Panoramic Views of New York City

February 12, 2013, 8:57 am

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In this digital era we take for granted the ability to create a panoramic view of a setting--there's even an app for that. But, back in the late 19th century, creating such a photograph involved toting heavy camera equipment, glass plate negatives, and a tripod up to a strategic vantage point. For Joshua Beal, working in the 1860s and 70s, that involved climbing the 30 flights of stairs in the Brooklyn-side tower of the then incomplete Brooklyn Bridge, to create a never-before-seen sweeping panorama of lower Manhattan's landmarks and commercial activity along the East River. A recent New York Times column highlighted interest in these images among "panoramaniacs."

The result of Beal's efforts, his January 1876 Photographic View of New York, captured landmarks such as Trinity Church, the Western Union Building, St. Paul's Chapel, the new Post Office, the Tribune Building, and the immediately recognizable New York Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, later completed in 1883.

In October 2012, Swann auctioned a monumental five-part panorama measuring more than seven feet long for $96,000. Another version, this one consisting of three albumen prints, is featured in the upcoming Fine Photographs auction on February 26. It was originally in the collection of John Daniel Crimmins, former Commissioner of Public Parks and a partner in the Crimmins Construction Co.

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Top Lots: Old Master Drawings

February 13, 2013, 10:32 am

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On January 29, after a five-year hiatus from sales of Old Master Drawings, Swann returned to the category during Old Masters Week in New York with an excellent sale of more than 300 drawings. The top lot, a watercolor titled From Ehrenbreitstein, brought $42,000. Originally identified as from the circle of Joseph M.W. Turner, it was likely painted by Turner himself during his tour of the Rhine in 1817.

Circle of J.M.W. Turner, From Ehrenbreitstein, watercolor, circa 1817.

The catalogue for the auction was divided by artist's country of origin, and works in the Italian section performed particularly well. Guido Reni's Head of a Woman Looking to the Left, possibly related to the head of Cleopatra in Sir Denis Mahon's collection, sold for $28,800, and a group of chalk and pencil drawings by Giovanni Domenico Campiglia and others sold for $36,000. The striking Study of a Grotesque Dragon by Giulio Romano brought $22,800, well above the pre-sale estimate.

Giulio Romano, Study of a Grotesque Dragon, pen and ink and wash drawing.

Among the Dutch works, the colorful Still Life with Flowers, Insects and a Snail, circle of Joris Hoefnagel, sold for $31,200. 

Circle of Joris Hoefnagel, Still Life with Flowers, Insects and a Snail, watercolor, gouache and gold on vellum, 1589.

Director of Photographs Daile Kaplan on Why We Chose the Cover Image

February 21, 2013, 8:27 am

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The Kertész photograph gracing the cover of the cover of our Fine Photographs catalogue is a rare and important vintage print. The photograph was created during the period Kertész worked in Paris and was first exploring modernism. The highly abstract and dynamic nature of this image fully realized this artist’s pictorial sense of how the female nude might be reinterpreted within this emerging artistic vocabulary. At once elongated and elegant, there are elements of the figure that are familiar while others leap into a perplexing terrain. In this regard, one might characterize the photograph as a metaphorical image, insofar as it addresses the wide ranging cultural changes that occurred during the Roaring 20s, when women’s social and political roles also entered a new territory.

Among collectors of fine-art photography, there is a keen appreciation of both the picture and the print. Kertész pre-visualized this unique image as a mode of creative expression. However, the physical object known as the photographic print also plays a vital role in appreciating the nature of his vision. After all, a photographer will make particular aesthetic choices about the manner in which a photographic negative is translated in much the same way as a painter is aware of the materials associated with his or her art form. For example, when a curator acquires a Van Gogh painting, they are not only delighted with the subject matter, but also recognize that this artist’s bold brushwork is integral to the artwork. This same attention to technical proficiency may be said of Kertérsz, who selected a very warm photographic paper on which to print his marvelous Distortion. At the time, the special quality of the paper imparted a sense of newness or immediacy to the image. Today, that same paper conveys an historical patina to the photograph, which continues to attract and enchant collectors of the 21st century.

Notes from the Catalogue: Wyatt Houston Day on the Emancipation Proclamation

March 13, 2013, 7:36 am

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Reading the Emancipation Proclamation, steel engraving by J.W. Watts, Connecticut, 1864.

