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 offering of African-American Fine Art represented auction debuts, recent rediscoveries and masterpieces from some of the most influential movements of the twentieth century. Of the nine lots that exceeded $100,000, four were new artist records and a further two represented the second-highest price achieved by that artist.

Lot 45: Norman Lewis, Untitled, oil on canvas, 1956. Sold April 5, 2018 for $725,000.

An untitled abstract painting of a city scene by Norman Lewis led the sale, finishing to applause at $725,000, above a high estimate of $250,000. It was the second-highest price ever paid for a work by the Abstract Expressionist; that record, $965,000, was set by Swann in December 2015.

Lot 33: Beauford Delaney, Untitled (Village Street Scene), oil on canvas, 1948. Sold April 5, 2018 for $557,000, a record for the artist.

Another abstracted city scene brought a record for Beauford Delaney at $557,000, well above the high estimate of $250,000. Untitled (Village Street Scene), 1948, is a thickly impastoed oil painting of one of Delaney’s preferred subjects: the bustling streets of Greenwich Village in Manhattan. It was purchased by an institution.

Lot 50: Charles White, O Freedom, charcoal with crayon and wash, 1956. Sold April 5, 2018 for $509,000, a record for the artist.

Charles White’s inspiring life-size charcoal drawing O Freedom, 1956, had not been seen publicly in more 60 years before the auction’s preview. It quickly surpassed its high estimate of $300,000, selling to a bidder on the phone for $509,000, a record for the artist.

Lot 55: Jacob Lawrence, 19. Tension on the High Seas, tempera on board, 1956. Sold April 5, 2018 for $413,000.

One of the most exciting pieces in the sale was a recently rediscovered canvas from Jacob Lawrence’s important series, Struggle…From the History of the American People. The work, 19. Tension on the High Seas, was one of five missing panels from the series that was intended to chronicle the history of the United States from 1776 to 1817. It was purchased by a collector for $413,000, more than four times its high estimate. Nearly all works by Lawrence offered in the sale found buyers, including a pen and ink drawing of A Negro Woman, 1958, which sold for $8,125.

Lot 28: Elizabeth Catlett, Head of a Woman (Woman), oil on canvas, 1942-44. Sold April 5, 2018 for $209,000.

The second oil painting by Elizabeth Catlett ever to come to auction, Head of a Woman (Woman), 1942-44, dates from the artist’s early period in New York. It was purchased by an institution for $209,000, the second-highest price paid for a work by Catlett, above a high estimate of $120,000.

Lot 133: Ed Clark, Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 1990. Sold April 5, 2018 for $93,750, a record for the artist.

Additional records were achieved throughout the auction. Highlights included $93,750 for Ed Clark’s significant untitled abstract canvas, which went to a collector, and $245,000 for Primordial Landscape, 1967, a postwar abstraction by Hale Woodruff, double its high estimate. Two important works by William H. Johnson, Jitterbugs II and III, circa 1941, set consecutive records for the artist. Neither work had ever appeared at auction and few prints are known of either. Jitterbugs II quickly surpassed its high estimate of $40,000, selling to a collector for $112,500, briefly a record, before Jitterbugs III, at the same estimate, peaked at $118,750. Records were also set for Camille Billops, May Howard Jackson, Louise Jefferson, William Majors, Richard Mayhew, Robert Neal, Merton Simpson, Vincent D. Smith and Hartwell Yeargans.

The next auction of African-American Fine Art at Swann will be held October 4, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments.

The post Records & Results: African-American Fine Art appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

The cover lot of our April 19 auction, The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks is the only known extant print of Walker Evans’s graphic silver print, River Rouge Plant, Detroit, Michigan (with Ford signage on freight car).

About Evans

By the late 1940s, Walker Evans had had his photographs published in numerous magazines, including TIME, Harper’s Bazaar and Architectural Digest. His important solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, in 1938, and the publication of his remarkable monograph, American Photographs, ensured his reputation as a prominent artistic figure.

In his essay for American Photographs, Lincoln Kirstein wrote: “After looking at these pictures with all their clear, hideous and beautiful detail, their open insanity and pitiful grandeur, compare this vision of a continent as it is, not as it might be or as it was, with any other coherent vision that we have had since the war.”

Lot 103: Walker Evans, River Rouge Plant, Detroit, Michigan (with Ford signage on freight car), silver print, 1947. Estimate $15,000 to $25,000.

Fortune Assisignment

Several years later, in 1945, Evans was hired by Fortune magazine, a business publication launched by Henry Luce; he was the only staff photographer. Evans was already known for his quirky, anti-authoritarian sensibility, and so may have seemed an unlikely hire for the journal, but Luce’s high-minded aesthetic aspirations for the publication may have attracted him.

Walker Evans, The Rebirth of Ford, spread in Fortune, May 1947.

The May 1947 edition of Fortune contained a lengthy article entitled The Rebirth of Ford. The story addressed the Ford Motor Company’s restructuring under the direction of 28-year-old Henry Ford II. The article featured five images by Evans, along with a rendering of the 1076-acre River Rouge plant and portraits of team members. Given Evans’ distinctive approach to picture-making, an elegant documentary-style that privileged the everyday, his photographs convey a strong visual counterpoint to the magazine’s other content: colorful upscale advertisements, schematic charts and graphics and portraits of executives in power suits.

Charles Sheeler

Charles Sheeler, Criss-Crossed Conveyors, River Rouge Plant, Ford Motor Company, 1927. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The painter and photographer Charles Sheeler’s iconic photograph River Rouge Plant, Ford Motor Company, Detroit, 1929, predates Evans’ image by more than 15 years. Sheeler’s study, which was commissioned by an advertising agency, depicts a similar view but focuses on pure form. Evans’ image and editorial approach, while also reflecting standards associated with modernist practice, is not utopian. Rather his vantage point conveys the geometric rigor of criss-crossed conveyors but in a classic industrial setting. Additional foreground details in Evans’ composition, notably the signage with Ford’s logo, provide a human perspective typical of his pictorial style.

The Only One

Walker Evans, negative. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The negative for this photograph is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The photographic print offered in this lot is the only extant version known to our specialists.

Browse the full catalogue.

The post A Walker Evans Print, The Only One of Its Kind appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

At Auction June 21

Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III

This collection offers glimpses of American history both manuscript and printed, with a wide breadth of revolutionary americana, letters signed by Henry Clinton and George Washington; and documents signed by Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere. Printed items include a broadside from Massachusetts in May of 1776, declaring the justice of the rebellion.

The American Revolution

Pay order for £12 to express rider Jonathan Park “to enable him to defrey his Expences going express to Philadelphia” to warn the Continental Congress of the imminent arrival of British warships, Massachusetts, 3 May 1776. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

Paul Revere, Autograph Document Signed, Boston, 1779. Estimate $12,000 to $18,000.

Henry Dearborn, two Autograph Manuscript items including a drawing of Bunker’s Hill, unsigned, 1818. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.

George Washington, Letter Signed to Major Nathanael Greene about Colonel Clement Biddle, Morristown, 1780. Estimate $15,000 to $25,000.

Andrew Jackson

Wheeler, notably interested in Andrew Jackson, collected with a view toward creating a narrative of the politician’s career. Items relating to Jackson include an autograph letter signed in 1819 on the legitimacy of the Seminole Wars, and another from 1806, giving his account of the duel in which he shot and killed his opponent.

Andrew Jackson, A New Map of the United States, lithograph, circa 1828. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.

Autograph Letters

Featured is an impressive run of autograph letters signed by Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and Benjamin Rush.

Thomas Paine, Autograph Letter Signed to Ira Allen concerning the Boston Café, Paris, 1790s. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.

For more information on the sale, contact Specialist Marco Tomaschett in the Autographs department.

Consign with Swann

Our specialists accept consignments on a rolling basis. For a complete list of consignment deadlines and upcoming auctions, check our Schedule.

