November 3, 2011Swann Communications19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Penises and Pompadours: The Erotic Art of Franz von Bayros Read more about Penises and Pompadours: The Erotic Art of Franz von Bayros Decadent! Erotic! Phantasmagoric! Fin-de-siècle grotesqueries! Gents and ladies disporting themselves, occasionally with a zealous attention by attending friends from the animal kingdom! The provocative work of Austrian artist Franz von…
Read more about A Freudian Slip of Paper: 1933 Analysis Bill Comes to Auction October 28, 2011 Autographs A Freudian Slip of Paper: 1933 Analysis Bill Comes to Auction Despite the waning influence of his work in contemporary psychology, Sigmund Freud’s ideas, personality, and image continue to attract admirers. Freud’s importance to western culture is demonstrated by the widespread…
Read more about Atelier 17: Europe and the Early Years October 10, 2011 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Atelier 17: Europe and the Early Years The informal co-operative printmaking workshop that English painter and draftsman Stanley William Hayter opened in 1927 had its modest and unforeseen beginnings at his own dilapidated studio in Paris. In 1933 he moved…
Read more about James A.M. Whistler: Three Print Records Set September 28, 2011 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings James A.M. Whistler: Three Print Records Set Our September 2011 auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings set three auction records for prints by important artists. Furthering our position as the leading auction house for…
Read more about Robert Scott Duncanson’s East Coast Debut May 11, 2011 African American Art Robert Scott Duncanson’s East Coast Debut Robert Scott Duncanson was the first African-American landscape painter to achieve international recognition. The son of a biracial tradesman from Virginia, and the grandson of a freed slave, Duncanson apprenticed in…
Read more about Books Arts or Art Books? Call Them What You Will May 5, 2011 Art Press & Illustrated Books Books Arts or Art Books? Call Them What You Will There is a sign tacked to the cork board of the Art & Illustrated Books Department clipped from a forgotten source years ago that states: “What’s the difference between artist’s…
Read more about The Four Gospels: One of the Most Important Fine Press Books of the Last Century April 4, 2011 Art Press & Illustrated Books The Four Gospels: One of the Most Important Fine Press Books of the Last Century The 1931 Golden Cockerel Press edition of the Four Gospels set the text of the King James Gospels into a masterly example of book design and is considered one of…
January 21, 2011 African American Art Romare Bearden: Celebrating One Hundred Years Romare Bearden is undoubtedly one of America’s greatest artists. Today, his collages are viewed as some of the most unique and significant contributions to 20th century American art. Born during…
Read more about Andy Warhol’s Index Book December 6, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Andy Warhol’s Index Book Finely packaged and replete with surprises, Andy Warhol’s Index (Book), included in Thursday’s Important Photographs & Photobooks auction, introduces Warhol’s parallel themes of charming whimsy, and his brilliant upending of…
Read more about Irving Penn and Alexandra Beller November 30, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Irving Penn and Alexandra Beller Irving Penn is associated with fine photographs of fashionable women. An innovative artist and master technician, Penn recognized that editorial photography was but one form of representation and moved effortlessly…
Read more about Feminism, Surrealism and the Theater in Claude Cahun’s Photographs November 23, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Feminism, Surrealism and the Theater in Claude Cahun’s Photographs The majority of photographer Claude Cahun’s imagery is associated with the feminist Surrealist movement. Her artwork focuses on issues related to gender and identity, with a particular emphasis on sexual…
Read more about Lloyd Goodrich and Reginald Marsh November 15, 2010 American Art Lloyd Goodrich and Reginald Marsh This Thursday’s American Art sale includes several items from the collection of Lloyd Goodrich, one of the most distinguished American art historians of the 20th century and Director of the…
Read more about Whistler’s ‘Nocturne’: Our Most Expensive Print October 29, 2010 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Whistler’s ‘Nocturne’: Our Most Expensive Print Our October 27 & 28, 2010 two-part print sale, which began with Whistler and His Influence on Wednesday, set records. James A. M. Whistler’s Nocturne became the most expensive Whistler print…
Read more about James A.M. Whistler and Lithography October 25, 2010 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings James A.M. Whistler and Lithography James A. M. Whistler’s work in lithography dates from three distinct periods of his career. His two earliest lithographs, from 1855, were made in the U.S. just prior to his…
