African American Art Sets Six Artist Records

The Thursday, October 3, 2024, sale of African American Art at Swann brought $3M and saw top prices for artists, with six records being set. Nigel Freeman, Head of Fine Art at Swann and Director of African American Art noted, “We are very happy with the robust sales from the fall sale. With a diverse sale spanning 100 years, we saw auction price records and competitive bidding across a wide range of artists—from Albert Alexander Smith to Suzanne Jackson. Now, in its 17th year, our African American Art department continues to bring to auction extraordinary examples of works by sought-after artists.”

Beauford Delaney

The top lot of the sale was a newly resurfaced work by Beauford Delaney that was exhibited for the first time at Swann. Untitled (Greenwich Village Street, New York), a circa 1945-46 oil on canvas, brought $629,000, after several minutes of back-and-forth bidding from clients on the phones. This rich, impasto depiction of the Village is a very scarce and significant example of Delaney’s New York period.

Artist Records

Artist auction records included Suzanne Jackson’s There is Something Between Us, a 1972 acrylic-wash painting that came to auction from the estate of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell ($281,000); Albert Alexander Smith’s My Bunk, a circa 1930 oil-on-canvas painting, which was part of an incredible trove of artworks recently discovered in a large steamer trunk that had belonged to his father ($87,500). Timothy Washington’s Silent Majority, a 1970 engraving on aluminum ($81,250); Nelson Stevens’s Uhuru – Nina, a 1978 acrylic on canvas ($62,500); Don McIlvaine’s Miles Davis, a 1970 oil on canvas ($40,000); and Ben Hazard’s Gum Drops, a 1972 molded and painted acrylic work ($30,000) all brought records for the artists.

Related Reading

Modern and Post-War Highlights

Modern highlights featured Hughie Lee-Smith with Untitled (The Dancer), oil on board, 1948 ($100,000), and Negro Child, oil on board, 1953 ($47,500), while post-war artworks of note included Alma W. Thomas’s Atmosphere (Atmosphere Effect No. 4), a 1971 acrylic, watercolor and pencil on paper ($149,000), and Charles Alston’s Earth Mother (Woman and Two Sons), a 1967 oil on canvas ($125,000). Elizabeth Catlett’s late-career sculpture Reclined Figure, black marble, 2005 ($161,000), rounded out the top ten lots of the sale.

Spotlight on Women

Specialist Corey Serrant touched on the results for women artists in the auction, “We were excited to see the results of the Black woman artists making market strides along with their male counterparts. Artworks from contemporary artists Suzanne Jackson, Elizabeth Catlett, and Alma Thomas hammered at six figures, and works from Carrie Mae Weems, Laura Wheeler Waring, and Loïs Mailou Jones either landed at their low or above the high estimate.” Weems was featured with a run of works, including a print of her 1989, toned-silver-print High Yella Girl, which reached $45,000. Waring’s Still Life with Fruit and Flowers, oil on canvas, circa the 1930s, brought $40,000, and Jones’s circa 1944, pen-and-ink drawing The Black Man in White America – Van Deusen saw $32,500 over a $4,000 to $6,000 estimate.

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Swann autographs specialist Marco Tomaschett visited the Schomburg Center to view their display celebrating James Baldwin’s centenary year. The exhibition is open through next year.

Celebrating 100 Years of James Baldwin at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Nobody Knows My Name is the title given to a collection of essays written by a man whose unapologetically incisive critique of White America caused his name to be spoken frequently among his contemporaries through to the present day: James Baldwin. In that collection of essays, written in the years after his eye-opening autobiographical first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), Baldwin reflects on his confrontation with himself. His years in Europe, comparatively free of the constant burdens attending his experience of racism in the U.S., had ended in the realization that he could not continue to escape from the truth of his origins and from the deepest parts of himself. Returning to Harlem in New York City, Baldwin wrote about the memories of his childhood, which took place not far in space—but a century in time—from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where his personal papers are preserved and made available so that others can study the evidence of Baldwin’s astonishing life.

JIMMY! God’s Black Revolutionary Mouth is an exhibition of some of Baldwin’s manuscripts currently on view through February 2025 at the Schomburg, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth and the literary achievements of his life. In a two-page letter on display at the exhibition, written in 1975 to poet Maya Angelou and signed “Jimmy,” Baldwin mentions what he did to cope with the sad feeling he gets after a book of his is submitted to the publisher (he had just completed The Devil Finds Work [1976]): “[I]n that weak, abominable, post-natal depression (which I have never been able to avoid) I read one or two murder mysteries . . . and picked up your friend’s book.” The book, which Angelou had given Baldwin as a gift, was Anthony Heilbut’s history of gospel music, The Gospel Sound (1971), which Baldwin explains in the letter, had helped inspire his new novel about a gospel singer, Just Above My Head (1979).