Get the Semimonthly Newsletter

The post A Look Inside the Catalogue: The Collection of William Wheeler III appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Our auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana on April 12 was the department’s highest-grossing sale in four years, continuing an upward trajectory as each offering of Americana and African Americana becomes more specialized. Highlights of the sale included historic bibles and a selection of unique and manuscript material.

Lot 149A: The Book of Mormon, first edition, Palmyra, 1830.
Sold April 12, 2018 for $77,500.

Religious texts constituted many highlights of the sale, including an unusually well-preserved first-edition Book of Mormon, which topped the auction at $77,500, going to a collector. Additional religious highlights included a first edition of the Aitken Bible, the first bible printed in English in the United States, which brought $47,500 despite missing 6 text leaves, and a rare Pony Express Bible that was purchased by a collector for $20,000. All five bibles offered exceeded their high estimates.

Lot 149: Nauvoo Neighbor Extra, first edition, first official account of the death of Joseph Smith, 1844. Sold April 12, 2018 for $37,500.

Swann is known for offering paragons of Mormon material. In addition to the top lot of the sale, highlights included an 1844 edition of the Nauvoo Neighbor Extra, containing the first official report of the murder of Mormon leaders Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It was purchased for $37,500 in its first auction appearance since 1966.

Lot 19: Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, Parts I & II, first separate edition, Philadelphia, 1777.
Sold April 12, 2018 for $50,000.

Many of the other highlights were unique or making their first appearances at auction in many decades. The first edition, first state of Thomas Paine’s American Crisis brought $50,000 in its first auction appearance since 1955. An ornately framed cypress sprig cut by Lafayette from Washington’s tomb—the only known example of this tender keepsake—brought $13,750. Cecil Stoughton’s 16 albums of John F. Kennedy photographs brought $15,000, and his shot of Kennedy with Marilyn Monroe (the only known photograph of the two together) brought $10,625.

Lot 111: Cecil W. Stoughton, the only known photograph of JFK and Marilyn Monroe together, 1962, printed 1970s. Sold April 12, 2018 for $10,625.

A volume of sixteenth-century records from the silver mine at Taxco, Mexico, acquired at a London auction in 1992, brought $30,000, leading an unusually rich selection of Latin Americana. Many items far exceeded their high estimates, most notably manuscript material in the Chinantec and Nahuatl languages. Printed highlights included a 1620 decree by the Mexican Inquisition prohibiting the use of peyote, which sold for $25,000, above a high estimate of $9,000.

The next auction of Americana at Swann Galleries will be Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III on June 21, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments for autumn auctions.

The post Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

An archive of illuminating material from the office of the great modernist architect and designer Marcel Breuer leads the architecture section of our April 26 auction of Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics.

The Met Breuer (previously the Whitney Museum of American Art), archive from a late office of the Breuer & Smith architectural team, New York, 1960-70s.
Estimate $3,500 to $5,000.

Breuer began his career as a designer at the original Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany. He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to study architecture at Harvard and set up a private practice with his mentor, Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus. After his move to New York City in the 1940s, much of his success was due to partnerships with talented associates he hired and with whom he would generously share credits for major projects. In the late 1960s and ’70s, his partner was primarily Hamilton Smith, with whom he accomplished a number of notable commissions. The fruits of this relationship are documented in the archive.

The lower level of the Met Breuer. From the archive. 

Filling three large boxes is material documenting some of the architect’s most famous structures, including the Whitney Museum of American Art (now The Met Breuer). The bulk of the archive is devoted to this monolithic structure.

Papers from the archive of Marcel Breuer’s late-career office. 

In addition to photographs by Ezra Stoller, Ben Schnall, Shin Koyama and Joseph Molitor, there are also slides and gel positives of major commissions, as well as copies of reports, promotional publications, reproductions, diplomas, awards and acknowledgments for projects.

Breuer’s drawing for the Kuwait Market. From the archive. 

A large portion of the archive also consists of material relating to the team’s extensive work for St. John’s University, including the celebrated St. John’s Library and Abbey Church, with photographs, copies of master plan outlines, typed correspondence and copies of structural reports. Also present in the archive are papers for the Heckscher Museum; the Kuwait Markets, including a small sketch of the interior marked “this side reads right,” likely in Breuer’s hand; the Bobst Library at New York University, and Yale University’s Becton Engineering and Applied Science Center, among other documentation.

Becton Engineering and Applied Science Center at Yale University.
From the archive. 

The archive hints at the scope of Breuer’s prowess, even after his so-called retirement in 1976. His later projects, done in tandem with architectural equals such as Hamilton Smith, are almost entirely major institutional commissions, still in use by untold thousands of students, visitors, shoppers and worshippers daily.

Browse the full catalogue.

The post Have You Met Breuer? An Architectural Archive appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

In the dawn of the motor car, most automobile purveyors relied on a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, touting ever-evolving technology and styles to drive car sales. A selection of car advertisements in our May 3 Graphic Design auction provides a case study in advertisers keeping pace with advancements in the auto industry through cutting-edge design.

Lot 18: Ludwig Hohlwein, Mercedes / Daimler – Motoren – Gesellschaft, 1914. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

In a 1914 advertisement for the Mercedes 12/32 hp, Ludwig Hohlwein portrays the state-of-the-art vehicle as the key to a charmed lifestyle. Two fashionable couples with their driver in a magnificent Mercedes attend an airshow with a Wright Brothers-style plane flying above. The implication is that the car is the only way to enter the future in style. Interestingly, the car has no headlights.

Lot 143: Charles Loupot, Voisin Automobiles, 1923.
Estimate $15,000 to $20,000.

In 1923, luxury car manufacturer Gabriel Voisin commissioned Charles Loupot–who had just returned to Paris after years in Switzerland–to design a pair of posters promoting his automobiles. The resulting set is an exercise in contrasts. The present poster is minimalistic, with a small red car against a nearly blank background. The complement is the opposite in every way: a bright white car in a verdant forest. The effect of these works in tandem was such that R.L. Dupuy, the head of a prominent Parisian advertising agency at the time, remarked that the posters “dropped like two stones in the frog-pond of the advertising imagination.”

Lot 86: Leonetto Cappiello, Sizaire, 1927.
Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.

Leonetto Cappiello shows the Sizaire Frères 11CV with wings to convey its perceived distance from the road. The model went into production in 1923 and had independent suspension on all four of its wheels, providing a smoother ride. Despite this, the company went out of business in 1929, having produced a total of only 1,150 cars.

Lot 85: Gerold Hunziker, Bugatti, 1932. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.

In Gerold Hunziker’s most famous poster, he uses a dramatic angle and unexpected colors to depict the front of a Bugatti type 55 Roadster. Without outlines, the shape of the car blends with the background to imply its speed. The poster emphasizes newness: new designs, new technologies and new experiences in your new Bugatti.

Lot 89: Roger Pérot, Delahaye, 1932. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

Architect Roger Pérot designed two versions of this famous advertisement for Delahaye, nearly identical but in different colors suggesting different times of day, perhaps inspired by Charles Loupot’s innovative campaign for Voisin ten years earlier. Pérot’s original design shows a car cresting a hill in the halo of the setting sun, barreling towards the viewer. The later 1935 version uses the same angle and conventions but an up-to-date grill on a bright sunny day. The typography mirrors the angle of the roadster’s front wheels, adding further dynamic perspective to the image.

Lot 88: Robert Falcucci, Huile Energol, 1935. Estimate $1,500 to $2,000.

Robert Falcucci’s advertisement for Huile Energol embodies the change undergone by design for posters and cars alike since Ludwig Hohlwein’s pastel vignette for Mercedes in 1914. Not only does the car have headlights–the headlights are a primary feature. The car is not a gateway to a life of luxury but a reliable tool allowing its operator to speed into the night and get things done. Though graphic and technological design continue their symbiotic development to the present day, these examples from the early growth of both media provide a clear look at the process.

Browse the full catalogue.

