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Prints with Paws: Cats in 19th-Century French Art
Before Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub took the internet by storm, another group of cats rose to fame in the French art world. Based on their prints, 19th-century artists were just as enamored with their furry...
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Authentication: Auction World Detective Work
In addition to the many prints and books we bring to auction, Swann often handles original works of art that come to us and need to be authenticated. In this post, we take a closer look at the typical...
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Records & Results: Illustration Art
The success of our January 28 auction of Illustration Art displayed a clear rise in interest in this collecting category, prompting our specialists to expand the department and add a second yearly sale...
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A Tour Through Harlem With E. Simms Campbell and Cab Calloway
Lot 415: E. Simms Campbell, A Night-Club Map of Harlem, pen and brush, 1932. Estimate $40,000 to $60,000. It takes more than artistic skill to capture not only the look of a place, but the feel of it....
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Reflections on 20 Years of Printed & Manuscript African Americana
The following is an excerpt from the introduction written by Swann Galleries’ Printed & Manuscript African Americana Specialist Wyatt Houston Day for his 2016 catalogue–the 20th annual African...
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Countdown to Eternity: A Photographer’s Look At Dr. King’s Final Year
New York City-born photographer Benedict Fernandez is know for his documentary photography, which has depicted everything from protest movements to cultural explorations in Puerto Rico, Russia and...
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Margins, Notes & Stamps: Looking at the Bones of Illustration Art
One of the most appealing qualities of Illustration Art is the physical evidence of the creative process that goes into its making. While most other works of art appearing at auction are finished,...
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Steeped in History: “Homage to Martin Luther King” by Loïs Mailou Jones
While the bright colors, stunning imagery and historical importance of a painting are the things we tend to focus on when viewing a work of art, here at Swann we know that often the back of a piece can...
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African-American Artists & Parisian Académies
Paris has long been a desired destination and a haven for expatriate and American artists, with prominent schools like the famed École de Beaux-Arts encouraging practitioners from around the world to...
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Remembering Inge Hardison
After the close of our Printed & Manuscript African Americana auction last week, we were saddened to learn about the passing of artist Inge Hardison. A multitalented artist, writer and performer,...
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All the Antiquarian Books You Could Want This Weekend
It’s a big weekend for rare books in New York. The ABAA’s New York Antiquarian Book Fair opened yesterday, and the preview for our upcoming Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books auction...
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Into the Aether: An Early Medical Book on Pain Relief
The medical section of our Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books auctions always provides an interesting peek into the progression of human understanding of the body, its ailments and...
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Notes from the Catalogue: Vernacular Photographs of New York
Our upcoming auction Images & Objects: Photographs & Photobooks features a compelling section of vernacular photographs; among them are some fascinating images of New York from bygone eras....
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Prints About Town: Three Exhibitions and an Auction
If you can’t get enough of the material coming up in our two-part auction of Old Master through Modern Prints, featuring A Collector’s Vision: Works on Paper from the Belle Époque & Beyond, there...
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A Collector’s Vision: Les Nabis, the Belle Époque & Artist Interaction Seen...
While most auctions here at Swann are assembled with artworks and items from a host of different consignors, we also regularly handle entire private collections, such as A Collector’s Vision: Works on...
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Forgeries in Politics
Ballot-box stuffing may be one of the most frequently alleged forms of fraud during any given election season, but there are other sorts of interesting political fraud. Putting aside the various forms...
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Books Every Book Collector Should Read
Our upcoming Autographs auction features an uncommon Oscar Wilde manuscript consisting of five and a half pages of his notes for a review in which he pans a book on book collecting. While Wilde might...
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Two Items Related to Anne Frank Come to Auction at Swann in May
Through her poignant writing and tragic story, Anne Frank has become a source of inspiration for millions. Two of our upcoming auctions feature items related to Frank, including Anne and Margot’s copy...
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Photomontage in Graphic Design
Our Vintage Posters department has expanded and renamed their annual Modernist Posters sale. Now called Graphic Design, this auction features posters and ephemera that highlight the shifting trends in...
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Notes From the Catalogue: Roy Lichtenstein’s “Sunrise”
Pop art master Roy Lichtenstein is known for creating works in a number of mediums, including paintings, prints and sculpture. Our upcoming auction of Contemporary Art features multiple works by...
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