Also in the exhibition is a remarkable fragment of Baldwin’s notes from “Elizabeth’s Prayer” in Go Tell It on the Mountain, entirely in his hand, evidently used during the drafting of his novel, including several observations about Florence’s motivations and a reminder that the “Encounter with the police needs to be more obliquely handled.” Baldwin is at his most characteristic when he charges into controversial topics head-on, such as when he reflects on the American ideal of masculinity in his article, “Freaks and the American Ideal of Manhood,” published in the January 1985 issue of Playboy magazine. One can view the first page of a typescript draft of that article, with Baldwin’s handwritten additions, some of which do not appear in the magazine or in the version later published as “Here Be Dragons” in The Price of the Ticket (1985).

In addition to the manuscripts, there are video clips, audio recordings, and images on digital displays featuring the many people (including Maya Angelou, Joan Baez, Meshell Ndegeocello and Bob Dylan) who were touched by Baldwin or his writings, as well as artworks inspired by him: hanging on a wall is a quilt by Michael A. Cummings entitled James Baldwin: Born Into a Lie #1 (2019).

Rounding out the exhibition are items that reveal some of Baldwin’s personal life, including a photograph of him surrounded by his family, and a copy of his high school yearbook showing his young face among the rows of white faces, listing his nickname as “Baldy” and his motto “Fame is the spur and—ouch!” What is perhaps the most interesting of the personal artifacts on display is Baldwin’s daily planner from March 1964, opened to a page showing his pencil sketch of a fish and a human head, tucked in the margin beside a reminder about the rehearsal for Blues for Mister Charlie—Baldwin’s play that premiered at the ANTA Theater in New York on April 23 that year. If one looks closely at the tail of the fish, one can just make out Baldwin’s note: “Interview re ‘Esquire.’” This is surely about what would become Baldwin’s profile, written by Marvin Elkoff, which appeared in the August 1 issue of Esquire magazine: “Everybody Knows His Name.”

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Working on canvas and wooden support, Bernard Réquichot danced the fine line between figurative and abstract forms to produce surrealist compositions with an allure of familiarity. His paintings included collage elements from printed imagery, further enticing the viewer to identify the pictorial references. Réquichot had one solo exhibition with famed Paris art dealer Daniel Cordier before his untimely death in 1961. His work has been widely exhibited and discussed in scholarly publications posthumously.

Works by Janice Biala, Joe Brainard, William Grosvenor Congdon, Lynne Drexler, Helen Frankenthaler, Karl Knaths, Paul Jenkins, Merton Simpson, and Jane Wilson are also featured in our fall Modern & Post-War Art auction.

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America was, in some ways, founded on the idea of land. A restless push West, a desire to “discover,” to claim, and to shape, has formed the American identity. Here, land is a political, romantic, and relentless challenge. From the beginning, the camera has played a role in how we perceive the landscape, documenting, recording, sharing, and reimagining our perceptions of this country’s beautiful, diverse, vast space. 

Carleton E. Watkins 

In 1861 Carleton Watkins first glimpsed Yosemite Valley. Unknown to white settlers until 1849, in the earliest days it took visitors twenty hours by steamer, stage, and mule from San Francisco to make the journey. With heavy glass plates and a large-format camera, as well as the chemicals and materials he required, Watkins packed 2,000 pounds of equipment, including his camera, lenses, tripods, glass plates, and chemicals; surely the trip took him even longer. By 1856 improvements to the entry to Yosemite Valley had been made, and visitors’ accounts of the site began to appear in print, but the majestic landscape remained largely unimagined to most Americans. Inspired by the sublime landscape—towering falls, the vast glacial valley, and massive rock faces, Watkins stayed in Yosemite Valley for many weeks, creating mammoth plate (22×18 inches) photographs of the Valley and its now-iconic features that would not only bring him acclaim, but also bring the landscape to the public’s imagination. 

These views were among Watkins’ first sent back to the East Coast. The wonders of Yosemite Valley were also described in articles in the Boston Evening Transcript written by Unitarian minister Thoams Starr King. In 1862 Watkins’ photographs were exhibited at the Goupil Gallery in New York, and through Starr King made their way into the hands of figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes. In 1863 Watkins selected thirty views for the first publicly issued set of mammoth plates made from these 1861 negatives. Watkins’ large-format wet-collodion process rendered the landscape in astonishing detail and clarity. Partly on their evidence of the grandeur and rugged beauty of the landscape, Abraham Lincoln signed a bill in 1864 declaring the Valley protected and clearing the way for the National Parks system.  