Read more about Whistler, London and the Thames October 21, 2010 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Whistler, London and the Thames When James A.M. Whistler moved from Paris to London in May 1859, the city became his adopted home for the rest of his life. The scenery along the Thames was…
Read more about Yesterday’s Top Lots: Fine Photographs & Select Photobooks October 20, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Yesterday’s Top Lots: Fine Photographs & Select Photobooks The Fine Photographs & Select Photobooks auction yesterday, October 19, 2010, saw much interest in a large selection of photojournalism, as well as a photograph by Annie Leibovitz of John…
Read more about Handmade John F. Kennedy Albums October 13, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Handmade John F. Kennedy Albums As a boy, Robert A. Cumins, now a prominent photojournalist, was fascinated with President John F. Kennedy’s administration. A local newspaperman who knew of Cumins’s interest in JFK passed along…
Read more about First Known Reference to Baseball at Yale September 30, 2010 Printed & Manuscript Americana First Known Reference to Baseball at Yale James Beebee Brinsmade Jr.’s diary offers intimate details of what life was like on Yale University’s campus in the 1840s. Brinsmade’s two-volume diary appears at auction today in the Printed…
Read more about David Hammons Garners International Recognition for African-American Art September 29, 2010 African American Art David Hammons Garners International Recognition for African-American Art Contemporary African-American artist David Hammons is known for his body prints and assemblages of found objects, such as his fly swatter. His oversize version of an African-American flag hangs outside the Studio…
Read more about Daile Kaplan on Ansel Adams & the Value of a Photograph August 24, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Daile Kaplan on Ansel Adams & the Value of a Photograph With the unfolding story surrounding a box of photographic negatives discovered in California, which were originally reported to have been taken by esteemed photographer Ansel Adams, many questions have popped…
Read more about Scenes of the City: Prints, Drawings & Paintings of New York August 23, 2010 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Scenes of the City: Prints, Drawings & Paintings of New York Scenes of the City: Prints, Drawings & Paintings of New York is an important collection of some of the finest and most significant examples of 19th and 20th century New…
Read more about Bob Thompson and the 1960s New York Art Scene June 17, 2010 African American Art Bob Thompson and the 1960s New York Art Scene Bob Thompson stood apart from most of his contemporaries in the early 1960s. On one hand, he was the epitome of a New York bohemian artist working in a Clinton…
Read more about Gordon Matta-Clark: Walls Paper, Deconstructed May 18, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Gordon Matta-Clark: Walls Paper, Deconstructed Gordon Matta-Clark, whose work is featured in the Photographic Literature portion of Thursday’s sale, brought an inspired and playful quality to his highly experimental and diverse art projects. All speak…
Read more about Imogen Cunningham’s Magnolia Blossom May 6, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Imogen Cunningham’s Magnolia Blossom Imogen Cunningham’s life-long love for flora, combined with her keen understanding of line, textural contrast and lighting, bring forth the magnolia blossom’s pure form and soft sensuality through shadow and…
Read more about Alexey Brodovitch: Ballet April 30, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Alexey Brodovitch: Ballet Both sections of the May 20, 2010 Photographic Literature and Important Photographs auction at Swann feature highlight items by Alexey Brodovitch, the late Harper’s Bazaar art director and photographer. Brodovitch’s…
April 26, 2010 Early Printed Books The Inventory of the late Lawrence Feinberg Deborah Chaleff and Jacqueline Feinberg introduce the Early Printed Books & Manuscripts from the Inventory of the late Lawrence Feinberg sale on May 11, 2010 at Swann:“Lawrence Feinberg was originally…
Read more about The Otto Penzler Collection of British Espionage and Thriller Fiction March 15, 2010 19th & 20th Century Literature The Otto Penzler Collection of British Espionage and Thriller Fiction Any collector knows that the reasons behind a particular collection are often just as fascinating as the collection itself. Otto Penzler, proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York, and…
Read more about Bill Clinton’s American Dream March 8, 2010 Photographs & Photobooks Bill Clinton’s American Dream President Bill Clinton discusses his idea of the American Dream in the introduction to our catalogue for The Stephen L. White Photograph Collection.