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal” declares the extraordinary document brought forth by our founders on July 4, 1776. But as we all know, that lofty truth did not apply to all men until 85 years of suffering and bloodshed later.

The story of how Abraham Lincoln actually wrote the Emancipation Proclamation is worth noting, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of that document.

Emancipation Proclamation, engraved broadside, Milwaukee, 1864.

The last week of June 1862 witnessed the Seven Days Battles, which ended all hope of an early end to the war by the quick conquest of Richmond. As McClellan executed his strategic retreat from Mechanicsville to Harrison’s Bar, Lincoln’s boundless depression found words when he described himself as being as inconsolable as it was possible for a human to be and yet live.

The tortured President went often to the War Department building to sit in the cipher room of the military telegraph office and, head in hands, await dispatches. In charge of the office was Major Thomas Thompson Eckert, chief of the War Department Telegraph staff. Lincoln told Stanton of his visits to Eckert’s office, “I have been there often before breakfast, and in the evening as well, and frequently late at night, and several times before daylight, to get the latest news from the army.” On one of these occasions during the first week of July [1862], he asked Eckert for some paper, “as he wanted to write something special.” The major gave him at least a quire of special foolscap writing paper.

The Emancipation Proclamation, lithographic broadside after G.R. Russell, Philadelphia, 186.

On this certain day in July, the President seated himself at Eckert’s desk between the two front windows, took the special foolscap writing paper, picked up a Gillot small barreled pen, and commenced writing what has been regarded as the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. Eckert gives the details: “He then sat down and began to write . . . He would look out of the window a while and then put his pen to paper, but he did not write much at once. He would study between times and when he had made up his mind he would put down a line or two, and then sit quiet for a few minutes. . .On the first day Lincoln did not cover one sheet of his special writing paper (nor indeed on any subsequent day) . . .”

Proclamation of Emancipation by the President of the United States,lithograph, New York, 1864.

About the same time, Lincoln received a letter from J. Sella Martin, an important leader of the colored community offering the military services of colored men. “They are ready to work, or preach or fight to put down this rebellion,” he said. Lincoln by this time, had made up his mind to emancipate the slaves without compensation to the slaveholders, and on July 22 called a meeting of his cabinet. I said to the Cabinet that I had resolved upon this step, and had not called them together to ask their advice, but to lay the subject-matter of a proclamation before them; suggestions as to which would be in order, after they had heard it read . . . Various suggestions were offered . . . Nothing, however was offered that I had not already anticipated and settled in my own mind, until Secretary Seward spoke. He said in substance, ‘Mr President, I approve of the Proclamation, but I question the expediency of its issue at this juncture.’“

Original manuscript copy of General Milroy's "Handbill Order" announcing the Emancipation Proclamation to his troops and the people of Winchester, 1863-186.

Seward felt that they should wait for a military victory to make the announcement from a position of strength. And so it was, that Lincoln postponed the Proclamation until September of 1862 with the success at the battle of Antietam. When it was issued, on September 22, 1862, the proclamation was so worded that it constituted a warning to the slave states that if they did not cease their warring on the United States in 100 days, their slaves would then be proclaimed forever free. Thus the Emancipation Proclamation was actually two proclamations. The first, known as the Preliminary Proclamation, and that of January 1, 1863 as the Final Proclamation. The appearance of the proclamation in newspapers across the country sparked celebrations everywhere.

From a collection of postcards commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation, circa 190.

It is though sheerest good luck that we have three of the rare Emancipation Proclamation lithographs in this sale, in addition to a very rare example of one of General David Hunter’s field printed “certificates of freedom,” emancipating the slaves that he had liberated in the Gulf States in early August, 1862 (a bit prematurely it turned out). Such certificates, declaring the bearer to be free, had to be rescinded until Lincoln made the formal announcement nearly three months later on January 1, 1863. There is also, a large group of elaborately printed postcards, issued on the anniversary of the Proclamation in 1909, and an example of the famous 1864 engraving, “Reading the Emancipation Proclamation.”

Lowry Family Collection of Czech Posters at the Dutch Poster Museum this Spring

March 19, 2013, 12:53 pm

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On Sunday, March 24, the Affichemuseum, or Poster museum, in Hoorn will open its doors for a special exhibition of Czech Posters From the Collection of the Lowry Family of New York City.