It is not hyperbole to say that Carleton Watkins’ sublime photographs helped invent the idea of the American West, and indeed established the majestic vision of its unspoiled beauty. The idea of the West as a sort of Pacific Paradise, a North American Garden of Eden, began here. 

Lewis Baltz 

“His ambition drives him, like a physicist longing to decode chaos. With deep respect and consternation, Baltz has circled a territory for decades – noting every nuance, systemizing every fact. He’s made complex, remarkable, angry pictures. And, anyone could detonate like a passive-aggressive; the picture that looks great in your hand might just blow up somewhere inside your head.”  — Marvin Heiferman, 1989 

Lewis Baltz’s magnificent project Park City documents the transformation of a nineteenth-century mining town to a suburban development and ski destination in Utah. While comprised of 102 photographs, the work can be considered a cohesive whole, describing the slow transformation of the Utah landscape to what would become the largest ski resort in the region. Baltz documents an external survey, including the landscape’s excavation and transformation, and the newly constructed home exteriors and their empty interiors, all under the high-altitude crystalline light, bestowing a sense of isolation and uncanny stillness.  

Baltz employed a maximum depth of field, and the sharp, finely rendered prints record both the construction and destruction in extreme detail. A nearly brittle clarity and immediacy uniformly characterize them. Even in the distance, details remain brittle and stark, highlighting how the human hand has impacted the landscape. 

While decidedly not picturesque, Baltz’s images are organized and dynamic, achieving a modern sense of the sublime. 

The photographs were first published in a catalogue by Leo Castelli and are now considered the second in Baltz’s loose New Topographics trilogy. This begins with his New Industrial Parks Near Irvine, California, 1974, and is completed with San Quentin Point, 1986. In many ways challenging the tradition of nineteenth-century Western photography, Baltz also brings these ideas to the twentieth century, revealing the passage of time and culture on our nation’s landscape. 

Paul Strand

Born on October 16, 1890, in New York, Paul Strand graduated from the Ethical Cultural School in 1909, where he studied under the renowned documentary photographer Lewis Hine. A field trip in this class to the 291 art gallery operated by Stieglitz, the founder of the Photo-Secession movement and publisher of Camera Work, would open the path to his professional career as a photographer. Stieglitz would not only offer him a show but also publish Strand’s work in the two final issues of Camera Work in 1917, paving the way to the new artistic direction of the time, “Straight Photography,” which emphasizes the camera’s technical capability to produce sharp images, in focus and rich in detail. 

Strand’s oeuvre includes all subjects: from architectural views to early abstraction, from portraits to documentary work, from landscapes to botanical snapshots. He is well-known for the work he made in his native New York: his street portraits made using a camera fitted with a false lens that would allow him to create portraits without his subjects being aware of it, and also for the iconic Wall Street, New York (1915), an early example of Strand’s willingness to accommodate documentary realism and abstraction within the same frame. In the 1920s and 30s, active as both a still photographer and a filmmaker, he offered – through these multiple facets – a wide eye on the American culture of his time by capturing the human condition in the modern urban context.  

The later period of his American career is marked by his project Time in New England, a collection of composed portraits and landscapes that might be considered the quintessential work of his depiction of the American landscape, in which he further used his camera as a tool for social reform according to the codes of his “Straight” aesthetic. As pointed out remarkably by Robert Adams, you have to be completely immersed in the environment to create such a well-balanced result. Indeed, his New England photographs—composed inventively with precision but with unconventional cropping or close-ups—“are the work of a disciplined artist who, in order to share what he valued most, took the risk of being free” (Robert Adams, Why People Photograph, Aperture Foundation Inc., 1994). As such, this project made between 1943 and 1947 exemplifies his devotion to America, addressing some social issues the country was facing.  

Ultimately, his convictions pushed him to move abroad in 1950 to France and pursue his work in Europe and later Africa. Although Strand is best known for his early abstractions, one can argue that his ceaseless depictions of America remain part of his most subtle and admirable body of work. 

“My guess is that the most shaping force in his creative life was his devotion to America, a commitment as deep and troubled as that of his teacher, Alfred Stieglitz, and kept as faithfully to the end.” — Robert Adams 

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Timed Auction — Lots begin closing Thursday, November 14 at 12:00 PM ET

Lots 1-25: Popular Culture

Lot 8 illuminates this section like a film projector on the silver screen. It contains a 1964 autograph letter signed by Bette Davis to Joan Crawford, confessing that Crawford is “far superior in this department” when it comes to glamor. 

Lots 26-32: Americana

There is no dearth of remarkable autographs by inspiring American leaders in the sale, including the accounting book used by Frederick Douglass in 1863 when he and his sons recruited men for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Civil War’s first regiments composed entirely of African-American enlisted soldiers. Douglass’s own sons joined the war effort during this time, and you can see their names listed among the recruits at the back of the book. The listings of expenses and recruits are almost entirely in Douglass’s hand, including his signature in the title of a column heading. Another signature in the book is that of abolitionist George Luther Stearns (who not only contributed funds to the 54th but also secretly to John Brown’s rebellion), approving the calculations.

