May 9, 2019Kelsie JankowskiOld Master Through Modern Prints Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints Read more about Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints Zapata Sets Print Record for Diego Rivera at $45k With seven records and a standout selection of Latin American art, our sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints on Thursday, May 2 offered works by the greatest…
Read more about The Pride Sale May 3, 2019 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History The Pride Sale 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…
Read more about Ian Fleming First Editions: Books, Rare Books April 26, 2019 19th & 20th Century Literature Ian Fleming First Editions: Books, Rare Books On May 14, 2019, we are brought a selection of 13 Ian Fleming first editions to auction. Fleming, a former intelligence officer and journalist, debuted the stylish James Bond in…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Latin American Art April 24, 2019 Prints & Drawings Notes from the Catalogue: Latin American Art Our largest offering of Latin American prints and originals to date comes across the block in our Old Master Through Modern Prints sale May 2. Compiled into a separate catalogue,…
Read more about Records & Results: Photographs & Photobooks April 23, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Photographs & Photobooks Martín Chambi & Images of South America Lead Classic & Contemporary Photographs at Swann Our sale of Classic & Contemporary Photographs on Thursday, April 18 saw active bidding across all categories with early-twentieth-century photography, Humanist portraits and sublime images of nature…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana April 19, 2019 Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana Mexican Imprints Bring Significant Interest in Swann Americana Sale Our Printed & Manuscript Americana sale on Thursday, April 16 was the house’s third straight sale is the category to finish over $1,000,000, bringing several significant records.…
Read more about Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books April 17, 2019 Maps & Atlases Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books At Auction June 6 Complete Catalogue Exhibition Open June 1 – June 6 The exhibition is free to attend and open to the public. We welcome special and educational groups…
Read more about Manuscript Diaries Tell Tales of a Growing America April 11, 2019 Printed & Manuscript Americana Manuscript Diaries Tell Tales of a Growing America A West Point graduate blazes a trail from San Antonio to El Paso. A guard in one of the country’s most notorious prisons notes the silence of the inmates. A…
Read more about Records & Results: African-American Fine Art April 9, 2019 African American Art Records & Results: African-American Fine Art Artist Records for Amos, Leigh, Lovelace O’Neal, Pindell & More We saw strong results for African-American Fine Art on Thursday, April 4. Nigel Freeman, the house’s director of African-American Fine Art, noted, “I was happy to see…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana April 2, 2019 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana A Record for The Negro Travelers’ Green Book Among Printed & Manuscript African Americana at Swann Our Printed & Manuscript African Americana on Thursday, March 28 saw a sell-through rate of 90%, a record for the category. Enthusiastic bidding was seen across all…
Read more about Spring 2019: Illustration Art March 29, 2019 Illustration Art Spring 2019: Illustration Art At Auction June 4, 2019 Exhibition Opens May 30 – June 4 The exhibition is free to attend and open to the public. We welcome special and educational groups with…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: 19th & 20th Century Literature March 29, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Upcoming Highlights: 19th & 20th Century Literature At Auction May 14 Complete Catalogue This sale features significant material by the man behind everyone’s favorite MI6 agent, James Bond, including a first edition of Casino Royale, Ian Fleming’s…
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs March 28, 2019 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Auction Record for Mohawk Chief & Loyalist Joseph Brant at Swann Our Autographs sale on March 21 saw significant interest in Americana, scientists and popular figures. Of the sale Marco Tomaschett, the house’s autographs Specialist, noted: “Highest…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Howardena Pindell March 26, 2019 African American Art Notes from the Catalogue: Howardena Pindell Howardena Pindell is among the contemporary artists included in our April 4, 2019 sale of African-American Fine Art. Her work explores texture, color and structures often incorporating punched circles and…
Read more about Market Debuts: Artists to Watch in our April 4 Auction March 22, 2019 African American Art Market Debuts: Artists to Watch in our April 4 Auction Our April 4 sale of African-American Fine Art features four market newcomers, artists whose work has never before appeared at auction. Their work comes in a variety of mediums and…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Old Master Through Modern Prints March 13, 2019 Prints & Drawings Upcoming Highlights: Old Master Through Modern Prints Featuring Latin American Art At Auction May 2 Complete Catalogue A selection of Old Master prints includes highlights from Rembrandt and Albrecht Dürer, as well as iconic engravings from the…