The post How Car Posters Drove Graphic Design appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

The self portraits of Rembrandt van Rijn have been the focus of art historical examination since their creation nearly 400 years ago. Scarce examples from our May 8 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints illuminate his early ventures into the medium.

Lot 115: Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait with Curly Hair and White Collar: Bust, etching, circa 1630. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

Self portraits have the capacity to reflect both the internal and external states of an artist. Although these etchings, made mostly around 1630–the middle of his life–present a similar likeness, the emotional range the portraits provide is broad. Whereas Self Portrait with Curly Hair and White Collar: Bust depicts a stoic and tranquil visage of the artist, Self Portrait Open Mouthed, as if Shouting: Bust presents the artist in a state of anguish and despair.

Lot 117: Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait Open Mouthed, as if Shouting: Bust, etching, 1630. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

Similarly, the jovial and lighthearted nature of Self Portrait in a Cap, Laughing is sharply contrasted with the solemn and introverted quality of Self Portrait in a Cap and Scarf with the Face Dark: Bust. This latter work, created two years after he moved to Amsterdam from Leyden to pursue art, is among his most introspective self portraits.

Lot 118: Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait in a Cap, Laughing, etching, 1630.
Estimate $30,000 to $50,000.

Rembrandt etched about 30 portraits of himself and painted an additional 40. As one of the scions who transformed etching from a new technique to a respected art form, his printed impressions of himself are as respected as his painted ones. Although both his paintings and etchings are highly regarded, he was able to present different types of self portraiture through the different mediums. Rembrandt was capable of rendering himself in biblical scenes and in fantastical costume through painting, while he also had the technical capacity to capture purely emotional moments in his etchings. In both mediums, Rembrandt set himself against a nondescript background to highlight the version of himself he was interested in capturing, resulting in evocative portraits that resonate today.

Lot 119: Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait in a Cap and Scarf with the Face Dark: Bust, etching, 1633. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

Rembrandt was not the only artist producing etchings during the seventeenth century, but he was one of the only ones creating self portraits. Although some scholars suggest that his self portraits may have been studies for more elaborate works, his prints are valuable today because they are unique exercises in printmaking from a time when very few other artists were creating similar subjects. Aside from the debated works by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, a counterpart to Rembrandt working in Italy, few other self portraits exist. Castiglione, who is known as the first Italian artist to copy directly from Rembrandt, produced a few self portrait etchings, such as the Presumed Self-Portrait, circa 1645-1650, which shares a similar emotional focus. This portrait also portrays an element of masquerade through costume, complete with velvet beret with ostrich feather. However, what sets Rembrandt’s apart is their simultaneous ubiquity and uniqueness. Where other artists may have created a few impressions of self portraits, Rembrandt created a number, and of superior rendering.

Lot 116: Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait in a Fur Cap: Bust, etching, 1630.
Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

The pervasiveness of Rembrandt’s prints is due, in part, to the rise of the art market in the seventeenth century that rejected the patronage system under the Church for a more accessible, business-like arrangement, in which artists could sell their work directly from their studio to patrons, as well as through dealers. The opening up of the art market at this time resulted in artists creating works for the open market instead of for specific commissions, which may have been an incentive for Rembrandt to exercise his artistic prowess at such a high volume.

Lot 149: Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait in a Flat Cap and Embroidered Dress, etching, circa 1642.
Estimate $30,000 to $50,000.

Rembrandt’s superbly etched self portraits reflect the growing art market as well as the development of printmaking as a respected artistic medium in its own right. Just as the artist reached innovative heights in his painting, his etchings–in particular his self portraits–reflect a similar uniquely emotional quality that led to his contemporaries as well as later artists emulating his style. Collectors have sought these works since their creation for their stature as a sea change in the history of printmaking, and their ever-increasing records at auction.

Browse the full catalogue.

The post Rembrandt’s Self-Portraiture in Etchings appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

At Auction June 14

This highly curated sale of American Art presents original works in a variety of media, including drawings, watercolors and sculpture. Offerings range from nineteenth-century paintings to modern masterworks, featuring a large watercolor by Reginald Marsh, and oils by William Merritt Chase and Guy C. Wiggins.

Complete Catalogue Coming Soon

Charles Burchfield

Charles Burchfield, Red Trees Against the Lake, watercolor & gouache, 1915. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.

Burchfield, Tree in Landscape, watercolor & gouache, circa 1950. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.

Will Barnet

Will Barnet, Study for Three Chairs, screenprint with hand coloring, 1993. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.

Will Barnet, Park Scene, oil on canvas, 1937. Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.

Early American Painting

William Bradford, Inspiration Point, Yosemite, oil on board, 1879. Estimate $15,000 to $20,000.

J.G. Hulett, Hudson River Landscape, oil on canvas. Estimate $3,000 to $5,000.

Paul Cadmus & Jared French

Jared French, Men in a Garden, oil on panel, circa 1934-35. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

Jared French, Portrait of Paul Cadmus, seated with arms crossed, pencil & crayon, 1931. Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.

Paul Cadmus, Studies for Point O’ View, group of 13 ink, pen & pencil drawings, circa 1944. Estimate $15,000 to $20,000.

Twentieth Century

Reginald Marsh, Third Avenue, ink & wash, 1950. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.

Thomas Hart Benton, Cabin in the Ozarks, brush & ink, circa 1926. Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.

William Glackens, Le Royal Conti–Isle Adam, oil on canvas, circa 1925. Estimate $12,000 to $18,000.

Rockwell Kent, Walking Woman, watercolor & gouache, circa 1926. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.

Contemporary Highlights

Leonard E. Fisher, Bubbles, acrylic on canvas, 1998. Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.

Wolf Kahn, Poisonous Yellow-Green, oil on canvas, 2001. Estimate $15,000 to $20,000.

For more information on the sale, contact a specialist in the American Art department.

Consign with Swann

Our specialists accept consignments on a rolling basis. For a complete list of consignment deadlines and upcoming auctions, check our Schedule.

Get the Semimonthly Newsletter

The post A Look Inside the Catalogue: American Art appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi spent eight years researching the ancient ruins of Rome before completing his magnum opus, Le Antichità Romane. A complete set of the 220 engravings in four volumes is a highlight in our May 8 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints.

When it first appeared in 1756, the work established Piranesi’s reputation as an authority of Roman archaeology and architecture. It was a popular purchase among wealthy travelers, mainly British men, on their coming-of-age European Grand Tour. Inspired by the recently discovered ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum and his visit to the sites, Piranesi turned his attention to the ruins still visible in Rome, some already almost 2,000 years old. His aim was both to record the vanishing past for scholars and to inspire contemporary designers to emulate the achievements of ancient Rome.

The books themselves are as monumental as the ancient towers they depict. Each of the four tomes is several inches thick, more than a foot wide and nearly two feet tall. Though most of the images fit within the margins of one page, several span the full spread of the book, and still others fold out to long vistas. The second edition, of which this is an example, includes an engraved dedication page to Gustavus III, King of Sweden, a great patron of Piranesi who funded the project.

The ancient monuments were constructed over a period of 800 years, spanning the Roman Republic (509 to 27 BC) and the Empire (27 BC to 315 AD). By contrast, only about 350 years have elapsed between Piranesi’s lifetime and today.

The interior on the Pantheon, one of the sheets that unfolds

Volume I

Volume I explores the walls, defenses, aqueducts and public monuments of ancient Rome as they existed in 1756. In Piranesi’s vedute, or views, contemporary Romans use the crumbling structures in their everyday lives; they fish off bridges, worship in the Parthenon and loll around ruins, taking for granted their presence in the city. This volume includes landmarks still visible and in use today.

Ponte Fabricio

The Pantheon

Trajan’s Column and the Chapel of St. Mary. Photo courtesy of Khan Academy.