The elegant and confident handwriting of our nation’s first president is evident in the extraordinary autograph letter signed by him and made available for bidding in Swann’s November 14 autographs auction. The letter was written to Robert Morris in early 1777 at a moment when Morris was in a position to finance the move of the Continental Army’s supply base out of Philadelphia. That city would be overrun by British forces later that year in the Battle of Brandywine, and although Washington could not prevent the capture of that critical seat of the Continental Congress, he prepared for it by writing this letter. The last few lines—a seemingly trifling request for sealing wax—was written in the hand of a young an ambitious Alexander Hamilton, who had celebrated his 22nd birthday a week before while serving as Washington’s aide-de-camp.

Lots 33-82: General (including scientists, astronauts, inventors, world leaders, aviators, etc.)

Shining out of this group is a run of items by the discoverers of the structure of DNA, Francis Crick and James Watson, including signed magazines and offprints of their articles, as well as a shocking archive, in lot 69, of erotic letters from Crick to his lover and personal secretary. 

The November auction also includes uncommon autographs by world leaders, including a copy of the “Man of the Year” issue of TIME magazine from January 1, 1979. The issue features the face of Deng Xiaoping, the man who led the modernization of the People’s Republic of China. The cover of the magazine is signed and dated by Deng himself.

Lots 83-107: Presidents 

Lot 49 contains a 1918 autograph letter signed by Teddy Roosevelt, responding to a letter of condolence after the former president’s loss of his son Quentin in the War—the letter is addressed to “Dear little Miss Betty,” a nine-year-old girl who lost her cousin in the War. 

Lots 108-119: Musicians 

In addition to uncommon autograph letters signed by Franz Liszt, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Wagner, this section includes a musical manuscript from the 1790s in lot 114 comprising 4 complete cannons in the hand of Joseph Haydn. 

Lots 120-145: Writers 

The writer John Steinbeck reacted in his way to the communist revolution, having written several works marked by its influence, but there is little evidence of it in the remarkable series of typed letters signed by him to his literary agent during the 1940s-50s which are also available in the auction, including one reporting his progress on the screenplay for the film East of Eden. In another lot are related letters discussing progress on his modernization of the Arthurian legends, unfinished but published posthumously as The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, and in another lot, the original typescript of that work.

Lots 146-158: Artists 

In Lot 51 is an autograph letter signed by Maxfield Parrish in 1896, soon after graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, concerning his drawing of Humpty Dumpty and suggesting how it ought to be made into a painting.  

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At Auction Thursday, November 21 at 10:30 AM ET

This sale strikes a particularly rich vein of western mining material from Alaska, California, Colorado, and Nevada. Highlights include the diaries of a prospector in the remote Alaskan outback; the letters of a California Gold Rush miner who was shot by an outlaw in 1853; two pungent photos of drunken miners by Nevada’s P.E. Larson; and several lots from California’s rugged Inyo County (home of Death Valley). For those who prefer more humidity, we also have several Florida-related lots, including a revealing 1787 letter from the notorious St. Augustine land speculator Jesse Fish. 

Two of the highlights are seventeenth-century colonial tracts. John Eliot’s 1643 “New Englands First Fruits” is a London-printed piece describing the earliest efforts to evangelize among the Indians of Massachusetts; it also includes the first printed description of young Harvard College. Cotton Mather’s 1699 “Pillars of Salt: An History of Some Criminals Executed in this Land for Capital Crimes, with Some of their Dying Speeches” is a riveting read. Though battered and missing three leaves, we don’t see many 17th-century Boston imprints, and we find no other examples of this one at auction going back to 1916. Other key books include Vancouver’s “Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean” with a fine example of the scarce atlas volume. 

The sale’s highest estimate is for an original 1833 manuscript diary of a Mormon mission to western New York with Joseph Smith. We will also offer the correspondence of a very early amateur baseball club from Oneida, NY; strong selections of Latin Americana, the American Revolution, and the Civil War; and the papers of a Pearl Harbor survivor from the USS Arizona.

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At Auction Tuesday, November 26 at 12:00 PM ET

We are in the middle of an exciting fall season here in New York and we would like to share some of the upcoming highlights in our November 26, 2024 auction of Contemporary Art. The sale features a wonderfully diverse group – from Pop Art icons to dynamic young artists like Alteronce Gumby and Ebony Patterson.

Among our highlights is an early painting by Barkley Hendricks. His 1967 Pluck is a fascinating still life – this oil on canvas was exhibited during his last semester of study at PAFA in Philadelphia.

