Explore groundbreaking examples of postwar abstract and figurative art in this April auction, showcasing significant works from the mid-century to contemporary periods.
Swann Galleries offered the single-owner collection of African American art, Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim, on Thursday, February 6. The auction was an overall success, with 98% of…
Jennifer Stewart, art collector, advisor, and friend of Patricia Scipio-Brim, recounts her friendship with Patricia, their shared love of art, and Patricia’s sharp eye for collecting. I first met Pat…
Patricia Scipio-Brim (1947 – 2023) was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, the first of six siblings. She immigrated to New York in the 1970s after she graduated from…
Swann Galleries proudly presents 80 works honoring the legacy and enterprise of a trailblazing collector, showcasing postwar and contemporary Black art with a focus on abstraction.
Swann Galleries is very proud to have been the first auction house to sell the paintings of the great late Barkley Hendricks beginning in 2009. We were also the first…
After 10 years with Swann and the reorganization of the house’s fine art offerings, Lisa Crescenzo is now the Managing Director of Fine Art. As she transitions into her new…
African American Art Sets Six Artist Records The Thursday, October 3, 2024, sale of African American Art at Swann brought $3M and saw top prices for artists, with six records…
I create from the rhythmic color-rappin’-lifestyle of Black folk. I believe that art can breathe life, and life is what we are about. — Nelson Stevens Early Life Born in…
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…
Suzanne Jackson’s painting There is Something Between Us brings together two legendary figures from two very different worlds. The arenas of professional sports and contemporary art have little in common…
In the 2024 Winter-Spring season, Swann Galleries continued to provide high-quality auctions of unusual and rare material. Several single-owner collections were featured, including Illustration Art: Featuring Highlights from the Collection…
Swann Galleries’ April 4, 2024 sale of African American Art brought crowds back to the sale room with a selection of standout modernist works alongside a contemporary selection sold to…
The landmark exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism at the Met here in New York has brought deserved new attention to the visual art achievements of the Harlem Renaissance…
This season’s African American Art auction features an array of Harlem Renaissance pieces, post-war figurative art, and contemporary art.
Swann Galleries’ October 19 sale of African American Art proved consistent among new contemporary artists and auction house favorites. Regarding the auction, department director Nigel Freeman noted, “I’m very happy…
Here we take a look at five ceramic artists we’ve brought to the market over the past few years whose practices vary in subjectivity, aesthetic manipulation, and objective thought.
In 1946, in what would become the last year of their brief marriage, Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White shared a career-changing experience living and working in Mexico City. They had…
The October 19, 2023, sale of African American Art will feature exceptional modern and contemporary works of abstract and figurative art. The top lot in the auction is Moon Madness,…
The March 2023 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana brings $1.3M making it the highest-grossing sale for the category and the third-largest sale for Swann’s books and manuscripts department.
Spring has just about sprung, and Swann Galleries’ resident Americana specialist, and director of the house’s books and manuscripts department, is sharing a selection of lots from the 2023 auction schedule that will put you in the spirit for the season.
Our April 6 African American Art auction features an exciting range of scarce and significant art from the Harlem Renaissance to the contemporary. We are thrilled to offer an outstanding…
2022 was a historic year for Swann in more ways than one. The house celebrated its 80th year of auctions, bringing with it the 70th anniversary of the first photography…
Swann Galleries kicked the final month of 2022 off with a sale of Modern & Post-War Art featuring Alma Thomas & the Washington Scene on December 1 to great fanfare.…
Alma Thomas: Early Life & Career Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1891, Alma Thomas was the eldest of four daughters in a family immersed in art and culture. The Thomas…
Swann Galleries’ October 6, 2022 sale of African American Art delivered $3.7M with auction debuts and records for artists in the top 15 lots of the auction.
Director Nigel Freeman shares his top eight lots to watch in the October 8, 2022 sale. Jacob Lawrence’s Westchester Graduation Ball, 1951 In June 1951, Westchester African American community leaders,…
The winter-spring auction season at Swann is a masterclass in marathon training, and the 2022 iteration proved no different with 20 auctions held between late January and the middle of August.
Abstract Artists From Alma Thomas to Jack Whitten Here we explore Black artists who have expanded abstract techniques that showcase unique aesthetics while examining current events, visually composing perceptive senses…
The spring 2022 offering of African American Art closed out the March auctions at Swann with an exceptional marathon sale bringing $3.6M and seeing an 89% sell-through rate with 214 of the 241 lots on offer finding buyers.
On Monday, March 28, ahead of our spring 2022 sale of African American Art, department director Nigel Freeman sat down with collector Bernard I. Lumpkin for a conversation on the growing legacy of his family collection.
“I cannot begin to project the meaning of my work in specific terms, for [my] paintings, at their best, are multi-faceted visual complexes whose many aspects are pregnant with as…
I Am a Black Woman: Elizabeth Catlett & Representation in Art Elizabeth Catlett’s landmark contributions to twentieth-century art begin in the 1940s with a new representation of African American women.…
Join Us Monday, March 28, 2022 at 7:00PM ET Join Swann Director of African American Art Nigel Freeman, for a discussion on the growing legacy of The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection…
Our spring auction of African American Art features many scarce and significant postwar and contemporary artworks. The sale’s top lot is a large 1948 painting by Norman Lewis—Lewis’s striking organic…
As we close out another successful year at Swann we look back at our record-filled sales.
This past summer Swann held its first auction devoted to works by women. We are pleased to annouce another edition of this sale, to be held in June 2022, once again spearheaded by Devon Eastland, our Early Printed Books Specialist, but offering a wide assortment of material
Printmaking has a long history of making the fine art world at large more accessible internationally, due to its affordability and impact. This can be seen in the efforts of…
“Stone imposes a certain discipline which cannot be ignored.” The October 7, 2021 African American Art auction includes two impressive carved sculptures by Elizabeth Catlett which bookend her half-century practice…
Early Printed Book, Archives, Vernacular and Fine Art Photography, Among other Material, Draws Interest Among Collectors The house’s inaugural Focus on Women sale on Thursday, July 15, 2021 brought $333,893…
What You Need to Know on Auction Day This auction will be held live and conducted remotely. There will not be bidding in the room, though we accept order bids,…
Auction Brings $3.9 Million – Second-Highest Grossing Sale in Department Thirteen-Year History Our spring offering of African American Art on April 22, 2021 was the second highest-grossing sale in the…
Howardena Pindell, Betye Saar, Vanessa German, Bisa Butler, and Dindga McCannon are assemblage artists that apply found items and fabrics that previously held different uses or significance.
The Delaney brothers became well-known painters in the downtown New York art scene in the 1930s and 40s—while each followed their own distinct artistic path. Sibling artists both finding success in the New York art world is a scarce but not unheard of occurrence, yet there are very few African American visual artist siblings known today, and no other pair quite like Beauford and Joseph Delaney.
With the arrival of baseball’s Opening Day, spring is truly here. Swann does not handle baseball memorabilia in the traditional sense, leaving the encapsulated gem-mint rookie cards and game-worn jerseys to…
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,…