Trajan’s Forum

Volumes II & III

Volumes II and III include the plans of the Camera Sepolcrali, and are devoted to the extensive remains of sepulchers around Rome. Seventeenth-century noblemen gleefully wander the mausoleums, crypts and catacombs, tiptoeing around skulls and rifling through coffins. This is not the quotidian Rome but a playground of the wealthy. It’s harder to recognize the locations of these plates because their structures are mostly underground and therefore less likely to be explored by modern tourists. Volume III in particular is devoted to maps and architectural studies devoid of human figures and often composed out of Piranesi’s own imagination.

Camera Sepolcrale

Miscellaneous mausolea

Ruins

Forum of Nerva. Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor.

Mausoleum of the Plauzia family, near the street that connects Rome to Tivoli, near the Lugano Bridge.
Photo courtesy of the Tivoli Department of Culture and Tourism.

The Pyramid of Cestius. Photo courtesy of The Heritage Trust.

 Invented Views

A map of Rome composed of shards of pottery, a conceit devised by Piranesi.

An imaginary view showing examples of ancient Roman decorative styles.

Volume IV

Volume IV concentrates on feats of Roman engineering in the form of bridges and monumental structures such as the Curia Hostilia, the substructure of the Temple of Claudius, Hadrian’s mausoleum (the Castel Sant’Angelo) and the Colosseum.

Castel Sant’Angelo

The Bridge to Castel Sant’Angelo, from the castle.

The foundations of Castel Sant’Angelo

The Colosseum. Photo courtesy of Curbed.

Browse the full catalogue.

The post Ancient Then & Ancient Now: Piranesi’s Views of Rome appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

We asked the Contemporary Art department to pick their favorite work from their May 22 auction. For people who see dozens–if not hundreds–of works of art each day, it takes a lot to stand out.

Lot 264: Barbara Hepworth, Opposing Forms, complete portfolio with 12 color lithographs, 1969-70. Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

Todd Weyman, Director

Barbara Hepworth, Opposing Forms

“I’d like to own Barbara Hepworth’s suite of 12 color lithographs Opposing Forms, 1969-70, a career retrospective of stunning, geometric, colorful prints that exemplify the work of this iconic modernist artist. Hepworth was a pioneering female abstract artist, she made her first “pierced” sculpture in 1932 and through her ground-breaking work over the next four decades influenced scores of contemporary abstract artists, from Tracey Emin and Rachel Whiteread to Eduardo Paolozzi and Anthony Caro.”

Lot 162: Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled, offset lithograph, 1968.
Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.

Lisa Crescenzo, Client Relations & Department Manager

Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled

“I am drawn to Robert Rauschenberg’s Untitled because it forces me to figure out the hidden meaning, like a game. In this print, like many others, he encourages the viewer to solve the visual puzzle, evoking the cleverness of the Dadaist artists. His choice of composition and coloring, combined with representational images through photography and symbols, creates layers of complexity.”

Lot 318: Jenny Holzer, Protect Me From What I Want, text on Resopal plate on board, 1990. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.

Jessica Feldman, Cataloguer

Jenny Holzer, Protect Me From What I Want

“I’ve always found myself particularly drawn to the work of feminist artists, and this work by Jenny Holzer is no exception. In this multiple, she utilized the text-based, neo-conceptual approach that defines her oeuvre to communicate a message that speaks to me on an almost spiritual level: that sometimes the things we want the most are not what is best for us.”

Lot 259: Robert Cottingham, Empire, screenprint, 2009. Estimate $1,200 to $1,800.

Jaye Melino, Administrator

Robert Cottingham, Empire

“‘Americana, elevated’ is how I would describe Cottingham’s work; he celebrates both the banality and the excess of American culture by portraying quotidian scenes in bold colors, high contrast and strategic cropping. Empire is my favorite because his manipulation of the subject matters captures a specific moment in and out of time.”

Lot 27: Richard Diebenkorn, Seated Woman in Chemise, lithograph, 1965.
Estimate $3,000 to $5,000.

Allison Ransom, Junior Cataloguer

Richard Diebenkorn, Seated Woman in Chemise

“The painterly quality of the lines that make up the figure blur the boundary between printmaking and painting. I am impressed by the way Diebenkorn was able to render the woman in such a minimal way, as he was able to convey both the form of the woman as well as her presence and personality in just a few lines.”

Browse the full catalogue.

The post Specialist Selections from Contemporary Art appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Stanley Simon of New York City was a passionate life-long collector of sci-fi, thriller and fantasy first editions. His paramount collection of almost 100 first editions, nearly all of them signed, forms the spine of our May 15 auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature.

Lot 289: Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, signed and inscribed by Fay Wray and Marcel Delgado, first edition, New York, 1932. Estimate $4,500 to $6,000.

Simon worked at the post office for 30 years but always was intensely focused on his collections. He was especially interested in cross-overs between literature and Hollywood, seeking such treasures as the first edition of Delos W. Lovelace’s novelization of King Kong, 1932, inscribed by creator Marcel Delgado and actress Fay Wray, who wrote, “Dear Stanley – With memories of King Kong both for you and – Fay Wray.” Many highlights in his collection found their way to the silver screen, especially titles by Philip K. Dick, including: a first edition of A Scanner Darkly, 1977, reinterpreted for film by Richard Linklater in 2006; a first edition of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, 1968, the basis for Ridley Scott’s 1982  Blade Runner; and a signed first edition of Man in the High Castle, 1962, now a series on Amazon. Also of note, though they were never made into movies, are a signed first edition of Dick’s Ubik, 1969, and the galley proof of Valis, 1987, neither of which are known to have appeared at auction before.

Lot 218: Stephen King, Carrie, first edition, first printing, signed and inscribed, Garden City, 1974.
Estimate $1,200 to $1,800.

Stephen King is also well-represented in the classic book-cum-movie genre: a first edition of Carrie, 1974, inscribed to Stanley, and the deluxe limited edition of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, 1982, signed by King and illustrator Michael Whelan, which is movie from 2017.

Lot 227: Stephen King, Skeleton Crew, illustrated by J.K. Potter, deluxe limited issue, Potter’s own copy, signed by both and inscribed by Potter, Santa Cruz, 1985. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.

Also available is the deluxe limited edition in zippered black leather of Skeleton Crew, 1985, previously in the collection of the illustrator, J.K. Potter, in which he wrote, “This, my own contributors copy, is for Stanley Simon.” Making their auction debuts are the galley proof of The Shining, 1977, signed and inscribed, and the uncorrected proof of The Stand, 1990, inscribed to Simon.

Lot 225: Stephen King, The Shining, first edition, presentation copy, inscribed, Garden City, 1977. Estimate $1,500 to $2,000.

Stanley Simon was particularly adept at getting the works in his collection inscribed to him by the authors and other participants. Nearly all of his books are signed, and of those, most are additionally inscribed to him by name.

Lot 105: Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, first edition, New York, 1968. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.

Continuing the trend is a signed first edition of Isaac Asimov‘s second book, I, Robot, 1950–obviously the inspiration for the 2004 movie of the same name starring Will Smith. Also available Asimov’s complete Foundation trilogy, 1951-53, the winner of The Hugo Award for best all-time series, each first editions signed by the author, still in their original dust jackets.

Lot 25: Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, limited author’s edition, presentation copy, signed and inscribed, New York, 1953. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.

Of course, no library of science fiction would be complete without highlights from the oeuvre of the king of the genre, Ray Bradbury. A limited author’s edition personally inscribed to Simon of his magnum opus Fahrenheit 451, 1953, as well as a sign first limited edition bound in asbestos, lead the selection. The first three volumes of Futuria Fantasia, 1939-40, all signed, and a presentation copy of the first edition of The Martian Chronicles, 1950, signed and inscribed to Simon with a shouting man drawing, are also available.

Lot 34: Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles, first edition, presentation copy, signed and inscribed with original drawing, Garden City, 1950. Estimate $1,000 to $1,500.

Browse the full catalogue. Lots in this auction from the Estate of Stanley Simon are marked ESS.