Another highlight is a figurative charcoal of Robert Longo from his Men in Cities series. Longo’s Untitled (Eric), 1994is an impressive drawing, a large and dramatic example of his expressive figuration.

The sale also features strong examples of painting by Richard Artschwager, Frank Bowling, Jane Dickson, Hughie Lee-Smith and Mildred Thompson. The auction also includes fine impressions of iconic Pop prints – including Roy Lichtenstein’s 1963 Crying Girl and Andy Warhol’s 1968 Black Bean from Campell’s Soup I.

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Picking a favorite work of art in our season’s auction lineup is kind of like picking a favorite puppy in a litter. I love them all in different ways, and if I could, I would take each lot home with me. One that I find particularly fascinating is Miles Davis Bitches Brew and the life’s work of Argentinian painter Kazuya Sakai. The artwork and life path of Sakai speak to me for his versatility, openness to change, and celebration of the unknown. Through his interests in language, cultures, Eastern philosophy and theater, and jazz music, I see a man with an open mind. Art criticism and analysis require much projection — something which is forgiven because the artist merely provides the vehicle that transports the viewer to a place of openness. Hopefully, this place is new and a bit uncomfortable. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” 

Roberto Kazuya Sakai was born on October 1, 1927, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sakai, Japanese in lineage, moved to Japan in his youth, where he was educated. His formal studies focused on literature and philosophy, graduating from Waseda University in 1951. That same year, he returned to Argentina, where he worked translating Japanese publications on theater and Buddhism into Spanish. Sakai tried his hand at painting early upon his return to Argentina with strong influences from the works of the Gutai Art Association, which he had seen in Japan, and the Abstract Expressionist works of his American contemporaries.  

The Gutai Bijutsu Kyokai, (Gutai Art Association) was formed in 1954 in Osaka Japan. The founders of this group were Yoshihara Jiro, Kanayama Akira, Murakami Saburo, Shiraga Kazuo, and Shozo Shimamoto. The group incorporated action and chance, as did the Dadaists and Abstract Expressionists before them. Their works, though following the precedence of Western arts, are more in line with Eastern thought found in Zen Buddhist mindfulness practices. 

Kazuya Sakai’s earliest works, created in an expressive Action Painting style, quickly connected him to the works of fellow Argentinian painters of the Grupo de Artistas Modernos. Included in this grouping are Sarah Grilo, Enio Iommi, Tomás Maldonado, Alfredo Hlito, Lidy Prati, and José Antonio Fernández-Muro. Neither Wind nor Banner, a painting sold at Swann in May 2023, is an example of Sakai’s expressive brushstroke exemplified in his earliest works. 

In 1963 Kazuya Sakai and José Antonio Fernández-Muro moved to New York city. Serendipitously, in 1964, legendary Director of the Guggenheim Museum Thomas Messer set out to find and promote the works of Central and South American artists to create his show, “The Emergent Decade: Latin American Painters and Painting in the 1960s.”  Messer selected Sakai’s The Bridge and grouped his painting in a section of the exhibition catalogue titled “Expatriates: New York.” Living in New York, Sakai was captivated by the American jazz scene. The Bridge, named for Sonny Rollins’s landmark album of the same name, undoubtedly connected with the painter’s feelings of a new chapter in his painting career. Rollins, in 1962, disillusioned by the direction of the music scene, retreated from the limelight, often practicing atop the Williamsburg Bridge. He re-emerged and introduced the world to a new direction in the jazz idiom. Sakai’s The Bridge is a shift away from the heavy gestural brushstroke of his earlier work. He introduces the layering of shapes, words, and lines to create a collage-like composition reminiscent of Manhattan’s layered cityscape.  

After accepting a teaching position in Oriental Studies at Colegio de Mexico, Sakai moved to Mexico in 1965, remaining until 1977. In Mexico, his literary interests lead him to co-found, alongside the poet Octavio Paz, the arts and literature magazine Plural. Once again, Sakai’s painting style shifts. The paintings of this period are hard-edge abstraction, utilizing undulating bands of color and often moving through concentric rings. These paintings are known as his Ondulaciones. Many paintings from this time were influenced by jazz music and often had titles that identified them as such. 

Miles Davis Bitches Brew was painted in 1973. Again, Sakai chose a monumental jazz album as his title. Davis’s Fusion album, Bitches Brew, moved jazz from the smokey nightclub to the arena, electrifying and competing for audiences of the younger generation with bands like Sly and the Family Stone.

Neither Miles Davis nor Kazuya Sakai followed the status quo. In 1977, Kazuya Sakai once again traveled across borders, moving to Texas, where he accepted the Edward Larocque Tinker Chair in Latin American Studies at the University of Texas. He remained in this position until his death in 2001. 

