad: The Story Behind the Shugart Family Papers September 13, 2019 Printed & Manuscript Americana Documenting the Underground Railroad: The Story Behind the Shugart Family Papers An extensive and detailed record of the Underground Railroad is set to come across the block in our upcoming sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana on September 26. Zachariah Taylor Shugart was a known agent of the Underground Railroad circa 1840-51.
Read more about Fall 2019: Early Printed, Travel, Scientific & Medical Books September 8, 2019 Early Printed Books Fall 2019: Early Printed, Travel, Scientific & Medical Books A choice selection of incunabula brings to auction infrequently seen editions of Johannes Jacobus Canis’s 1476 guide to the study of civil and canon law; Albertus Magnus’s comprehensive lapidary De mineralibus, Pavia, 1491; and Philippus Beroaldus’s philosophical tract on happiness, De felicitate opusculum, Bologna, 1495.
Read more about Collecting American Prints: Property from Betty & Douglas Duffy, of the Bethesda Art Gallery September 4, 2019 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Collecting American Prints: Property from Betty & Douglas Duffy, of the Bethesda Art Gallery Swann Galleries’ sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings on September 19 features property from Betty and Douglas Duffy, of the Bethesda Art Gallery and highlights American printmakers such as Howard Cook, Thomas Hart Benton, Rockwell Kent and John Sloan.
Read more about Artist Profile: Charles Addams September 4, 2019 Illustration Art Artist Profile: Charles Addams With a proclivity to the grim, grisly and gruesome, Charles Addams walked through life illuminating its incongruous funny bones and sore spots. Here we discuss his contributions to The New Yorker and his famous kooky family.
Read more about Selections from the Sackner Archive of Concrete & Visual Poetry September 3, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Selections from the Sackner Archive of Concrete & Visual Poetry Before being moved to its permanent home at the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections, a choice selection of works from the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry—the most comprehensive collection of its kind—will be offered at Swann Galleries on October 10.
Read more about Artist Profile: Norman Lewis August 30, 2019 African American Art Artist Profile: Norman Lewis Norman Lewis was an Abstract Expressionist painter associated with The Irascibles who developed as a painter as the New York Modern Art scene grew. Here we discuss Lewis’s rise from the margins to art market center.
Read more about Fall 2019: Classic & Contemporary Photographs August 29, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Fall 2019: Classic & Contemporary Photographs Featured photographers include: Walead Beshty, John Divola, Seydou Keïta, Richard Misrach, Vik Muniz, Andres Serrano and Joel Sternfeld. A headliner among the rare photobook offerings is a 1950s–1972 Edward Ruscha archive featuring a signed first edition of his Twentysix Gasoline Stations—as well as other signed artist’s books, a signed lithograph Have a Soup Souper Season, ephemeral material, and a Polaroid.
Read more about 19th & 20th Century Literature: Hemingway, Morrison & Tolkien—Fall 2019 August 27, 2019 Books & Manuscripts 19th & 20th Century Literature: Hemingway, Morrison & Tolkien—Fall 2019 Remarkable firsts in unrestored dust jackets by Barnaby Ross, Owen Wister, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, plus well-loved titles by Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Kurt Vonnegut Vonnegut comprise this fall 2019 selection of literature.
Read more about Autographs: Davy Crockett, Greta Garbo, Annie Oakley & Herman Melville—Fall 2019 August 27, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Autographs: Davy Crockett, Greta Garbo, Annie Oakley & Herman Melville—Fall 2019 Signed material by artists, authors, politicians, musicians and more, including Davy Crockett, Walt Disney, Annie Oakley, Babe Ruth, Greta Garbo, Franz Liszt, George Washington.
Read more about Art, Press & Illustrated Books: Blake, Cocteau & Rackham—Fall 2019 August 27, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Art, Press & Illustrated Books: Blake, Cocteau & Rackham—Fall 2019 Fall 2019 promises a strong collection of exquisite artist’s books, and illustrated volumes, some unique and some from fine presses, including works by Arthur Rackham, William Blake and Jean Cocteau.
Read more about Augusta Savage to Zoë Charlton: Women of Color Artists Featured in African-American Fine Art, Fall 2019 August 26, 2019 African American Art Augusta Savage to Zoë Charlton: Women of Color Artists Featured in African-American Fine Art, Fall 2019 At Swann, we’re lucky to contribute to an overall market correction, offering exceptional art by women of color, whose work on the themes of feminism and identity is increasingly being recognized by a more equitable marketplace.
