February 24, 2020Kelsie JankowskiBooks & Manuscripts Jane Austen Rules Winter 2020 Fine Books & Manuscripts Read more about Jane Austen Rules Winter 2020 Fine Books & Manuscripts Swann Galleries saw a successful sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts on Thursday, February 20 with literature and autographs bringing strong numbers.
Read more about Hawaiian-Language Schoolbook Makes its Market Debut at $68k in Fall 2019 Maps & Atlases Sale December 19, 2019 Maps & Atlases Hawaiian-Language Schoolbook Makes its Market Debut at $68k in Fall 2019 Maps & Atlases Sale Swann Galleries closed out the decade with a marathon sale of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books on Tuesday, December 17. The auction brought $910,087 and saw a 93% sell-through rate. Highlights included rare cartographic publications from Hawaii, atlases from across the globe and historic prints.
Read more about Auction Record for Ilonka Karasz in Fall 2019 Illustration Art Sale December 12, 2019 Illustration Art Auction Record for Ilonka Karasz in Fall 2019 Illustration Art Sale Swann Galleries’ sale of Illustration Art on Tuesday, December 10 featured an array of original works, from well-known characters of children’s literature to striking New Yorker covers and theater designs. The auction was a success, with seven of the top 20 lots ultimately acquired by institutions.
Read more about Edward S. Curtis & Irving Penn Shine in Fall 2019 Classic & Contemporary Photographs October 22, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Edward S. Curtis & Irving Penn Shine in Fall 2019 Classic & Contemporary Photographs Swann’s Thursday, October 17 sale of Classic & Contemporary Photographs featured a broad range of photographic material including works by Edward S. Curtis, Irving Penn, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange and W. Eugene Smith.
Read more about Archives Revealing Information on Slavery & the Underground Railroad Lead Fall 2019 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana October 3, 2019 Printed & Manuscript Americana Archives Revealing Information on Slavery & the Underground Railroad Lead Fall 2019 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana The September 26 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana was an overall success with material relating to slavery & the Underground Railroad leading the sale.
Read more about Rare Martin Lewis Etching Debuts in Fall 2019 Prints & Drawings Sale September 26, 2019 Prints & Drawings Rare Martin Lewis Etching Debuts in Fall 2019 Prints & Drawings Sale Swann Galleries opened the fall 2019 season with an exceptional sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings featuring an auction debut for a rare early print by Martin Lewis and a record price for a print by Edvard Munch.
Read more about Record Prices and Market Debuts Abound in Summer 2019 Sale of Vintage Posters August 14, 2019 Vintage Posters Record Prices and Market Debuts Abound in Summer 2019 Sale of Vintage Posters Our summer sale of Vintage Posters on August 7, 2019, was a lively event with active bidding across all platforms bringing six record prices and a number of posters to market for the first time.