The post The Sci-Fi Collection of Stanley Simon appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Our May 22 auction of Contemporary Art features a selection of recent sculpture and multiples by some of the world’s most famous living artists. Here are a few of our favorites.

Ai Weiwei

Lot 385: Ai Weiwei, The Artist’s Hand, electroplated rhodium on cast urethane resin, 2017.
Estimate $1,000 to $1,500.

This cast of marquee artist and world-renowned human rights activist Ai Weiwei’s hand making a rude gesture was one of 1,000 created and sold in 2017 to support the artist’s public exhibition Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, which was installed in 300 locations throughout New York City from October 2017 to February 2018. The work references a popular photographic series by the artist, Study of Perspectives, in which he traveled to government buildings around the world and gave them the finger.

Yayoi Kusama

Lot 384: Yayoi Kusama, two Pumpkins, cast resin, in original boxes, 2013. Estimate $1,500 to $2,500.

Japanese superstar artist Yayoi Kusama is known for her dramatic installations of infinity rooms; for polka dots; and for pumpkins. Pumpkins have permeated the artist’s oeuvre since childhood. Her instantly recognizable polka dot kabochas have sprung up as monumental outdoor installations at institutions around the world. Kusama began painting dots because her mental illness–she has lived voluntarily in a mental health hospital since the 70’s–causes her to see them everywhere. As for the pumpkins, she calls them “the most humorous of vegetables.”

Kehinde Wiley

Lot 377: Kehinde Wiley, After La Negresse, 1872, cast marble dust and resin, 2006. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.

Kehinde Wiley collaborated with Cereal Art in 2006 to create a series of cast marble busts recreating specific historic works. After La Negresse, 1872, references a bust by the nineteenth-century French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, replacing the original female slave figure with a young male basketball player.

Banksy

Lot 365: Banksy, Walled Off Hotel — Box Set, framed color print and hand-painted model with concrete base, 2017. Estimate $1,500 to $2,500.

In September 2017, anonymous street artist Banksy opened a gift shop in his “Walled Off Hotel,” overlooking the border wall that bisects Bethlehem between Palestine and Israel. In typical Banksy fashion, the hand-painted pieces offered at “Wall Mart” highlight social issues  by turning the tools and infrastructure of oppression into a capitalist venture.

Robert Norton Family Christmas Project

Robert Norton, inventor of Norton Antivirus Software, gives the best Christmas presents. Each year, he commissions a contemporary artist to create a work to be sent to everyone on his gift list. The project has been going since 1988. Three examples of the gifts will be offered in this auction.

Lot 375: Takashi Murakami, Oval (Peter Norton Christmas Project), colored plastic, vinyl, mini CD, 2000. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.

Oval, Takashi Murikama’s 2000 contribution to the Norton Christmas Project, is perhaps the most famous. The green spherical base opens to reveal a miniature CD that, according to Director Todd Weyman, is “techno-esque.”

Lot 369: Robert Lazzarini, Teacup and Saucer, set of two porcelain cups and saucers with metal spoons, 2003. Estimate $1,000 to $1,500.

Robert Lazzarini is best known for his sculptures that subvert everyday objects in order to complicate viewers’ expectations and ideas of perception. To create Teacup and Saucer, Lazzarini drew the cup and saucer using three-dimensional modeling software, and laser scanned a normally-proportioned spoon into the computer. He applied a series of wave patterns along these models to create the finished product, which evokes a surrealist, otherworldly quality. For his gift with the Norton Christmas Project in 2003, Lazzarini sent one of these teacups to everyone on Norton’s list. Included in the design is a small chip on the rim of the teacup, intended to give the impression that each had a previous life as a useful object.

Lot 378: Kara Walker, Freedom: A Fable: A Curious Interpretation of the Wit of a Negress in Troubled Times, bound pop-up book, 1997. Estimate $2,000 to $3,000.

Kara Walker’s 1997 contribution to the Norton Christmas Project was an elaborate pop-up book, which details the dreams of a woman in the antebellum South about to be freed from slavery. She fears she will be sent to Liberia after the Civil War, and decides instead to become a god. The nature of the pop-up book, a medium usually reserved for children, belies the theme of the plot. According to Walker, Toni Morrison was one of the recipients of the Christmas gift and sent her a personal thank-you note.

Browse the full catalogue.

The post Contemporary in 3D appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

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, by Walker Evans. The image was taken as part of a commission for Fortune magazine to document the state of Ford. While a negative is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, no other print is known. It more than doubled its high estimate, selling to a collector for $57,500.

Lot 103: Walker Evans, River Rouge Plant, Detroit, Michigan (with Ford signage on freight car), silver print, 1947. Estimate $15,000 to $25,000.

An archive of more than 1,500 photographs relating to NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions followed the successful February 2017 sale of 22 large color photographs of space, which reached $43,750. Spanning nine binders, the images were compiled from packages sent to the press for distribution. Among other things, they depicted liftoff, astronauts floating in space, earthrise, capsules “rendezvousing,” the dark side of the moon and the lunar surface, including the moonwalk and lunar rover. The suite “took off” past its $12,000 high estimate, finally selling to an institution for $52,500.

Lot 285: Archive of approximately 1,540 photographs from NASA missions, 1961-72. Sold April 19, 2018 for $52,500.

Several auction records were set for important works, including $47,500 for the mesmerizing Winter in Yosemite [Pine Forest in Snow], circa 1932, by Ansel Adams, given by the artist to historian and collector Carl Wheat. Lewis W. Hine’s A Vegetable Cannery in Delaware, 1910, sold to a collector for a record $12,500.

Lot 65: Ansel Adams, Winter in Rosemite [Pine Forest in Snow], silver print, inscribed to Carl Wheat, circa 1932. Sold April 19, 2018 for $47,500.

Lot 247: Mini-archive related to Fritz Lang’s classic film Metropolis, silver prints, 1927. Sold April 19, 2018 for $10,625.

Browse the full catalogue.

The next auction of Photographs & Photobooks at Swann Galleries will be on October 18, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments for autumn auctions.

The post Records & Results: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Our auction of Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics on April 26 featured highlights by artists of the twentieth century and scarce volumes from fine presses.

Lot 169: Gustav Klimt, Das Werk von Gustav Klimt, with 49 plates, Vienna & Leipzig, 1918.
Sold April 26, 2018 for $106,250 .

Leading the sale was Das Werk von Gustav Klimt, 1918, the only monograph of Gustav Klimt’s work published during his lifetime. With some of the artist’s most famous plates printed in vibrant color and highlighted in gold and silver, the suite tripled its high estimate, selling to a collector for $106,250. The posthumous Eine Nachlese, 1931, with 30 plates by Klimt and text by Max Eisler, sold for $11,250.

Lot 195: Fernand Léger, Cirque, with 63 lithographs, Paris, 1950. Sold April 26, 2018 for $20,000.

Fine art portfolios performed well throughout the sale. Fernand Léger’s colorful Cirque, 1950, with 63 lithographs, reached $20,000, as did Eaux-Fortes originales pour des textes du Buffon, 1942, a charming bestiary with etchings by Pablo Picasso.

Lot 117: Eric Gill, Naked Man Dead, original wood block carving with gesso, for the Golden Cockerel Press edition of The Canterbury Tales, London, 1929. Sold April 26, 2018 for $17,500.

A spectacular highlight was an original woodblock carving by Eric Gill for the Golden Cockerel Press edition of The Canterbury Tales, 1929. The image of Naked Man Dead appeared in the border ten times throughout the volumes ($17,500).

Lot 160: William Morris, The Story of the Glittering Pain, Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith, 1894. Sold April 26, 2017 for $4,940.

Each of the works by the Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris, found buyers. The highlight was the second issue of the first book ever published by the press, The Story of the Glittering Pain, 1894, bound in vellum, which sold for $4,750.