Read more about Diana, Princess of Wales March 12, 2019 Autographs Diana, Princess of Wales Our sale of Autographs on March 21 features an extraordinary run of material by Diana, Princess of Wales. The assortment includes a number of autograph letters signed to her friend,…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Contemporary Art March 12, 2019 Contemporary Art Upcoming Highlights: Contemporary Art At Auction May 16 Complete Catalogue David Hockney’s Red Celia, a portrait of designer Celia Birtwell, for which Hockney looked to Picasso and Matisse for inspiration, is among the highlights,…
Read more about Records & Results: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books March 11, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books Illuminated Manuscripts Lead Early Printed Books at Swann Coinciding with Rare Book Week in New York City, our spring offering of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings March 8, 2019 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Ismar Littmann Family Collection Shines in Swann Galleries’ Prints & Drawings Sale Our sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings on March 5 earned $2.7M, with property from the Ismar Littmann Family Collection of German Expressionism &…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Classic & Contemporary Photographs March 5, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Upcoming Highlights: Classic & Contemporary Photographs At Auction April 18 Complete Catalogue Our diverse April auction bridges classical and contemporary visual idioms with important work, including Robert Mapplethorpe’s Lisa Lyon, Dorothea Lange’s emotive Korean Child,…
Read more about Graphic Design March 1, 2019 Vintage Posters Graphic Design At Auction May 23 Complete Catalogue Graphic Design continues to be a favorite among our poster auctions, with work by important designers like A.M. Cassandre, Charles Loupot, Ludwig Hohlwein, Jean…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript Americana March 1, 2019 Printed & Manuscript Americana Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript Americana At Auction April 16 Complete Catalogue This sale includes a dramatic Texan diary by William Farrar Smith, commanding an expedition to find the best trail from San Antonio to…
Read more about Records & Results: Photographs & Photobooks February 27, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Photographs & Photobooks A Record for Malick Sidibé in Swann Photo SaleVernacular albums of nineteenth-century India bring $30k Our sale of Photographs: Art & Visual Culture on February 21, a curated sale celebrating photographs as physical objects, saw success across the board with contemporary, twentieth-century and…
Read more about Swann Galleries’ Guide to Rare Book Week 2019 in NYC February 26, 2019 Early Printed Books Swann Galleries’ Guide to Rare Book Week 2019 in NYC Rare Book Week kicks off March 5 in NYC. We gathered a selection of our favorite events happening throughout the week, as well as several not-to-be-missed exhibitions. See you there!…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript African Americana February 23, 2019 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Upcoming Highlights: Printed & Manuscript African Americana At Auction March 28 Complete Catalogue A highlight is volume one, issue one of the Mirror of Liberty, July 1838–the first African-American periodical–edited by David Ruggles, and believed to be…
Read more about The Story of the Ismar Littmann Family Collection February 14, 2019 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings The Story of the Ismar Littmann Family Collection Our March 5 sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings will feature Property from the Ismar Littmann Family Collection of German Expressionism and European Avant-Garde. Director of Prints…
Read more about Records & Results: Vintage Posters February 13, 2019 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Vintage Posters Alphonse Mucha & Art Nouveau Lead Vintage Posters at Swann Our February 7 sale of Vintage Posters saw numerous firsts and records. Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann President, noted: “Lively bidding for ski posters and Art Nouveau images set…
Read more about In Your Hands or On the Wall: an Appreciation for the Tangible Photograph February 12, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks In Your Hands or On the Wall: an Appreciation for the Tangible Photograph Our upcoming sale of Photographs: Art & Visual Culture celebrates photographs as objects. Daile Kaplan, the house’s Director of Photographs & Photobooks, shares her appreciation of the tangible in the…
Read more about Highlights from the Ismar Littmann Family Collection of German Expressionism & European Avant-Garde February 11, 2019 Prints & Drawings Highlights from the Ismar Littmann Family Collection of German Expressionism & European Avant-Garde A Historic Collection Few collectors in Breslau during the early 1900s had a passion for connoisseurship, collecting and the visual arts equal to Ismar Littmann, who amassed more than 6,000…
Read more about Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics February 8, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics Georges Rouault’s Livres d’Artiste Lead Swann Galleries’ Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics We opened out 2019 season with Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics which boasted numerous auction records and several new buyers. …
Read more about Specialists in the Field: Nigel Freeman at the Wallach Art Gallery February 8, 2019 African American Art Specialists in the Field: Nigel Freeman at the Wallach Art Gallery Nigel Freeman, our African-American Fine Art director, stopped by the Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University to view Posing Modernity: The Black Model from Manet and Matisse to Today. Here are Nigel’s takeaways on the exhibition: Posing Modernity is a…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings February 4, 2019 Prints & Drawings Upcoming Highlights: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Featuring Property from the Ismar Littmann Family Collection of German Expressionism & European Avant-Garde At Auction March 5 Complete Catalogue Our morning session will begin with Property from the…