The posters, which date from 1898 to 1938, are a mirror of the social, economic, political and artistic influences that marked their era. The earliest images reflect the refined and elegant Art Nouveau style so popular throughout Europe at that time. Prior to the First World War, several prominent Czech poster designers reached an international audience via prominent books that published fine examples of their work. The Art Deco era is well represented, as are works by important Czech avant-garde artists. 

The Lowry family has built their collection of Czech posters over the past 25 years, amassing more than 1,000 pieces—making it the largest collection in the world outside the Czech Republic. Father and son, George S. and Nicholas D. Lowry, have selected 121 highlights for the museum exhibition. These posters are among the most beautiful examples from the period, and many have never been exhibited before.

The collection grew out of the family’s Czech origins and George and Nicholas’s mutual passion for these images. As owners of Swann AuctionGalleries, they are no strangers to vintage posters, making this collection and exhibition a wonderful confluence of both personal and professional interests.

The exhibition opens on Sunday, March 24 with an official opening by His Excellency Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Netherlands, Jaroslav Horák. The exhibition will be up through mid-June 2013 at the Poster museum Netherlands, Grote Oost 2 – 4, 1621 BW Hoorn.

Pursuing Theodore Roosevelt

April 15, 2013, 11:41 am

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Gregory Wynn speaking about his friend and fellow TR collector, Peter Scanlan

This past Friday night, Swann hosted a talk by Theodore Roosevelt collector Gregory Wynn, titled "Pursuing Theodore Roosevelt: A Life's Passion." 

Wynn is a Trustee and Executive Committee member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, Member of the Grolier Club, and longtime friend of Peter Scanlan whose collection of TR material goes up for auction tomorrow.

Swann Americana specialist Rick Stattler introducing Wynn

He spoke eloquently about his interest in the 26th President of the United States, his and Scanlan's pursuit of Roosevelt-related ephemera, and his thoughts on the sale of the collection.

If you would like to be on our mailing list for similar events in the future, please sign up here.

Share Your Passion for Photography

April 23, 2013, 9:04 am

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Attention photography lovers: Swann has launched an online project and we want you to participate. We're calling it Photophilia, which is defined as an obsession, a desire, a love of photographs.

Visit our tumblr page at http://swann-photophilia.tumblr.com/ to view the submissions we have posted so far and then join the conversation by sharing your favorite photo. You don't need a tumblr account to submit, just an email address and your first name. And, we want to know why you love that image.

On April 15, we held a Photophilia launch party--one of our most well attended events ever--with drinks by local micro-distillery Brooklyn Gin. Guests received a set of collectors series postcards.

Notes from the Catalogue: Dürer's Meisterstiche

April 25, 2013, 1:45 pm

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Albrecht Dürer's Melencolia I, St. Jerome in His Study and Knight, Death and the Devil, all from 1514 and related in size, style and technical complexity, have been considered his master engravings (or meisterstiche) since their creation 500 years ago. 

Replete with symbols--some understood and some unknown--and brimming with psychological content, Melencolia Iis perhaps the most heavily studied and written about image in the history of art, next to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Described as representing the contemplative life, and more specifically the melancholic pitfalls of an overly intellectual, creative temperament, the large seated figure in the engraving has been suggested to be an allegory of the artist himself.

Dürer's version of St. Jerome in His Study also depicts symbols of death and eternal life; death is represented by the skull and hourglass, and eternal life through the crucifixion on the corner of St. Jerome's desk. Dürer achieved a rich range of tones creating a strong sense of light and depth that highlighted the sanctity of St. Jerome and the crucifix in glorious sunlight. St. Jerome (ca.340-420) was a great Bible scholar known for the Vulgate, his revised Latin translation of the New and Old Testaments. A popular humanist saint throughout the Renaissance, he was often depicted in his chambers engrossed in his studies. He is characteristically presented with his cardinal's hat and accompanied by his lion companion (a friendship he made when he compassionately removed a painful splinter from the lion's paw).

It has been argued that St. Jerome in His Study and Melencolia I represent the division of divine and secular knowledge, comparing St. Jerome's peacefully meticulous divine study with the angst-ridden, troubled genius in Melencolia I. In other words, attentive religious study leads to internal reward and harmony, while secular intellectual pursuits lead to tribulations and anxiety.