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A question I am frequently asked by non-collectors or people new to collecting is, “How do you estimate the value of an autograph?” The question is not easy to answer because there are so many factors involved. Still, there are a few considerations specialists consistently take into account when evaluating historical autographs. Let’s start at the beginning and look at examples of autographs by the first U.S. president, George Washington.

Historical Significance

The evaluation of any collectible involves analyzing the prices of items that are similar to the target. This procedure is most straightforward when the comparable items differ from the target in only a few significant respects and when the comparable items are themselves highly similar to each other. In the case of historical autographs, government documents show a high degree of consistency across time, and they are common enough that it is frequently easy to find a comparable item that is similar to the target. Consider, for example, the document issued to a soldier who had completed his service under George Washington during the American Revolution: a military discharge. Each of these documents is signed by Washington, each has blanks for the name of the soldier, his unit, and dates of service. Swann has sold a number of these documents over the years, varying in the price realized between $9,000 and twice that amount. It is important to consider inflation when comparing prices over time, but for our purposes, we can note that there is a gradual increase affecting values, and, putting this aside, we can suggest that all of Swann’s military discharge documents realized a price near $13,000. The primary factor contributing to this value of $13,000—as in the case of any historical autograph—is the item’s importance to history. This document connects the collector to a momentous time in U.S. history through the touch of one of the most influential figures associated with that moment; moreover, this particular document helped move that history forward.

Rarity

Although rarity is an important factor, it only contributes in a small way to the $13,000 price in our example, as military commissions are relatively common. What, then, are some other factors, especially those that might account for the sometimes significant differences between the prices realized in our examples?

Condition

Condition is perhaps the next most important factor. Fading/boldness in the handwriting (especially the signature); staining/brightness or tearing/wholeness in the paper/vellum—these and similar condition differences go a long way toward explaining the variation in prices of our discharge documents. Another important, and related, factor is aesthetics. To what extent is the signature beautifully executed? Do the various elements of an autograph give an overall impression of balance, or is the eye drawn to a place that is not especially deserving of attention? Are the edges of the sheet square, or ragged? Is the writing on the page square to the edge of the page or askew? These are the sorts of questions that might be incorporated into considerations of aesthetics for documents like those in our examples.

Also related to condition is the factor of completeness. The discharge document sold in lot 9 of Swann sale 2155 shows obvious condition problems, but it is additionally somewhat incomplete because the document was partly mounted to a sheet, likely permanently obscuring what was printed and inscribed on the verso. Completeness is a minor factor in the case of the document in our example, but it becomes weighty in cases such as multi-page documents missing a critical page, or a signature or passage that has been clipped out of a document, or a document that is missing a signature. At least as important a factor as completeness is the volume of handwriting in a given autograph—the question, for instance, whether the autograph consists of a signature that is little more than a squiggle or the draft of a book containing thousands of lines in manuscript. For the collector, more handwriting means more points of contact with the writer or creator.

If our discharge documents are roughly the same with respect to completeness and volume of handwriting, what might account for other differences in price, such as the comparatively high price of $18,750 realized by the discharge document sold by Swann in lot 41, sale 2674? Most of the discharge documents in our examples are for soldiers who had served a couple of years or only a few months—this one recognizes eight years of service, the full length of the Revolutionary War. Although the rarity of such a discharge document surely played a role, another important factor is personal resonance. Anyone would be moved by the level of sacrifice represented in this length of service, but even more so, would it resonate with collectors who served in the military or were close to someone who had. Also, that the discharge is from a New York regiment is sure to have some resonance to collectors who are fond of the state. When the population of people for whom an autograph resonates in a personal way is large enough, it can have a remarkable impact on price.

Aptness of an Autograph

There are a number of other factors that can come into play, increasing the complexity of an evaluation, with some compounding value and others cancelling it out—but there are a few more worth mentioning here. The factor of aptness can become important in some cases, by which I mean the quality of an autograph being in the form that is best showcases the strengths of the creator. Thus, an average painting by Picasso is more valuable than an average poem by him; or again, a painting by Dwight D. Eisenhower is usually not as valued as his wartime letter to General MacArthur. Although any collector of Washington would appreciate a sample of his handwriting, a letter written as president would likely be better esteemed than a receipt for a small loan.

Evidence of Association to Other People, Places, or Events of Interest

Evidence of association to other people, places, or events of interest is another important factor. The item in lot 214, Swann sale 2483, is a cover—a sheet of paper wrapped around one or more letters serving as an envelope—important for a number of reasons, including Washington’s signature (a “franking signature” of special relevance to collectors of philately) and the War-dated note of the recipient, Governor Caesar Rodney. Beyond the value contained in the Washington and Rodney autographs is the item’s association with Rodney himself, who obviously handled this very item; even if Rodney had written nothing, that the cover conveyed business between the two men endows the cover with value. The association makes a connection between two towering figures who played critical roles in the military and government of the early U.S.