Read more about Hammons, or World’s Most Expensive Fly Swatter? February 25, 2010 African American Art Hammons, or World’s Most Expensive Fly Swatter? Among the top lots in the February 23, 2010 auction of African-American Fine Art was a unique Fly Swatter created in 1992 by contemporary artist David Hammons, which sold for…
Read more about James Amos Porter Archive Comes to Auction January 29, 2010 Printed & Manuscript African Americana James Amos Porter Archive Comes to Auction Among the highlights of our 15th annual auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana is an incredible archive comprising James Amos Porter’s African-American Art History Reference materials. The lot contains…
Read more about Malvin Gray Johnson Painting in Swann African-American Fine Art Auction February 2010 December 22, 2009 African American Art Malvin Gray Johnson Painting in Swann African-American Fine Art Auction February 2010 Swann Galleries’ auction of African-American Fine Art on February 23, 2010, will offer approximately 160 lots from many notable collections and estates, including several museum-quality works. The sale’s top lot,…
December 3, 2009 Photographs & Photobooks The Photobook and Conceptual Art Sol LeWitt, Autobiography, illustrated with more than 1,000 reproductions of LeWitt’s sequential photographs of his apartment and possessions, first edition, New York, 1980. Estimate $1,500 to $2,500. Conceptual Art first…
December 2, 2009 Photographs & Photobooks Ansel Adams’s ‘Moonrise’ at Auction December 2009 Ansel Adams’s position in the pantheon of master photographers is assured by his magisterial studies of the American landscape. Swann is pleased to offer Moonrise Over Hernandez in two iterations—a…
Read more about Lewis W. Hine, America’s First Photojournalist October 16, 2009 Photographs & Photobooks Lewis W. Hine, America’s First Photojournalist Among the highlights in our October 22, 2009 Photographs & Photographic Literature auction is a stunning array of 15 images by social reformer-cum-photographer, Lewis W. Hine. His photographs addressed issues…
October 14, 2009 African American Art Alma Thomas Paintings Hang in White House A painting by Alma Thomas will be hung in the White House during the Obama administration! Sky Light, 1973 (left), and Watusi (Hard Edge), 1963 (right), by Alma Thomas,…
October 14, 2009 Autographs A Brilliant Lot: Letter Signed by Thomas Edison Swann Galleries will be offering illuminating material related to scientists and inventors in its auction of Autographs on October 29. Among the many highlights is a Letter Signed by Thomas…
Read more about William Henry Fox Talbot: Father of Modern Photography October 13, 2009 Photographs & Photobooks William Henry Fox Talbot: Father of Modern Photography Swann’s October 22 Photographs auction offers several salted paper prints by William Henry Fox Talbot, which date from the early days of photography. Depicted in lush brown tones and compelling…
October 5, 2009 Photographs & Photobooks Diane Arbus and the American Art Scene Among the highlights in our October 22 auction of Photographs & Photographic Literature are portraits by Diane Arbus of key figures in the American Art Scene for a 1966 story…
Read more about Spotlight on John Biggers’s ‘Shotguns’ September 23, 2009 African American Art Spotlight on John Biggers’s ‘Shotguns’ The image that graces the cover of the auction catalogue for Swann Galleries’ sale of African-American Fine Art on Thursday, October 8, 2009, is John Biggers’s powerful 1987 oil and…
Read more about Richard L. Brown Painting to be Offered in October 2009 September 17, 2009 African American Art Richard L. Brown Painting to be Offered in October 2009 Our October 8, 2009 auction of African-American Fine Art featured the Richard L. Brown painting Mt. Monadnock, 1911, which sold for $7,200.
Read more about Cornelius Marion Battey Photographic Portraits Discovered September 16, 2009 African American Art Cornelius Marion Battey Photographic Portraits Discovered Our October 8, 2009 African-American Fine Art auction marks the first time that early photographer Cornelius Marion Battey’s photographic portraits will come to auction. These photographs were recently discovered in…
Read more about Collection of Rare and Important Bibles to be Offered at Swann in 2009 August 13, 2009 Printed & Manuscript Americana Collection of Rare and Important Bibles to be Offered at Swann in 2009 Two of Swann Galleries’ autumn 2009 auctions feature desirable Bibles from the collection of Mel and Julie Meadows—it is the largest offering of Bibles to come up for auction in recent years.
Read more about Howard Hughes Material to be Offered in September 17, 2009 Sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana July 20, 2009 Printed & Manuscript Americana Howard Hughes Material to be Offered in September 17, 2009 Sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana Swann will kick off our fall season with an auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana September 17, 2009 which features an archive of material related to the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.
Read more about Swann President Nicholas D. Lowry on the Recession May 21, 2009 Swann Swann President Nicholas D. Lowry on the Recession Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann President and Current President of the International Auctioneers consortium, recently shared his thoughts on the impact of the economic downturn on the auction business.
Read more about Elizabeth Catlett Speaks at MoMA May 20, 2009 African American Art Elizabeth Catlett Speaks at MoMA Conversations: Among Friends – May 19, 2009 On May 19, 2009, 94-year-old Elizabeth Catlett and David C. Driskell shared “Conversations: Among Friends,” at the Museum of Modern Art. Driskell, a…