While modern scholars often group Dürer's three master engravings from 1514 together, suggesting they were conceived as a set by the artist and comercially offered as such, this was evidently not the artist's intent. He often sold impressions of Melencolia I and St. Jerome in his Study together, though this is likely due to their highly recognized importance even during his life and their contemporaneous creation.

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Full Frontal: Grant Wood's Sultry Night

April 26, 2013, 8:44 am

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The last time Swann auctioned Grant Wood's 1939 lithograph Sultry Night, it brought $36,000--a record price for any print by the artist at auction. Another impression is among the highlights of our May 1 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints.

Wood is best known for his depictions of rural American life, and was one of the original members of the 1930s Midwestern American art movement known as "Regionalism." He funded an artist colony near Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1932 before becoming a fine-art professor at the University of Iowa and state director of the Public Arts Fund in 1934. He was so involved in his teaching career, and his technique was so meticulously time consuming, Wood only produced 50 or so paintings and 19 lithographs in his lifetime.

Sultry Night, controversial because of its blatant, realistic depiction of the male nude--the only nude represented by a "Regionalist" artist--was deemed so shocking that the postmaster refused to send the prints to customers of Wood's New York publisher Association of American Artists (AAA). As a result, only 100 impressions of Sultry Night were produced and sold "over the counter" at AAA.

Notes from the Catalogue: Picasso's Dora Maar

April 29, 2013, 10:26 am

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Among the highlights of our May 1 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints is a brilliant, richly-inked impression of Pablo Picasso's aquatint, scraper, burin and drypoint, Femme au fauteuil II: Dora Maar. This extremely scarce proof, before steel facing and aside from the edition of 50, is signed and inscribed Bon à tirer in pencil, lower right. 

Picasso produced more than 20,000 artworks in a wide variety of media over the course of his long, steady career--and more than 2,400 of these works were etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, drypoints and linoleum cuts. His work encompasses an enormous range of styles and movements, across realism and abstraction, and including Cubism, Neoclassicism, Surrealism and Expressionism.

The artist made his first prints after he moved from his home country to Paris in 1900, and returned briefly to printmaking in the 1930s, but the majority of his prints were produced after World War II in close partnership with various Parisian printmaking / publishing houses. 

Ceaselessly experimental, Picasso viewed printmaking as a way of tracking the evolution of his thoughts, i.e. he could preserve an idea through a print and then continue to build on the concept by revisiting the same plate or stone.

This particular print represents one of Picasso's many lovers, Dora Maar, an artist herself, and closest to Picasso during the late 1930s / early 1940s while she was documenting Picasso's process creating one of his most iconic works, Guernica. 

Prior to Maar, Picasso's primary mistress was Marie-Thérèse Walter, who he met in 1927 when she was only 17--she was Picasso's muse and the model for many of his paintings (and subsequently bore one of his four children). In 1944, at the age of 63, Picasso grew bored with Maar and began an affair with a 23-year-old art student, Françoise Gilot. He continued to be inspired by, and seek the company of, younger women well into his 70s.

Femme au fauteuil II: Dora Maar is an example of a bon à tirer, meaning "good to print," final proof of this portrait before the plate was steel-faced and prepared for producing the edition of 50 impressions. Bon à tirer prints are particularly significant because they were the prints Picasso personally scrutinized and signed to indicate the plate was approved for printing--this specific impression was the model that all prints in the edition were to match.  

Vintage Posters on Antiques Roadshow

April 29, 2013, 12:41 pm

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Here's a preview of tonight's episode of Antiques Roadshow, featuring Swann President and Principal Auctioneer Nicholas Lowry assessing some of poster artist David Klein's groovy designs for TWA in the 1960s. 

Swann regularly offers posters by Klein. Perhaps most notable is his electrifying abstract depiction of Times Square for New York / Fly TWA, circa 1960, which has also been featured on Antiques Roadshow. 

David Klein, New York / Fly TWA, circa 1960. Sold November 11, 2011 for $4,080.

Christine von der Linn on Irving Oaklander

May 3, 2013, 9:10 am

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Next Thursday, May 9th, our sale of Art, Press & Illustrated Books will feature the inventory of the late Irving Oaklander, known to all who sought rare books about graphic design, typography and printing over the past 30 years. 