A final factor to consider is conciseness: given two items exhibiting the same factors, the one occupying less space is often valued more highly. An autograph quotation by Mark Twain, for instance, packs more meaning and power in a few lines than a full page of his witty prose and, as such, is likely to be of higher value. As we said when discussing volume, usually more handwriting is better than less, and when we discussed completeness, we saw that wholeness is usually preferred over a fragment—but sometimes, the part is so beautifully executed–so evocative in sentiment, so elegant in its line—that other factors are dampened. Consider the signature by Washington, likely clipped out of a letter, sold in lot 191 of Swann sale 2609 and realizing over $10,000, nearly as much as some complete letters signed by him. Perhaps the signature was removed because the rest of the letter was damaged beyond repair or had mundane content—or perhaps it was removed because it has a beauty that overpowered the rest: an inner glow all its own.

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At Auction Tuesday, December 10 at 12:00 PM ET

In this December auction we are offering a range of collectible material including nineteenth-century illustrated ship logbooks, Jacques le Moyne’s foundation of early geographic and ethnographic study in Florida, an important manuscript chart of Commodore Perry’s diplomatic arrival into Japan’s Uraga Bay in 1853, and plenty of regional and decorative world maps spanning 350 years of cartographic printing, highlighted by Heinrich Bunting’s unique clover leaf design of the continents. 

A strong grouping of works by Currier & Ives will be on offer as well as two bound volumes containing 120 beautifully engraved color plates of flowers by Pierre-Joseph Redoute (roundly regarded as the greatest botanical illustrator of the nineteenth century, if not ever), and a curiously imaginative journal of 1000 manuscript storybook pages with nearly as many hand-drawn illustrations by 12-and-11-year-old siblings in England at the turn of the twentieth century. 

Keep in Touch

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After 10 years with Swann and the reorganization of the house’s fine art offerings, Lisa Crescenzo is now the Managing Director of Fine Art. As she transitions into her new role we asked a few questions about her time with Swann and what she’s looking forward to in this new phase of fine art at Swann.

You’ve been at Swann since 2014. Can you tell us about your work and how things have changed over the years?

Coming from the gallery world, I began my career at Swann as an Administrator in the Prints & Drawings department, producing eight or more auctions a year. I observed the constant, fast-paced flow of consignments coming through the gallery doors, assembling sales that typically consisted of more than 400 lots each. I recall the excitement of handling a large volume of artwork by prestigious artists, from Picasso to Ai Weiwei. Every day was, and still is, exciting when we receive a new shipment from a consignor and see which prints or drawings will be included in our upcoming sales. After a few years, I was promoted to Department Manager, where I managed the workflow of five staff members—administrators and cataloguers—and maintained relationships with clients. One of my top goals then, and still to this day, is to understand the client’s needs and ensure a positive, memorable experience when working with Swann.

Over the years, the company has grown in many ways, such as incorporating thematic annual interdepartmental sales like LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History, Subculture, and Focus on Women, creating entirely new gallery spaces, and becoming more technologically advanced to keep up with the times and the needs of the staff and clients. 

What has been the most memorable sale for you?

The Virginia Zabriskie Collection in September 2021 has to be at the top of my list. This auction resulted from a long relationship between Swann and Zabriskie Gallery. Sometime after her passing, Swann was presented with the opportunity to work with a selection of consignments directly from the estate, which consisted of artworks that were part of the gallery inventory as well as artworks that were once part of Ms. Zabriskie’s private collection. It was an honor to present the career of a groundbreaking Paris–New York female gallerist. Each artwork, whether an editioned print or photograph, unique drawing, painting or sculpture, represented her independent collecting style and a snapshot of all artists and art movements she promoted throughout her career. I was lucky enough to visit her NYC apartment/gallery space multiple times before it was emptied. My colleagues and I leafed through gallery notes, solved some unknown artist mysteries, met with known research committees to formally authenticate artworks, and had primary insights from one of her lifelong employees. We learned so much more about Ms. Zabriskie than I thought we would, and I think we did a wonderful job presenting her legacy via the auction. She was a strong force in the art market for many years. I wish I had met her in person. 

How have your years at Swann influenced your career? What are you looking forward to in your new role?