Read more about The Posters on Your Shelf: Scarce Books & Portfolios January 31, 2019 Vintage Posters The Posters on Your Shelf: Scarce Books & Portfolios At the end of the nineteenth century, the craze of poster collecting was at an all-time high. As a result, publishers formed subscription services in limited runs so that the…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights – Photographs: Art & Visual Culture January 21, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Upcoming Highlights – Photographs: Art & Visual Culture At Auction February 21 Complete Catalogue This auction features Robert Frank’s Yom Kippur, East River, New York, 1955, printed 1971; Robert Mapplethorpe’s Roy Cohn, 1981; André Kertész’s signed…
Read more about How to Never Miss a Drop of the Hammer January 18, 2019 Auctions 101 How to Never Miss a Drop of the Hammer with Swann Galleries’ App Live online bidding is seamless with Swann Galleries’ App, where you can browse catalogues and bid live, with no extra fees. Another bonus? You can watch lots,…
Read more about Cheloniidae: Sea Turtles January 17, 2019 Books & Manuscripts Cheloniidae: Sea Turtles The Richard Lee Callaway Collection of Alan James Robinson & the Cheloniidae Press The collection of the late Richard Lee Callaway forms the cornerstone of the fine printing and…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Vintage Posters January 9, 2019 Vintage Posters Upcoming Highlights: Vintage Posters At Auction February 7 Complete Catalogue Our winter sale features tantalizing, rare Art Nouveau images and a panoply of evocative Ski and Winter Resort advertisements. In addition to…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics December 26, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Upcoming Highlights: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics At Auction January 29 Complete Catalogue Taking place during Bibliography Week in New York City, this auction focuses on fine twentieth-century livres d’artiste. Among a large number of Art…
Read more about 2018: Year in Review December 21, 2018 Swann 2018: Year in Review A year of records, debuts and rediscovered works. As we reflect on 2018, we look back at an excellent year of auctions. In April we held our highest-grossing African-American Fine Art…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 17, 2018 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Runaway Currier & Ives Print with Special Ties to Thomas W. Streeter Sets Record at Swann We closed out our fall season with a marathon sale of Maps &…
Read more about How to Consign to an Auction December 14, 2018 Auctions 101 How to Consign to an Auction Thinking about selling at auction? Allow us to be of assistance. Swann is a third-generation family business and the oldest specialty auction house in New York City, known for our…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art December 10, 2018 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art Illustration Art Sale at Swann Sets Six Records Al Hirschfeld’s Marx Brothers Tops Auction at $26k Our auction of Illustration Art on December 6 saw a bustling auction room…
Read more about Across the Continent: a Currier & Ives print with ties to Thomas W. Streeter December 5, 2018 Maps & Atlases Across the Continent: a Currier & Ives print with ties to Thomas W. Streeter Among the many unique and impressive rarities in our December 13 Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books sale is Across the Continent, 1868, by Currier & Ives. Significant for…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: African-American Fine Art December 3, 2018 African American Art Upcoming Highlights: African-American Fine Art At Auction April 4 Complete Catalogue A powerful charcoal drawing by Charles White, Caliban, 1950, is one of the top lots in the sale. Never exhibited publicly, this rediscovered…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Autographs December 2, 2018 Autographs Upcoming Highlights: Autographs At Auction March 21 Complete Catalogue This spring auction brings an assortment of hard-to-find items from world leaders, writers, musicians, scientists and other notable figures. Presidential autographs include a…
Read more about Rockwell Kent & The League of American Writers November 27, 2018 Illustration Art Rockwell Kent & The League of American Writers “To All Fascists:” One of the most remarkable pieces in our December 6 Illustration Art auction is a calligraphed broadside with a statement signed by members of The League of…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books November 20, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Upcoming Highlights: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books At Auction March 7 Complete Catalogue Early manuscripts, incunabula, and post-incunabula lead the sale. These include a richly illuminated manuscript prayer book in Latin and French from the second…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature November 15, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature Signed & Inscribed Oscar Wilde Play Leads Literature Auction SciFi Works Continue to Prove to be Popular in Swann Literature Sales Book collectors from far and wide partook in…
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs November 12, 2018 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Letters from a Young Kurt Vonnegut Top Autographs Auction Collectors Drawn to Autographs of Innovators Our auction of Autographs on Thursday, November 8 saw major interest in notable authors…