Oaklander was a pioneer in the field; he managed to find the most obscure items and loved matching the right book to the collector. A teacher for 35 years before he officially started his book business, he was a natural instructor and nurturer of interests. Irving was even a New York City geographical trailblazer, setting up his shop in the loft district of Chelsea back in 1990. He passed away shortly after he, his lovely wife and business partner, Lenore, and I finished organizing the pieces for this sale. Even as his health was failing, his excitement in the material never waned and he eagerly showed me items I'd never handled in my 20 years at Swann.

One of those rarities is lot 41, an original 1935 package design for an early lighting device, designed by the talented Dutch Jewish graphic artist Frederika "Fré" Cohen.

Fré Cohen, original packaging design for Inventum-Bilthoven, Netherlands, circa 1935. Estimate $1,000 to $1,500.

Among his abundant number of excellent poster and advertising design books, many by German masters, are Carl Hinkefuss's 10 Jahre Deutsche Werbe-Graphik and Walter Schubert's Die Deutsche Werbe Graphik.

Walter F. Schubert, Die Deutsche Werbe Graphik, Berlin, 1927. Estimate $600 to $900.

Carl Ernst Hinkefuss, 10 Jahre Deutsche Werbe-Graphik, Berlin, 1923. Estimate $1,000 to $1,500.

Revolutionary masters of graphic design and typography are included, such as H.N. Werkman (whose design for Priere pour nous autres charnels appears on the cover of the sale catalogue) and Jan Tschichold, whose annotated copy of his De Proporties van het Boek (a bible in the world of book design) found its way onto Oaklander's shelves.

Irving died on 8/8/12 at the age of 88 and he would, I think, (with his good humor along with his sense of symmetry and graphics), have been amused at how lot 88 in the sale ended up being the run of volumes of De 8 en Opbouw, the Dutch architectural avant-garde magazine.

De 8 en Opbouw, designed by Paul Schuitema, group of more than 40 issues, Amsterdam, 1934-42. Estimate $300 to $400.

Many more volumes from his excellent reference library will be offered in our August Shelf Sale. The next Art, Press & Illustrated Books sale on October 24 will contain more highlights from the inventory, so keep an eye out for more graphic design treats in 2013.

-Christine von der Linn

A Russian Avant-Garde Landmark Work

May 7, 2013, 9:15 am

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Among the highlights of Swann's Art, Press & Illustrated Books auction on Thursday is Mikhail Larionov's copy of Vladimir Mayakovsky's Dlia Golosa [For the Voice], which was designed by Lazar Markovich (aka El Lissitzky). It is featured among items in the sale from the inventory of the late Irving Oaklander.

Lissitzky's design, including a title-page photomontage and pictograms that mix typography and abstract motifs, accompanies 13 poems by Mayakovsky that were meant to be read aloud--thus the title. The book represents an important period in the development of Constructivist design by Lissitzky. The typography was the result of a collaboration by the artist and author to give new dimension to the printed word on the page, and became a major influence on western European art, particularly the Bauhaus and De Stijl movements. 

This copy is of particular significance, as it was once in the collection of Russian avant-grade painter Mikhail Larionov, and has his stamp on the front cover and copyright page.

Swann Loves Madison Square Park

May 8, 2013, 1:23 pm

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Todd Weyman poses with Orly Genger's art installation in Madison Square Park

One of the great things about working at Swann Galleries is its proximity to Madison Square Park, a beautiful oasis in the city that offers wonderful cultural programs and art installations.

The current Mad. Sq. Art exhibit, Orly Genger's Red, Yellow and Blue, inspired several Swann staffers to snap photos on their way to and from our offices, as did past works including Leo Villareal's BUCKYBALL, Charles Long's Pet Sounds and others. Scroll down for more of our snapshots.

Genger's installation will travel to the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum outside of Boston in October 2013--it is the first Mad. Sq. Art commission to tour.

Tonight, Swann President Nicholas Lowry will serve as auctioneer for the Madison Square Park Conservancy's annual Spring Party Dinner and Auction.

Ulysses S. Grant: The Early Years

May 10, 2013, 1:27 pm

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A 1855-65 portrait of Grant. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Ulysses S. Grant, a man whose persistence brought him to the highest offices in U.S. military and politics, had a surprising early life—surprising because it was somewhat undistinguished. 