Read more about From Abstract Expressionists to Color Field Painters—African-American Fine Art August 26, 2019 African American Art From Abstract Expressionists to Color Field Painters—African-American Fine Art Abstraction features heavily in our October 2019 sale of African-American Fine Art, including first-generation abstract expressionist Norman Lewis, alongside artists Sam Gilliam and Kenneth Victor Young of the Washington Color School.
Read more about Fine Sculpture by African-American Artists August 26, 2019 African American Art Fine Sculpture by African-American Artists A strong section of fine sculpture coming on October 8 includes works by Selma Burke, Elizabeth Catlett, Sargent Johnson, Richard Hunt and Augusta Savage.
Read more about Fine Books & Manuscripts: Fall 2019 August 26, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Manuscripts: Fall 2019 Browse upcoming highlights from the three sections of the robust October 10 auction: Autographs, Literature, Art, Press & Illustrated Books.
Read more about Record Prices and Market Debuts Abound in Summer 2019 Sale of Vintage Posters August 14, 2019 Vintage Posters Record Prices and Market Debuts Abound in Summer 2019 Sale of Vintage Posters Our summer sale of Vintage Posters on August 7, 2019, was a lively event with active bidding across all platforms bringing six record prices and a number of posters to market for the first time.
Read more about What—exactly—is the Swann Shelf Sale? August 8, 2019 Auctions 101 What—exactly—is the Swann Shelf Sale? This Year’s Shelf Sale Will Begin on Thursday, July 18 at 12 PM ET A Bookseller’s Bonanza The Swann Shelf Sale is something like a well-known secret within the New…
Read more about Fall 2019: African-American Fine Art August 6, 2019 African American Art Fall 2019: African-American Fine Art Highlights this fall from the African-American Fine Art department: sculptures by Elizabeth Catlett, Sargent Johnson and Augusta Savage, iconic works by Carrie Mae Weems, paintings by Allan Rohan Crite, Henry Ossawa Tanner and Hughie Lee-Smith.
Read more about Fall 2019: Printed & Manuscript Americana August 5, 2019 Printed & Manuscript Americana Fall 2019: Printed & Manuscript Americana This fall, our Printed & Manuscript Americana auction will be held on September 26, and include manuscript diaries and important archives, ephemera relating to Stanford football, Gloria Steinem, the Underground Railroad and Mexico City.
Read more about Fall 2019: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings August 2, 2019 Prints & Drawings Fall 2019: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings This Prints & Drawings auction comes on September 19, 2019, and features mainstay American artists Edward Hopper, Martin Lewis, Howard Cook and George Bellows. European masters Georges Valmier, Pablo Picasso and M.C. Escher run alongside Latin American master Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo.
Read more about Herman Melville: A Bicentennial Celebration August 1, 2019 Autographs Herman Melville: A Bicentennial Celebration We celebrate the author, now recognized as one of the cornerstones of American literature, on what would have been his 200th birthday.
Read more about On Buying a Vintage Poster: What You Need to Know July 29, 2019 Auctions 101 On Buying a Vintage Poster: What You Need to Know So you’ve fallen in love with a vintage poster. What’s next? Here are some of the most important things to consider when looking to buy a vintage poster.