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings September 25, 2018 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Architectural Splendor Shines at Swann Galleries The fall season opened on September 20 with a marathon sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings earning more than $2.4…
Read more about Records & Results: Vintage Posters August 7, 2018 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Vintage Posters Poster Passion Leads to a Successful Auction Our August 1 Vintage Poster sale set at least six auction records, including a new high price for Sutro Baths. The exhibition for…
Read more about 2017-18 Year in Review June 25, 2018 Swann 2017-18 Year in Review The 2017-18 auction season at Swann Galleries was replete with record prices and rediscovered paintings, offering works created as early as the fifteenth century and as recently as last year.…
Read more about Records & Results: Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler IIII June 25, 2018 Autographs Records & Results: Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler IIII On June 21, our auction of Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III saw a 91% sell-through rate for important autographs, letters and documents from some of…
Read more about Records & Results: American Art June 18, 2018 American Art Records & Results: American Art Our auction of American Art on June 14 offered original works by bastions of the category including William Glackens and John Singer Sargent, as well as artists whose work has…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books June 12, 2018 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Our auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books on June 7 brought to market landmarks from the history of cartography and ornithology. The nearly 400 lots…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art June 7, 2018 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art Secrets & Set Designs: Illustration Art Breaks Records The June 5 sale of Illustration Art at Swann Galleries broke long-standing records and brought new artists to auction for the first…
Read more about Records & Results: Contemporary Art May 24, 2018 Contemporary Art Records & Results: Contemporary Art Abstract Attractions We offered nearly 400 works by some of the twentieth century’s greatest innovators in our May 22 auction of Contemporary Art. Abstract works ruled the day, with…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature May 17, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature Science fiction ruled on May 15 at our auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature. Selections from the Estate of Stanley Simon, featuring 84 rare and first editions of cornerstones…
Read more about Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints May 11, 2018 Prints & Drawings Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints With highlights spanning six centuries, our auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints on May 8 offered works by the greatest innovators in the field. The sale totaled more than…
Read more about Records & Results: Graphic Design May 9, 2018 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Graphic Design Our auction of Graphic Design on May 3 offered vintage posters that defined the styles of the twentieth century. In a highly-curated selection of just over 250 lots, the highlight…
Read more about Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics April 30, 2018 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics Our auction of Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics on April 26 featured highlights by artists of the twentieth century and scarce volumes from fine presses. Leading the sale…
Read more about Records & Results: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks April 23, 2018 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks Our April 19 auction The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks was led by the only known extant print of River Rouge Plant, Detroit (with Ford signage on freight car), 1947,…
Read more about Records & Results: African-American Fine Art April 9, 2018 African American Art Records & Results: African-American Fine Art We held our highest-grossing auction to date on April 5, totaling $4.5M—more than $1M over the high estimate of the sale. The 160 works that made up the highly curated…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana April 2, 2018 Printed & Manuscript African Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana Institutional purchases dominated the buying field at our auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana on March 29. The top lots of the auction were almost entirely manuscripts, archives, early…
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs March 26, 2018 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Our auction of Autographs on March 22 offered a selection of letters, photographs and works by some of history’s greatest game-changers, with communications by founding fathers, letters from artists and…
Read more about Records & Results: Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection March 9, 2018 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection offered premier examples of advertising and propaganda from around the world, and broke several auction records. Nicholas D. Lowry, President of…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art December 19, 2017 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art The grand finale of our 2017 roster was a successful auction of Illustration Art on December 14. Highlights of the sale ranged from large-scale oil paintings to sentimental children’s characters…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 8, 2017 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Maps were so plentiful at our December 5 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books that one could be forgiven for getting lost. Many buyers chose…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature November 16, 2017 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature Our auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature on November 14 offered a veritable library of scarce first editions and inscriptions by authors from the last two centuries. More than…
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs November 9, 2017 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs Our auction on November 7 saw fine results for Autographs by important historical figures in a variety of fields, from government to science to music. The total of $662K exceeded the…
Read more about Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints November 4, 2017 Prints & Drawings Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints A new auction record for any print by American master Edward Hopper was established at our auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints on November 2. The extremely rare etching The…
