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December 21, 2020
Author: Kelsie Jankowski

@swanngalleries on Instagram

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swanngalleries

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

Fine Books are at auction October 24. Previewing S

Fine Books are at auction October 24. Previewing Saturday, October 19 and Monday, October 21, through Wednesday, October 23 — 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 a detail from an image in lot 233, a WWI photo album featuring rare photos of Ernest Hemingway documenting his Volunteer Service in the Ambulance Corps. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

MoMA’s Black Arts Council stopped by for a walkt

MoMA’s Black Arts Council stopped by for a walkthrough of our African American Art exhibition earlier this week ahead of the October 3 auction.

Swann Galleries is honored to be presenting a grou

Swann Galleries is honored to be presenting a group of artworks in our October 3 auction from the estate of Dr. Constance E. Clayton (1933-2022). Lots 28-48 includes a group from her significant collection of African American Art featuring landscapes and still life paintings, including works by Aaron Douglas, Henry Bozeman Jones, Edward L. Loper, Sr., Charles Ethan Porter and Louis B. Sloan. In Dr. Clayton’s distinguished career as a national leader in education, her work was centered on improving the educational opportunities for students and stressed the importance of African American art and culture. In addition, Dr. Clayton committed herself to furthering the presence of African American artists and scholars within the art institutions of Philadelphia.⁠
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Visit the link in our bio to learn more.

Last night's Swann Salon celebrating Elizabeth Cat

Last night's Swann Salon celebrating Elizabeth Catlett ⁠
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Our African American Art sale is tomorrow, Thursday, October 3, at 12:00 PM ET. Visit the link in our bio to browse the catalogue.

Suzanne Jackson’s 'There is Something Between Us

Suzanne Jackson’s 'There is Something Between Us,' bridges the world of professional sports and contemporary art—especially for Boston fans. Jackson and Celtics icon Bill Russell lived in Los Angeles in 1972—a city where black athletes and artists crossed paths in a thriving cultural scene when Russell acquired the painting on the opening day of Jackson’s first solo exhibition at Ankrum Gallery in 1972. Read more about the connection at the link in our bio.

Thursday's sale of African American Art features s

Thursday's sale of African American Art features standout works by AfriCOBRA artist Nelson Stevens. Specialist Corey Serrant shares a brief history of the artist's career at the link in our bio. ⁠
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Pictured here is:⁠
1. 'Uhuru,' color screenprint, 1971. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.⁠
2. 'Uhuru - Nina,' acrylic on canvas, 1978. Estimate $60,000 to $90,000.

The African American Art exhibition opens today at

The African American Art exhibition opens today at 12:00 PM ET.

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

SWANN SALON | Join us for an evening with the Afri

SWANN SALON | Join us for an evening with the African American Art department as we salute the great Elizabeth Catlett and celebrate the recent openings of Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies.

Hear our specialists discuss Catlett’s legacy and other artworks in the Thursday, October 3 auction.

Register at the link in our bio.

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "I'm in love with this little

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "I'm in love with this little silver dollar which charmingly conceals a beautiful array of tiny nineteenth-century views of New York. It was produced by Rand McNally in 1876 for the centennial of American independence and survives, as far as I can tell, in a single other example located at the University of Virginia. It's one of those perfect little pieces you'd only find at Swann, and an ideal offering in our New York sale." — Caleb Kiffer, Specialist, Maps & Atlases⁠
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Lot 16 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "Designed by Daniel Burnham at

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "Designed by Daniel Burnham at the turn of the twentieth century, the Flatiron Building was considered a groundbreaking skyscraper in the United States due to its early steel skeleton structure and triangular design. Today, it remains one of the most iconic buildings in New York.⁠
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Upon completion in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in the city, and its magnificence has been beautifully recorded by Steichen in this evocative photograph in 1904. With its atmospheric yet modernist aura, the photograph captures the interplay between the tree branches in the foreground, the carioles on the rainy streets, and the newly built Flatiron that we can distinguish in the background at dusk.⁠
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Until today, this image stands as an iconic depiction of the building and a groundbreaking image in terms of pictorialist aesthetic. Steichen made three color variations in brown, blue-green, and yellow-green-black by using different proportions of pigments in each gum process over platinum. These prints are extremely rare on the market. The best-known greenish variation was popularized as a three-color halftone print by Alfred Stieglitz in the publication Camera Work XIV in 1906." — Alice Le Campion, Specialist, Photographs⁠
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Lot 26 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

Old Master Through Modern Prints are at auction Oc

Old Master Through Modern Prints are at auction October 17. Previewing Saturday, October 12, and Monday, October 14 through Wednesday, October 16 — 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 183: Gustave Baumann, 'Road of a Morning,' color woodcut, 1916. Estimate $5,000 to $8,000.

The New York Sale is back on Thursday, September 2

The New York Sale is back on Thursday, September 26, after a 23 year hiatus!

Here Nicholas D. Lowry shares a few vintage posters from the auction featuring lady liberty 🗽

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "The signature book kept at Ne

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "The signature book kept at New York's Ye Olde Tavern in the early 20th century is certainly not the most important or most valuable lot in the New York Sale. It might be the most fun, though. ⁠
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Ye Olde Tavern on Duane Street was one of one of the city's most beloved dive bars in its day. The building had once housed an "African School" run by the Manumission Society through the 1840s and then a whalebone factory. Then, as the whaling trade disappeared, the owner turned the ground floor into Ye Olde Tavern. ⁠
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The management kept a large blank ledger book by the front door and invited their guests to sign their names or scrawl whatever other contributions their beer-addled brains were able to produce. College fraternities and other clubs would often rent the tavern and sign in large groups. ⁠
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Author Elbert Hubbard, in 1914, a year before his death on the Lusitania, scribbled what we suspect is an affectionate but accurate review into this signature book: "This is the place that has capitalized on its cockroaches, banked on its bacteria, and makes money out of its must. Like the place, and its grub." ⁠
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In 1920, the last whalebone shop in the city closed its doors forever, and with it, Ye Olde Tavern disappeared as well. The building still stands at 161 Duane, with its "Whalebone" sign still hanging proudly." — Rick Stattler, Director, Books & Manuscripts⁠
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Lot 177 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "This surprising classic of mi

SPECIALIST'S PICK | "This surprising classic of mid-century modern design is not only my favorite poster in the auction but also one of my all-time favorites. It is surprising because of two factors: its rarity—as we have only ever encountered this one copy before and have yet to see a second one on the market. The other factor is that it was done for a small, rather insignificant ocean liner company that sailed one-funnel vessels between South Africa and New York, the kind of company from which one would not expect great advertising art. The view of Manhattan is spectacular: the city is depicted amidst the raking shadows cast by enormously tall buildings, half at night and half by day. Its towers and spires, bridges, water towers, etc., and the brilliant night lights of Times Square explode out from between the dark canyons of buildings like a lava lamp. The colors and angles and images give the poster a dynamic nature which is suggestive of the fast-paced streets of New York and the energy of the city in general." — Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann President⁠
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Lot 157 coming to auction September 26. To browse the complete catalogue and register to bid visit the link in our bio.⁠

In viewing mid-century modern posters depicting Ne

In viewing mid-century modern posters depicting New York City, it is a curious surprise to find a direct graphic line drawn between 1947 and 1956, as four of the most prominent (and spectacular) of these posters display a visual connection that is incontrovertible. Although almost never seen side by side, these four posters allow us to watch, almost in real-time, as design ideas are synthesized and developed, where new concepts are built on the backs of existing designs and previous elements are expanded upon and improved. At the link in our bio, @nicholowry shares the through-line between the four images. ⁠

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