Baptized Hiram Ulysses Grant, this son of Jesse Root Grant was fond of animals since his boyhood; he detested his father’s tannery, preferring to work on the family farm. When he was accepted at West Point, Grant’s name was mistakenly reported as “Ulysses Simpson Grant,” which suited him, because he worried that his initials “H.U.G.” would expose him to ridicule. 

Grant graduated near the middle of his class, having sought no honors or distinctions. After serving bravely under Zachary Taylor, he was promoted to brevet captain, married Julia Dent in 1848, and despite a promotion to captain in 1853, he saw little prospect of supporting his family at his pay rate and resigned from military service. 

Without money or employment, Grant returned to his family in St. Louis, where he took up farming; followed by real-estate; then country engineer; then custom house clerk—each without success. In 1860, Grant was compelled to accept his father’s offer to join his two brothers in Galena, IL, where he worked as a clerk in the family tannery.

Autograph Document Signed by Ulysses S. Grant, a receipt for a purchase, completed while working at his father's tannery, Illinois, 1860. Estimate $500 to $700. At auction May 23, 2013.

The document in lot 112 is a receipt written and signed by a U.S. Grant who has been remarkably humbled by circumstances at a crucial turning point, not only in his life, but in the history of the United States. 

Soon after this receipt was written, in April 1861, the eruption of the Civil War had provided Grant an opportunity to advance—and advance he did, rising spectacularly to become one of U.S. history’s most interesting figures.

Thanks to Swann Autographs Specialist Marco Tomaschett for this illuminating post!

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Notes from the Catalogue: Maps & Atlases

May 14, 2013, 2:43 pm

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Among the highlights of Swann's June 6 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Historical Prints, Ephemera is a Final Commissioner's Map of New York City by John Randel, Jr., printed on satin, 1821. Below are cataloguer Gary Garland's notes from the catalogue entry.

As New York City entered the 19th century, it became clear that plans for its expansion northward were in order. The narrow streets from the early Dutch and English settlers could no longer handle the increasing population. This was coupled with an increase in disease spawned by the close quarters of the city.

In 1807 the common council of the city petitioned the state legislature to create a board of commissioners to oversee the layout of a future street system. The board was created and mandated to finalize its plans within a four-year period. Gouverneur Morris, Simeon de Witt, and John Rutherford became the commissioners. Simeon de Witt had been the Surveyor General for the state and had become impressed with the work of one of the surveyors under his charge, namely John Randel.

Randel was hired as chief engineer and surveyor for the city and began his work soon after. Though Manhattan Island was hardly a wilderness, it contained 60 miles of running streams, approximately 20 ponds and lakes, as well as hills, valleys and plateaus. With some surveying instruments of his own devise, Randel set to work. The difficulties of topography were not the only obstacles he was to encounter. Free-holders and lease-holders on the land being surveyed were fearful of losing their land rights. Randel was arrested a number of times for trespassing, and just as many times released on the order of the city council.

Randel finished his project a bit ahead of schedule. The survey overlaid with the now famous grid street plan was ordered to be prepared for publication under the direction of William Bridges. The map was based almost entirely on the survey conducted by Randel, with some additions by Bridges. Peter Maverick, the well-known engraver, was chosen to engrave the map. Randel's name did not appear on it, and thus began a long and acrimonious relationship between Randel and Bridges. Randel claimed that Bridges had not copied his survey faithfully and that it was full of errors. Randel took charge of the survey and embellished it further. He was set to have it published in 1814 but decided against it--the British had recently burned Washington and Randel feared his map would be too great an aid to the enemy should they decide to attack the city. The manuscript copy of the Randel embellishment is currently under the protection of the New York Historical Society.

In 1821 the finalized version of the map appeared under Randel's name (indeed, his name appears three times on the map). The grid system begins with 1st street and runs northward to 155th street with the streets running from east to west. It is intersected by 12 avenues running from south to north. It is the city that modern-day inhabitants and the city's many visitors have come to count on for easy navigation. 

The Randel map was printed on paper and very few seem to have been printed on satin. The only other known copy on satin is held by the New York Public Library, gifted by the well-known New York iconographer I.N. Phelps Stokes, who had acquired it from Randel's nephew. Two paper copies are known.