Read more about Records & Results: Rare & Important Travel Posters October 30, 2017 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Rare & Important Travel Posters Our annual auctions of Rare & Important Travel Posters are destinations in and of themselves. On October 26, we offered more spectacular examples that embodied a century’s worth of technological development.…
Read more about Records & Results: Art & Storytelling: Photographs & Photobooks October 21, 2017 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Art & Storytelling: Photographs & Photobooks On October 19 our sale of Art & Storytelling: Photographs & Photobooks combined works spanning the lifetime of the medium into an auction intended to “highlight the interrelationships between fine art, documentary and…
Read more about Records & Results: Early Printed Books October 20, 2017 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: Early Printed Books Our October 17 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books garnered eager interest from bibliophiles, exceeding the sale’s high estimate and earning more than half a million dollars.…
Read more about Records & Results: African-American Fine Art October 11, 2017 African American Art Records & Results: African-American Fine Art Four works exceeded $100,000 at our sale of African-American Fine Art on Thursday, October 5. A wealth of unique paintings, drawings and monotypes distinguished the sale of approximately 150 lots, nearly…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana October 7, 2017 Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana Hoards of history-lovers came out to attend the preview for our auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana on September 28. The sale featured a trove of unique material, much of which…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings October 4, 2017 Prints & Drawings Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings We opened our fall season with a marathon sale of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings, breaking multiple records and earning more than $2.6M. The September 19 auction offered…
Read more about Records & Results: Vintage Posters August 4, 2017 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Vintage Posters More than 600 colorful advertisements and announcements crossed the block at our sale of Vintage Posters on Wednesday, August 2. The encyclopedic selection represented a century’s worth of development in…
Read more about Records & Results: American Art June 19, 2017 American Art Records & Results: American Art We closed our Spring 2017 season with a climactic sale of American Art on Thursday, June 15. The annual auction offered exclusively original or unique works by artists living or…
Read more about Records & Results: Spring 2017 June 16, 2017 Swann Records & Results: Spring 2017 The spring 2017 season at Swann Galleries marked the 75th anniversary of our first auction. On March 27, 1942, Benjamin Swann held an auction dedicated to rare and antiquarian books.…
Read more about Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books June 14, 2017 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: Art, Press & Illustrated Books Our June 13 auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books offered a spectrum of books that doubled as objets d’art, with records for important twentieth-century works celebrating art and typography.…
Read more about Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books June 12, 2017 Maps & Atlases Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Our June 7 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books saw strong results with multiple auction debuts and records, as well as a plethora of unique…
Read more about Records & Results: Graphic Design June 1, 2017 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Graphic Design Our May 25 auction of Graphic Design offered a cornucopia of inspired works spanning fin de siècle Art Nouveau masters to modernist posters. The top lot of the sale was Col…
Read more about Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature May 18, 2017 Books & Manuscripts Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature First editions and inscribed copies filled the shelves at our May 16 auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature. The sale broke several auction records and encompassed a variety of genres,…
Read more about Records & Results: Autographs May 9, 2017 Autographs Records & Results: Autographs On Thursday, May 4, we held an auction of Autographs, with twentieth-century highlights by authors taking the spotlight. The sale performed well overall, with 88% of items offered finding buyers. …
Read more about Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints May 4, 2017 Prints & Drawings Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints On Tuesday, May 2, we offered Old Master Through Modern Prints, with highlights from as long ago as 1495 and as recent as 1959. The top lot of the…
Read more about Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana April 27, 2017 Printed & Manuscript Americana Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana On Thursday, April 27, our tenth consecutive auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana exceeded $700,000. Much of the top material was unique or extremely rare, including diaries, letters and archives, many…
Read more about Records & Results: Images & Objects: Photographs & Photobooks April 23, 2017 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Images & Objects: Photographs & Photobooks On Thursday, April 20, our sale ofImages & Objects: Photographs & Photobooks set multiple records for early and modern works, with 71% of works offered finding buyers. Nearly all…
Read more about WWI&II, Grand Prix and Tennis Images Led Swann’s Top August Posters Auction of All Time August 8, 2014 Vintage Posters WWI&II, Grand Prix and Tennis Images Led Swann’s Top August Posters Auction of All Time Coming on the heels of tremendous media coverage (see: The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, Luxury Travel Magazine, Robb Report and Slate), Swann’s August 6 auction of Vintage Posters grossed more…
Read more about Records & Results: Vernacular Photographs April 21, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Vernacular Photographs Last week Swann Galleries held an auction devoted to Vernacular Photography, which was the first sale of its kind. Two items led the auction–bringing $22,500 each–and they could not…
Read more about Judging a Book by Its Cover January 6, 2014 Illustration Art Judging a Book by Its Cover Our January 23, 2014, 20th Century Illustration sale boasts an abundance of original book-cover art, many examples of which became iconic images of the literary works they graced and, in…
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…