Lot 81: Friedrich Wolfrum, Graphische Neuheiten Series II, with 48 plates, Vienna & Leipzig, 1907. Sold April 26, 2018 for $6,250, a record for the work.

An auction record was achieved for Friedrich Wolfrum’s Graphische Neuheiten Series II, 1907, a decorative work with samples of the latest designs for book design, frames, stationery and wallpaper, among other sundries. It was purchased by an institution for $6,250.

The next auction of books at Swann Galleries will be 19th & 20th Century Literature on May 15, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments for autumn auctions.

The post Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

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 was Man Ray’s iconic poster for the London Underground, which reached a record $149,000.

Lot 76: Man Ray, [London Transport] – Keeps London Going, 1938. Sold May 3, 2018 for $149,000, a record for the work.

Lot 7: Alfred Röller, XIV Ausstellung / Secession / Klinger Beethoven, 1902. Sold May 3, 2018 for $57,200,
a record for the work.

Additional auction records for stunning Secessionist masterpieces included Alfred Röller’s XIV Ausstellung / Secession / Klinger Beethoven, 1902, for $57,200, and Frommes Kalendar, 1899, by Koloman Moser, at $25,000. Both works were purchased by institutions. A record was also achieved by Bon Appétit!, 1961, an advertisement for eggs by Niklaus Stoecklin in his hyperrealist New Objectivity style, at $8,450.

Lot 147: Charles Loupot, Lion Noir / Cirage – Crème, 1949. Sold May 3, 2018 for $35,000.

A masterwork of printing designed by Charles Loupot in 1940 for the Lion Noir shoe polish company, in which a glossy black lion prepares to pounce from a matte black background, was purchased by a collector for $35,000.

Browse the full catalogue.

The next auction of Vintage Posters at Swann Galleries will be held on August 1, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments for autumn auctions.

The post Records & Results: Graphic Design appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

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 $2M.

Lot 424: Henri Matisse, Grand Masque, aquatint, inscribed to model Nadia Sednaoui, 1948. Sold May 8, 2018 for $87,500, a record for the work.

Leading the auction was a gift from Henri Matisse to one of his favorite models, Nadia Sednaoui. The evocative aquatint Grand Masque, 1948, a stylized portrait of the young woman, is signed and inscribed to her by the artist. It sold for $87,500, a record for the work. Another auction record was set for the artist’s 1938 linoleum cut Diane, at $20,000.

Lot 398: Pablo Picasso, Tête de femme, de profil, drypoint, 1905.
Sold May 8, 2018 for $75,000.

Tête de femme, de profil, 1905, an early drypoint by Pablo Picasso at just 24 years old, reached $75,000. The portrait topped an extravagant selection of works by the master in a variety of media. The jaunty terre-de-faïence dish Goat’s Head in Profile, 1952, and color linoleum cut Le Vieux Roi, 1963, each exceeded their high estimates to sell for $21,250.

Lot 498: Marc Chagall (after), Carmen, color lithograph, 1967.
Sold May 8, 2018 for $62,500.

Additional twentieth-century highlights included Marc Chagall’s color lithograph L’Âme du Cirque, 1980, which nearly doubled its high estimate to sell for $42,500, a record for the work. Also by Chagall, Carmen, 1967, an after-print in vibrant hues, reached $62,500.

Lot 138: Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Uytenbogaert, Preacher of the Remonstrants, etching and drypoint, 1635. Sold May 8, 2018 for $57,500.

The etching and drypoint portrait of Jan Uytenbogaert, Preacher of the Remonstrants, 1635, by Rembrandt van Rijn, previously in the collector of the German art director Rudolph Busch, nearly doubled its high estimate to sell for $57,500. A rich selection of early self portraits by the master was led by Self Portrait in a Cap, Laughing, 1630, and Self Portrait in a Fur Cap: Bust, 1630 ($27,500 and $35,000, respectively).

Lot 252: James A.M. Whistler, The Two Doorways, etching and drypoint, 1879-80. Sold May 8, 2018 for $25,000.

Two elegant etchings by James A.M. Whistler performed well, led by Rue de la Rochefoucault, 1890, which was purchased by a collector for $30,000, a record for the work. Another highlight was The Two Doorways, 1879-80, an intimate vista of Venice ($25,000).

Browse the full catalogue.

The next fine art auction at Swann Galleries will be Contemporary Art on May 22, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments for autumn auctions.

The post Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

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 of the genre, boasted a 98% sell-through rate. All of the offered titles by Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick and Stephen King sold, with many achieving auction records. Works from the Estate of Stanley Simon are marked ESS.

Lot 106: Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle, first edition, signed, New York, 1962. ESS. Sold May 15, 2018 for $10,400, a record for the work.

Leading the pack was a signed first edition of Dick’s dystopian novel The Man in the High Castle, 1962, which was purchased by a collector for $10,400, above a high estimate of $6,000, a record for the work. Another record was achieved by a signed first edition of Ubik, 1969, at $5,500, while the auction debut of the rare galley proofs for Valis, 1981, reached $5,000.

Lot 230: Stephen King, The Stand, uncorrected proof, presentation copy, inscribed, Garden City, 1978. ESS. Sold May 15, 2018 for $9,100.

Simon had acquired several uncorrected proofs of important works, none of which had previously appeared at auction. While not strictly science-fiction, material by Stephen King outperformed in this category. The highlight was the presentation copy of an uncorrected proof of The Stand, 1978, which sold to a collector for $9,100. Also available were one of apparently 28 copies of proofs of King’s The Shining, 1977, inscribed, which sold for five times its high estimate for $6,250, and the complete six-volume set of uncorrected proofs of The Green Mile, 1996, exceeded its $1,200 high estimate to sell for $5,200.

Lot 4: Isaac Asimov, Foundation trilogy, first editions, each signed, New York, 1951-53. ESS. Sold May 15, 2018 for $9,750, a record for the work.

Another highlight from the Simon estate was the complete Foundation trilogy, 1951-53, by Isaac Asimov. Together, the three signed first editions achieved an auction record of $9,750. Also by Asimov, a signed first edition of I, Robot, 1950, reached $6,250, above a high estimate of $3,500. Important editions of Ray Bradbury’s magnum opus Fahrenheit 451, 1953, were led by the limited author’s edition personally inscribed to Simon ($7,500). The popular asbestos-bound edition reached $5,200. All six editions offered were purchased.

Lot 193: Ernest Hemingway, Three Stories & Ten Poems, limited first edition, Paris, 1923. Sold May 15, 2018, for $23,750.

Further highlights from the auction included the first edition of Ernest Hemingway’s first work, Three Stories & Ten Poems, 1923, which sold to a collector for $23,750. The first editions of Emily Dickinson’s first three books of Poems, 1890-96, reached $13,750.

Browse the full catalogue.

The next auction of Books at Swann Galleries will be Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books on October 16, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments for autumn auctions.

The post Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Artist and illustrator Rick Meyerowitz was kind enough to talk to us in advance of our June 5 sale of Illustration Art, which will include highlights from his personal collection, coming to auction for the first time.

Joel Meyerowitz, Rick Meyerowitz.

Interview with Rick Meyerowitz

How and when did you decide to pursue art and, specifically, illustration?

My parents, who were fabulists (they made up fables) and confabulists (they made up confusing fables), often said that when I was five years old I announced to my family that I was going to be an artist so I could draw pictures for books, just like the artists whose work I loved in the books I loved. It turned out that forging a life as an illustrator was a bit more complicated than just saying it. But who knew? I was five.

Junior Specialist Arielle Bremby with Meyerowitz in his studio.
Meyerowitz wears fork glasses.

What was your first published artwork?
In 1967 I called on Ken Deardoff, the art director of Evergreen Review, which was published by Grove Press. He liked my portfolio and commissioned a full page illustration–a rarity, I think, for a first showing of a portfolio. He also bought a piece right out of my portfolio for immediate use in the magazine. It was a gag cartoon that showed LBJ on a couch in the Oval Office in… well, in flagrante delicto with Minnie Mouse. Not a pretty picture, not to mention some serious female rodent abuse. Mickey—at the door of the Oval Office, catching them in the act—is crying out “MINNIE!” I comfort myself with the fact that it could’ve been worse, although I’m not sure how.

