Sarah McMillan on the Reba W. & Dave H. Williams Collection of Color Woodcuts
Reba W. and Dave H. Williams began their collection in the mid-1970s and amassed one of the largest and most prestigious collections of American prints in the world.
Reba W. and Dave H. Williams began their collection in the mid-1970s and amassed one of the largest and most prestigious collections of American prints in the world.
The April 15, 2025, sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints at Swann will feature an array of standout material including the Reba W. & Dave H. Williams Collection of Color Woodcuts.
Featuring prints, drawings, paintings, sculptures by Mary Cassatt, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Wifredo Lam, Fernand Léger, Martin Lewis, Henri Matisse, Diego Rivera, Egon Schiele, Paul Signac, James A.M. Whistler, and Francisco Zúñiga.
Our Thursday, March 5, 2020 sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings saw success: “With more internet bidding, particularly via the Swann App, than any previous sale in the 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings category at Swann, with action from across the United States, Europe and Asia, and nearly 20% of buyers new to Swann. The most robust sections of the auction were the American prints and modern European prints and drawings,” noted Todd Weyman, the house’s director of prints and drawings.
The color woodcut is best known for being one of the most difficult printmaking methods, but artists over the centuries have continually engaged with this medium, innovating new techniques to cut into a raw piece of wood or linoleum, transforming it into an image that inspires.
Prints, paintings and drawings include examples by Jean-François Millet, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Rufino Tamayo, Diego Rivera and others.