One of the aspects that I love most about working at an auction house is the daily chance of unexpected objects or artworks being presented. This unpredictability keeps you on your toes and constantly learning about various artists, styles or time periods. The chase of the consignment is often thrilling, much as the act of amassing a collection is thrilling for those who eventually consign.
Potential consignments come to my desk from different avenues: from established Swann clients (frequent bidders, former buyers, regular consignors), phone calls, submissions through our website, booked appointments, and the occasional walk-in.
Clik here to view.
The Williams Collection was first introduced to me from an inquiry sent to our maps, atlases and natural history prints specialist, Caleb Kiffer. The email was very brief and simply something along the lines of: “Here are some photographs of prints. Is this for your company?” Caleb then forwarded the email to me as the owner appeared to have a sizable collection of fine art color prints or works on paper, not scientific natural history illustrations or color plates.
Sometimes, receiving a consignment inquiry without a detailed inventory list can become a dead end in the review process. As you can imagine, it can be very difficult to compile initial market research based on photo files that show more than one artwork per photo, but that’s exactly what I was provided with this collection. There were about 10 photographs, each photograph displayed anywhere from five to ten prints installed on the walls across several rooms of a New York City home.
Clik here to view.
The vibrant, bold inks had me intrigued immediately. As I flipped through the photographs, I noticed, amidst a wall full of frames, prints by Gustave Baumann and possibly a Blanche Lazzell or two. At that point, I knew that I needed to see this collection with my own eyes as soon as possible. The caliber of these two printmakers alone led me to believe there would likely be more artworks of interest to Swann. And regardless of the potential business to be done, there is joy in seeing a beautifully presented collection.
The auction market for color prints is currently treading upward. This category of prints is sought after by serious, longtime print collectors as well as new collectors. The former group is mainly drawn to the artist names and rarity of the print, while the latter is attracted to the compositional features of the image, such as design and color. During my time at Swann, the color prints, any medium or technique, gather a good level of presale attention, especially at our exhibitions. The color woodcut really took off in the early twentieth century.
Clik here to view.
I quickly made arrangements to see the collection the following week. It was arranged for me to meet with Dave (no last name was given) at the address where the collection resides. I arrived at the appointment with a notepad, measuring tape, and cell phone camera fully charged. I was prepared to gather as much visual information and description notes as I would need to do my market research.
Upon arrival, Dave was there and ready to show me around. He introduced himself as the owner of the collection and told me that he referred to this part of his collection as the “Birds and Flowers.” Then he handed me a copy of a book with a very graphic dust jacket displaying a grid of iconic American print images. I read the title, then the author’s name to myself, and soon realized that Dave was the author of this book and, in fact, one of the most renowned American print collectors of our time—Dave H. Williams.
Clik here to view.
To my delight, he acted as a museum tour guide in his own home. He knew almost all the artist names from memory. Occasionally, he would tell me an anecdotal fact about the artist or the story of how the print was acquired or why the particular print was hung in its location. It was just a bit of insight into his and his late wife’s passion for collecting American prints. The color woodcuts are just a small project over his many years of collecting.
This color woodcut collection was vast but cohesive. It consists mostly of American printmakers born at the turn of the twentieth century. Among the well-known names are Arthur Wesley Dow (1857 – 1922), Frances Gearhart (1869 – 1958), Edna Boies Hopkins (1872 – 1937), Margaret Patterson (1867 – 1950) and Luigi Rist (1888 – 1959). The collection includes some artists’ names that I was less familiar with seeing on the secondary auction market, such as Cora M. Boone (1871 – 1953), William S. Rice (1873 – 1963), and Alice Ravenel Huger Smith (1876 – 1958).
Clik here to view.
After a few hours in Dave’s home, I gathered all I needed for my market research. I knew then that this would be a wonderful collection to present as a special section in our Old Master Through Modern Prints sale. The timing was cutting close to the deadline, but I had high hopes that Swann would be able to offer this collector a favorable consignment proposal and steer the owner in our direction. The idea of adding this collection to our biannual prints sale would add a big splash of color to the history of printmaking.
Soon after our proposal was accepted, the collection was brought to the gallery in several large moving bins. The consignment was issued inventory numbers by the sale administrator, and our fine art cataloguers began working through the historical research. The cataloguers are responsible for examining each print closely, searching for more information that may be found on the artwork itself or maybe written on the frame somewhere, and at the same time are looking for any concerning condition issues, ultimately to confirm the preliminary estimates listed in the proposal.
This consignment was first brought to Swann’s attention in a usual way, followed by a few unusual surprises. It has been a delight to handle the material, and we look forward to sharing it with our collectors in April.
The Fine Art Department is honored to present the Reba W. & Dave H. Williams Collection of Color Woodcuts. At auction April 15, 2025.
The post Consigning A Collection: The Story of Reba W. & Dave H. Williams Collection of Color Woodcuts appeared first on Swann Galleries News.