In addition to the great importance this map bears in its relationship to the mapping of the city, it is a beautiful map to behold. In addition to the grid plan for New York City, there are incorporated maps of parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island as well as an inset of the city of Philadelphia. These are neatly overlaid on one another and with a trompe l'oeil effect they appear to roll in upon themselves.

Swann's Art Fair Hangover Party Sponsored by Russian Standard Vodka

May 16, 2013, 9:03 am

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On Tuesday, May 14, Swann hosted a lively post-Frieze Art Fair Hangover party with cocktails by Russian Standard Vodka.

Swann clients, friends and newcomers mingled and previewed Contemporary Art from the May 16 auction.

If you'd like to receive invites to similar events, please click here. 

Top Lots: Vintage Posters

February 12, 2013, 11:08 am

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Our third best poster sale of all time–Swann’s annual winter Vintage Posters auction on February 5 featured stunning examples of the Art Nouveau greats! Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha gathered the top lots in this category with Lautrec’s dashing portrait of Aristide Bruant dans son Cabaret, Paris, 1893, selling for a whopping $72,000. 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Aristide Bruant dans son Cabaret, Paris, 1893.

Mucha set two action records: his iconic poster for Job cigarettes, Paris, 1896 sold for $43,200, and his Salon des Cent, deluxe edition, Paris, 1896 for $28,000.

Alphonse Mucha, Job, Paris, 1896.

The sale also featured a dynamic group of ski and winter travel posters from all across the globe. Dwight Clark Shepler’s Sun Valley / Ketchum, Idaho, circa 1940, sold for $8,400.

Dwight Clark Shepler, Sun Valley/Ketchem Idaho, circa 1940.

Rounding out the auction was a collection of Hebraic and Judaica posters that included Alfred F. Burke’s iconic Jewish Relief Campaign image Share, Brooklyn, circa 1917, which sold for $5,760.

Alfred F. Burke, Alfred F. Burke, Share, circa 1917.Share, circa 1917.

Top Lots: African American Fine Art

February 21, 2013, 1:05 pm

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The love was felt at Swann's February 14 auction of African-American Fine Art where multiple artist records were set! The sale's top lot was Barkley L. Hendricks’s 1970 life-size portrait of a disc jockey friend in Philadelphia, The Hawk, Blah, Blah Blah, depicted in oil and DayGlo on canvas, which brought $132,000. 

Barkley L. Hendricks, The Hawk, Blah, Blah Blah, oil and DayGlo on canvas, 1970.

Another bold contemporary piece, William T. Williams’s Up Balls, a large abstract acrylic on canvas from 1971, brought $120,000—tying the only previous auction result for a painting by the artist (set here at Swann in February 2012).

William T. Williams, Up Balls, acrylic on canvas, 1971.

An inspiring group of prints by the late great Elizabeth Catlett also set new auction records–two linoleum cuts, I Am the Black Woman, 1946-47, which sold for $90,000, and Sharecropper, circa 1952, for $43,200. Swann devoted a section of the sale to Catlett, which also included her green marble statue, Sister, 1971, which brought $114,000.

Elizabeth Catlett, Sharecropper, color linoleum cut, circa 1952.

Top Lots: Fine Photographs

March 5, 2013, 9:27 am

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Swann's February 26 auction of Fine Photographs prominently featured property from the estate of Fong Chow, whose collection included several early albums and groups of photographs taken in China, Japan, Korea, India, the Middle East and other locations. Among these, a mini-collection of 78 cartes-de-visite portraits, many with hand-coloring, brought $60,000. The photographs, dating from the 1860s-70s, feature Chinese tradesmen, religious figures, women and officials. 

Three of the 78 cartes-de-visite portraits featuring Chinese life in the 1860s-70s.

Another group of prints by Thomas Child and Felice Beato from mid-1870s China sold for $28,800, while an album of 38 photographs depicting Korea at the turn of the 19th century brought $20,400.

André Kertész, Distortion #128, silver print, 1931-33.

The cover lot from the sale, André Kertész's Distortion #128, a silver print circa 1931-33, realized $60,000, and the top lot of the day was Portfolio #1 from Edward S. Curtis's epic The North American Indian. The portfolio, containing 39 photogravures, sold for $78,000.

One of the 39 photogravures from Curtis's The North American Indian, portfolio #1, 1907.