Meyerowitz in his studio, looking at sketches marked Lampoon. Meyerowitz wears regular glasses.

Which publication did you enjoy working for the most, and why?
The answer has to be The National Lampoon, for which I contributed more than 700 drawings from the first issue in April 1970 until almost the last issue in January 1991. What do I want to tell you about the unbridled freedom and exhilaration of being the visual face of the magazine during its heyday and beyond? It was epic.

(Note: For a full picture of those days, see Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Writers and Artists Who Made The National Lampoon Insanely Great.) 

Meyerowitz surveys his domain.

Can you describe your process?
I draw and paint and write. I am a literate, civilized and mature fellow, but in my work I can be rather incorrigible. My sense of humor leans toward wicked. It’s outré, with a side of id. But where else can a satirical artist be satirical these days if not in the corral of his own imagination, and the privacy of his own artwork. That said, my work is always made to be seen, and how private can it be if it appears in a magazine or at auction?

How many preliminary sketches (like some of the works in this sale) do you usually create for a work?

The concept comes quickly. The details take longer. There’s no standard number of sketches. I work till I get it right and make myself laugh.

How important is humor in your drawings, visually and conceptually? And how do you strike that balance?
I’m serious about my work, but I’m a humorous illustrator. The idea and the way I put the idea down on paper are inherently balanced toward humor. I don’t know how to do it any other way.

Meyerowitz in his studio.

Among your personal collection and archive, are there any works with which you are unwilling to part?
There are works I’m quite fond of, and they are not necessarily my most well-known pieces. As for my willingness to part with them, well, maybe once I wanted to hang onto some works, but not any longer.

Which project do you remember most fondly? Of which are you most proud?

I could tell you about many different projects that are the ones I remember most fondly. Here are two: New Yorkistan, my first collaboration with Maira Kalman, because of the heady energy of finding she and I worked together beautifully, and because of the speed with which we produced that idea and image out of nothing, in that gloomy atmosphere following 9/11. And because of its unexpected and almost explosive impact on the culture.

New Yorkistan was good, but I’ll tell you, my daughter Molly was born in March, 1978, the same week the poster art for Animal House was due. Her mother and I collaborated on her birth all that week. I worked on the Animal House art for six days before and after her birth. I don’t remember sleeping that week (or for the rest of that year). In all the years before or since, I’ve never had another week like that. Fond, proud and memorable hardly describe it.

Meyerowitz being interviewed.

About the Collection

Lot 249: Rick Meyerowitz & Maira Kalman, New Yorkistan, watercolor and ink, a final sketch for a cover for The New Yorker, 2001. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.

The auction features some of Meyerowitz’s most recognizable work, including a final watercolor sketch for one of the best-selling New Yorker covers, New Yorkistan, which appeared on the December 10, 2001 edition of the magazine. It was the acknowledged first comic relief for the city after September 11, 2001. Posters of the cover sold out within days of its release, and it was listed as #14 on the American Society of Magazine Editors’ list of top covers in the last 40 years. Writer and critic Sarah Boxer remarked that it stood as the successor to Saul Steinberg’s unforgettable View of the World from 9th Avenue. By “Afghanistanizing” the various neighborhoods of New York City in an amalgam of Yiddish, Persian and vernacular slang, every local could laugh and identify with New Yorkistan, bond over it, and realize that they, too, were “made up of tribes with a bunch of exotic names that mean nothing to outsiders,” as she wrote in The New York Times.

Lot 172: Rick Meyerowitz, Animal House, graphite, sketch for film of the same name, 1978. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.

Meyerowitz rose to prominence in the 1970s as a cartoonist for National Lampoon and with such iconic pieces as the promotional poster for Animal House. The work perfectly captured the chaos of the film. In his 2010 book Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead, Meyerowitz recalled: “[After the premiere screening] John [Belushi] and I stopped in the lobby in front of a huge reproduction of the poster. We were both staring holes in it. I was thinking I was a lucky guy; I’d managed, somehow, to capture the whole damn movie in one piece of art. . . John, as if reading my thoughts, said to me, ‘You nailed it, man. You really fucking nailed it.’ It is the best compliment I have ever received about my work on Animal House.”

Lot 173: Rick Meyerowitz, Blazing Saddles, watercolor, colored pencil and gouache, international promotional poster for Blazing Saddles, 1974.
Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.

The Animal House poster perfects the style Meyerowitz popularized for the international promotion of Blazing Saddles in 1974. Meyerowitz said of the project: “Murray Smith asked me to work on Black Bart, the next Mel Brooks film after The Producers. He suggested that we really knock [the studio] out by doing something impressive for our first presentation, so I created this very large and detailed color painting. It’s not the final art, but it is much more detailed than any sketch I’ve ever done. The studio loved it and so did Mel. They changed the title of the film but that didn’t affect the art, and after I completed the final poster art, everyone seemed deliriously pleased. I even got a phone call from Mel, who began our conversation with ‘Meyerowitz? Jewish, right?'”

Lot 18: Rick Meyerowitz, BVD Raid 1980, watercolor and colored pencil, advertisement for BVD: The Great American Underwear Company, 1980. Estimate $1,500 to $2,500.

Inspired by the success of the Animal House poster, Meyerowitz was commissioned in 1980 to create an advertisement in the same spirit for BVD: The Great American Underwear Company. The resulting BVD Raid 1980 riffs on the raucous scene of a collegiate fraternity house and the idea of a “panty raid” in which co-eds steal the brothers wearing the eponymous underpants.

Lot 207: Rick Meyerowitz, Digitial Deli Map of Personal Computer America, watercolor and colored pencil with collage, for Workman Publishing Company, 1984. Estimate $3,500 to $5,000.

New Yorkistan was not Meyerowitz’s first satirical map. In a 1945 commission for Workman Publishing Company’s book, Digital Deli: The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy by The Lunch Group, Meyerowitz reimagined North America as a cornucopia of personal computer users rife with visual gags including the world’s largest cheese computer; the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto; Dr. John Lilly communicating with dolphins via Apple II computer; a lighthouse monument to the first microchip; and two hikers in the Pacific Northwest region, one of whom is carrying a personal computer on his back with the screen displaying “You are lost.”

Browse the full catalogue.

The post Interview with Rick Meyerowitz: “A Literate, Civilized & Mature Fellow” appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

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 only three of the top 20 lots denoting a figural image.

Lot 264: Barbara Hepworth, Opposing Forms, complete portfolio with 12 color lithographs, 1969-70. Sold May 22, 2018 for $40,000.

Topping the auction was Barbara Hepworth’s complete portfolio, Opposing Forms, 1969-70. Each of the 12 signed color lithographs features the recognizable “pierced form” style most often seen in her three-dimensional work. The portfolio sold for $40,000, above a high estimate of $30,000.

Lot 339: Victor Vasarely, Majus II, polystyrene, 1974. Sold May 22, 2018 for $13,750.

All 12 works in the auction by 1970s Op Art practitioner Victor Vasarely found buyers. The highlight was the mesmerizing polystyrene multiple Majus II, 1974, which sold to a collector for $13,750, above a high estimate of $8,000. Another polystyrene multiple from the same year, Zoeld (Blue/Green), realized $12,500.

Lot 151: Paul Sharits, Isla de Espiritu Santo, Baja, 1981, and Yelapa, 1982, pen and inks. Sold May 22, 2018 for $7,000.

Original works by Paul Sharits performed well, with a set of two of his iconic line drawings inspiring a bidding war, settling at $7,000, above a high estimate of $5,000.

Lot 366: Rene Ricard, Tomorrow’s Another Day…, acrylic on canvas, 2001. Sold May 22, 2018 for $15,000.