Read more about Sergio Trujillo Magnenat: A Pioneer in Colombian Graphic Design July 24, 2019 Vintage Posters Sergio Trujillo Magnenat: A Pioneer in Colombian Graphic Design Featured in our August 7 sale of Vintage Posters is a rare selection of four advertisements for the first Bolivarian Games by Sergio Trujillo Magnenat. The images are characterized by…
Read more about Swann in Profile: Lauren Goldberg July 22, 2019 Vintage Posters Swann in Profile: Lauren Goldberg With the newly opened Poster House museum as a backdrop, we spoke with Specialist Lauren Goldberg in our Vintage Posters Department about, well, what else—posters! You’ve been at…
Read more about Telling Queer Stories: The Challenges of Unearthing a History July 17, 2019 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Telling Queer Stories: The Challenges of Unearthing a History 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…
Read more about Our Best Pictures of the Apollo Missions & Space at Large July 17, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Our Best Pictures of the Apollo Missions & Space at Large And space is large. It’s a place of unknown proportions, and the lines of scientific inquiry and exploration are far-reaching. Since the first lunar landing 50 years ago, we have…
Read more about 2019 Spring Season in Review July 1, 2019 Swann 2019 Spring Season in Review A season of firsts. The 2019 spring auction season at Swann Galleries delivered an impressive range of sales, rife with auction premiers and record prices. We started our season off…
Read more about Swann Summer Reading List 2019 July 1, 2019 Swann Swann Summer Reading List 2019 As an auction house that has specialized in rare and antiquarian books for nearly 80 years, it is unsurprising that our team loves reading. What better circumstance to do so…
Read more about Records & Results: The Pride Sale June 27, 2019 Swann Records & Results: The Pride Sale 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…
Read more about Records & Results: American Art June 25, 2019 American Art Records & Results: American Art Modernists Lead American Art at Swann We continued the spring 2019 season with a sale of American Art on June 13, which boasted three artist records. American Modernists…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books June 20, 2019 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Lewis Evans Reached $125k in Maps & Atlases Caleb Kiffer: “There was strong bidding across the board and it’s hard not to be pleased with the general outcome…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Hank O’Neal & Allen Ginsberg June 17, 2019 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Notes from the Catalogue: Hank O’Neal & Allen Ginsberg 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…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Candy Darling June 12, 2019 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Notes from the Catalogue: Candy Darling “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…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art June 12, 2019 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art Theater Portraits & Set Designs Lead Illustration Art Miriam Troop makes a stellar auction debut at $40k Our Illustration Art sale on June 4 saw a bustling auction room with…
Read more about Cataloguing History: Why We Hold Specialized Auctions June 10, 2019 Auctions 101 Cataloguing History: Why We Hold Specialized Auctions Auctions offer a moment where the sometimes-incalculable significance of an object is quantified. The price is reached through collaboration: specialists, consignors, the market, and finally, bidders convene in the room,…
Read more about America the Beautiful: City & Landscape Scenes of America’s Terrain June 7, 2019 American Art America the Beautiful: City & Landscape Scenes of America’s Terrain Our June 13 sale of American Art features an impressive selection of city, landscape and coastal scenes. The offering puts on display how the breadth and diversity of America’s terrain,…
Read more about Records & Results: Graphic Design June 5, 2019 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Graphic Design Charles Loupot Reaches New Heights in Swann Graphic Design Auction debuts for Tadanori Yokoo Our auction of Graphic Design on May 23 offered a selection of vintage posters by…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Vintage Posters June 4, 2019 Vintage Posters Upcoming Highlights: Vintage Posters At Auction August 7 Complete Catalogue For over 15 years our summer Vintage Posters auction has brought wonderful examples of beach and summer resort posters to market. The tradition continues…
Read more about Records & Results: Contemporary Art June 3, 2019 Contemporary Art Records & Results: Contemporary Art Print Record for Franz Kline in Swann Contemporary Our May 16 sale of Contemporary Art brought a record price for a Franz Kline print and saw an 81% sell-through…
Read more about The First Auction of LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History at Swann May 29, 2019 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History The First Auction of LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History at Swann 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…
Read more about Lewis Evans: An Overview of Creating ‘General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America’ May 23, 2019 Maps & Atlases Lewis Evans: An Overview of Creating ‘General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America’ Lewis Evans’ General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America was one of the most significant and influential maps published in Colonial America. On it, Evans described the land beyond the…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature May 21, 2019 19th & 20th Century Literature Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature Rare Bond Titles Lead Literature at Swann John Larson: “The enduring appeal of inscribed first editions, particularly those with significant associations, was on full display and resulted in a number of high prices, including…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: American Art May 17, 2019 American Art Upcoming Highlights: American Art At Auction June 13 Complete Catalogue Exhibition Open June 8 – June 13 The exhibition is free to attend and open to the public. We welcome special and educational groups with…
Read more about Dramatized Sales Methods: How to close a sale in 1930 May 14, 2019 Vintage Posters Dramatized Sales Methods: How to close a sale in 1930 The art of salesmanship has long been dissected in search of methods to effectively and efficiently hook customers and close a deal. Our upcoming Graphic Design auction on May 23…
Read more about A Look at Roy Lichtenstein’s Early Works May 10, 2019 Contemporary Art A Look at Roy Lichtenstein’s Early Works Roy Lichtenstein is known for his commercial art-inspired works that provided parody through Pop Art and elevated the art of cartooning. Though all of his work maintains the semi-fantastical air…