Two original canary-yellow acrylic paintings by Rene Ricard, a protégé of Andy Warhol, far exceeded their high estimates. Tomorrow’s Another Day…, 2011, reached $15,000, above a high estimate of $9,000, while With Lipstick 25¢, 2011, shot up to $23,750 above a high estimate of $10,000.

Lot 241: Keith Haring, Ludo, complete portfolio with 5 color lithographs, 1985. Sold May 22, 2018 for $37,500, a record for the work.

The sale was notable for several auction records for works by marquee artists. Keith Haring’s portfolio Ludo, 1985, with five color lithographs, sold to a collector for a record $37,500. Another record was achieved for Cicada, 1981, the iconic color lithograph by Jasper Johns, at $36,400, above a high estimate of $22,000. The elegant black and yellow Lithographie 38, 1975, by Pierre Soulages, was another record at $15,000.

The next fine art auction at Swann Galleries will be American Art on June 14, 2018. The house is currently accepting quality consignments for autumn auctions.

The post Records & Results: Contemporary Art appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Tucked into the top left corner of an eighteenth-century map in our June 7 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books is a vignette that at first glance seems more charming than important — until you know the true story of The Original Beaver Map.

Beaver Map Iterations

Lot 54: Nicolas de Fer, L’Amerique Divisee Selon Letendue de ses Principales Parties, engraved decorative wall map, Paris, 1713.
Estimate $20,000 to $30,000.

Nicolas de Fer’s L’Amerique Divisee Selon Letendue de ses Principales Parties, 1713, was more of a lure for adventurous fortune-seekers than it was tool for navigation. Encircling his map of North and South America are several small engraved scenes boasting the sights to see and riches to gain on the continents. Here, for the first time, is included a vista of Niagara Falls, the foreground of which is crawling with dozens of strangely humanoid beavers engaged in a variety of tasks that bear little resemblance to the actual activities of the creature.

A close-up view of the beaver cartouche on Nicolas de Fer‘s map.

Why? The answer is manifold, and helps to explain the vignette’s enduring popularity for centuries following. By the eighteenth century, the Eurasian beaver was nearly extinct after centuries of dogged hunting in order to obtain their valuable castor oil and pelts. Thus the vision of a multitude of beavers was not only a novelty to western Europeans, but a recognizable promise of apparently instant and endless wealth.

Meanwhile, as industry in Europe became more regulated, groups of people worked in tandem to complete a single large task. According to the Osher Map Library, the actions of the  beavers “mimicked the carefully regulated division of labor that was by 1700 increasingly common in the construction of major public works.” The fantasy of the beavers’ teamwork against the splendid background of the falls suggested to the potential explorer that if critters could realize monumental infrastructure in the New World, a human community could achieve even more. De Fer’s beavers are supplemented by a key, in French, of the various tasks that employed  the beavers en masse.

Lot 273: Herman Moll, The World Described, with 30 multi-sheet folding maps, including “The Beaver Map,” London, circa 1735 or after. Estimate $10,000 to $15,000.

However, the beavers did not end here. Their most famous appearance was by Herman Moll in his circa 1735 atlas, The World Described, which became known as “The Beaver Map.” The cartouche was the only decorative element on the spread showing the East Coast. Perhaps because it was housed within an atlas, this map survives in greater numbers than de Fer’s and is therefore better known to collectors. Moll’s version is the mirror image of de Fer’s due to the fact that the engraver copied it directly from the original. The letters denoting various activities, however, have been left out.

A close-up of the beavers in Herman Moll‘s atlas.

Another iteration of de Fer’s beavers appeared on a 1718 map by Henri Abraham Châtelain: Carte Tres Curieuse de la Mer du Sud, Contenant des Remarques Nouvelles et Tres Utiles non Seulement sur les Ports et Iles de Cette Mer. This map, incredibly, is sometimes called “The Dutch Beaver Derivative.”

Lot 38: Henri Chatelain, Carte Tres Curieuse de la Mer du Sud, Contenant des Remarques Nouvelles et Tres Utiles non Seulement sur les Ports et Iles de Cette Mer, “The Dutch Beaver Derivative,” Amsterdam, 1719. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

Close-up of the cartouche on “The Dutch Beaver Derivative.”

The French quest for beavers was a driving force in the north- and westward expansion into the continent. In addition to their inherent value, colonists and explorers loved the beavers for their relatable industriousness. They were such an important resource in nascent New York that in the 1630s, a proposed seal for  the colony featured two leggy beavers.

A circa 1630 proposed seal for New York. Courtesy of the New-York Historical Society.

What Beavers Do and Do Not Do

While they may have valued the beavers, the explorers were largely wrong about just about everything regarding the creature. They do not, for example, look like a small, hairless bear. They look like this:

The American Beaver. Courtesy of Popular Science.

So confounded by the beaver were Europeans that the rodent was classified as a fish by the church. According to Thomas Jefferys in The Natural and Civil History of the French Dominions in North and South America, 1760, “In respect of his [the beaver’s] tail, he is a perfect fish, and has been judicially declared such by the College of Physicians at Paris, and the faculty of divinity have, in consequence of this declaration, pronounced it lawful to be eaten on days of fasting.”

Responsibilities of the beaver, according to Nicolas de Fer.

The list of tasks performed by the beavers on The Original Beaver Map reveals a significant misunderstanding of their behavior. Here it is, translated by Professor Nancy Erickson of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Research at the University of Southern Maine:

Concerning the Beavers of Canada: Their industry in building dams to retain water in order to turn a little stream into a big lake, in which to construct their lodges, is totally wonderful.

A. Lumberjacks who cut Big Trees with their Teeth, which they fell across the stream to serve as the foundation for their dams
B. Carpenters who cut the long branches
C. Bearers of wood for construction
D. Those who make the mortar
E. Commandant or architect
F. Inspector of the disabled
G. Those who drag the mortar on their tails
H. Beaver with a disabled tail from having worked too hard
I. Masons who build the dam
L. Those who tap with their tails to make the masonry firmer
M. Beaver lodge in the form of a dome or kiln with an exit on land and another in the water

Swann Galleries specializes in works on paper, not biology. However, we can say with certainty that these attributes are no longer recognized as accurate by the scientific community at large.

Relationship of Beavers to Maps

From a philosophical standpoint, one of the most interesting possible reasons for the endurance of the beaver maps is the very nature of beavers and of maps. Of all creatures, aside from human beings, one could argue that beavers are the greatest living influencers of geography. Their dams and lodges dramatically change the course of rivers and create lakes where once lay valleys. Their architecture fundamentally changes the land, the study of which is the exact purpose of a map.

In 1868, the anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan published The American Beaver and His Works, a 396-page treatise on the life and times of Castor canadensis. According to Science Magazine, “Folded into each copy was a map, carefully drawn by [Morgan’s] railroad’s engineers, which detailed the locations of 64 beaver dams and ponds spread over some 125 square kilometers.”

Map from Lewis Henry Morgan’s The American Beaver and His Works, 1868, showing locations of beaver structures.

An article by Carol A. Johnston published in the August 15, 2016 issue of Wetlands, the official scholarly journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists, undertook to compare the data on Morgan’s nineteenth-century map with the current state of the same locations. The results proved the enduring effect of beavers on the landscape: nearly 75% of the structures on Morgan’s map were “still discernible in 2014.”

Indeed, a 2012 report by Charles D. James and Richard B. Lanman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Northwest Region discovered that individual dams in the Sierra Nevadas had been “periodically inhabited for over a millennium until ~1850.”

Morgan himself suspected the longevity of the structures: “The great age of the larger dams is shown by their size, by the amount of solid materials they contain, and by the destruction of the primitive forest within the area of the ponds…. The evidence from these, and other sources, tends to show that these dams have existed in the same places for hundreds and thousands of years.”

Browse the full catalogue.

The post The Original Beaver Map & Its Legacy appeared first on Swann Galleries News.