Swann has taught me always to explore a business opportunity and not to shy away from new concepts or ideas. I look forward to focusing on my client management skills to bring in higher value, large quantity consignments for all the fine art sales. In the past few years, I have been slowly dipping my toes into working regularly with all of Swann’s specialists on multi-department consignment proposals, but now I will be devoting my time to working with consingors. I want clients to know that they should come to me with fine art collections such as artist’s estates, private family estates, corporate or institutional collections looking to deaccession artworks, or even contemporary collectors who may be ready to sell and collect a new curatorial vision. 

What brought you into the art world? Do you have any favorite movements?

As a child, I was always looking to create art and perform. I also always had a fascination with facts and history. Once I started to apply for colleges, I zoned in on the schools that offered me the chance to enroll in my first art history course and other courses in the arts, including dance and theater history, art studio, and dance practicums. I figured it would be a way to keep my required college curriculum enjoyable while focusing on the harder coursework. After my freshman year, I was so immersed in the arts programs that it was only natural to continue on an art professional path. One of my hobbies is reading biographies and learning about people’s personal cultural experiences. I see all art forms as a direct result of one’s personal experience, leading them to their own artistic choices.  

Among my favorite artistic movements is American Modernism from the early twentieth century—artists such as Arthur Dove, Joseph Stella, Rockwell Kent, and Ralston Crawford. This was a time period when artists in America were taking the training and movements from abroad and expressing themselves as new American artists. This period offers a vibrancy of creation that is unique and fresh, establishing a visual American experience that was attributed to their European predecessors. 

Are you a collector yourself?

I would say first that I am my own personal archivist and then second that I am a budding art collector. I have objects from my past that I hold dear, and I have found creative ways to keep them as my life changes. I have started a small collection of works on paper, most of which I acquired through bidding at Swann! On my walls at home, you will find a Southwest print by Howard Cook, a woodcut by Stanley Hayter, an ink drawing by Robert Henri, and colorful geometric screenprints by Robert Goodnough. 

What should collectors and consignors alike know about the art market that would help them when working with Swann?

It goes without saying that the art market is constantly changing and is different for particular artists, movements, and styles. These categories ebb and flow in and out of collecting interests like clothing and fashion. We do our research to understand and predict auction trends from across the globe, and we know what we can sell best for you. What do our buyers want or tell us what they like through our relationships and purchases? Swann may not be able to handle everything in your collection, but we will be honest about how we propose to present your collection to our buyers. 

I hope that collections of all types will find their way to my desk and hopefully as featured highlights of our sale seasons. 

A selection of collections handled by Lisa Crescenzo:

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At Auction Thursday, December 12 at 12:00 PM ET

The December Illustration Art auction offers an array of iconic works spanning magazine illustrations, book art, animation, and more. Highlights include Saturday Evening Post covers by legendary illustrators J.C. Leyendecker and Joseph Francis Kernan; a rare, previously unseen Harper’s Bazaar cover proposal by Danish artist Kay Nielsen; and two charming Christmas-themed illustrations by Douglas Crockwell.

We’re thrilled to present a selection of rare treasures, such as a drawing by Aubrey Beardsley from the collection of Oscar Wilde; three exquisite costume designs by Arnold Friberg for Cecil B. DeMille’s cinematic epic The Ten Commandments; and a pristine book illustration by Howard Chandler Christy for The Dolly Dialogues.

Animation art is represented by an assortment of beloved subjects, including works from Disney features, Garfield, Bloom County, and more. Notable highlights are an original production cel from the holiday classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring Charlie Brown in his red coat and hunter’s cap, as well as a cel setup featuring Cruella DeVil from the Disney classic 101 Dalmatians.

The sale also boasts vibrant illustrations from books, calendars, record albums, postcards, newspapers, and mid-century paperback covers. Cover illustrations are represented by the “Good Girl Art” of Raymond Johnson, and classic western novel art by Everett Raymond Kinstler. Children’s book art by renowned illustrators like Norman P. Hall, Trina Schart Hyman, Marilee Heyer, and others adds further richness to this exceptional offering.

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Swann Galleries is very proud to have been the first auction house to sell the paintings of the great late Barkley Hendricks beginning in 2009. We were also the first auction house to sell his signature life-size portraits with Bid’ Em In/Slave (Angie), 1973. Swann was also thrilled to have the artist as a guest for an exciting gallery talk in June 2014. 

While he is rightly considered one of contemporary art’s leading figurative painters, Hendricks also painted various subjects beyond the figure. Offspring, 1970, and our most recent offering, Pluck, 1967, display the two distinct approaches Hendricks took to the still life genre—one representational and the other abstract and conceptual. By 1967, Hendricks used both approaches simultaneously as he explored more creative approaches.

Pluck

Pluck was painted by Hendricks in early 1967 during his last year of study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts at the age of 21. His impressive painting skills infused a depiction of a still life with Renaissance-inspired realism. These bottles and netting are presented with not just painterly precision but with mood and substance. This still-life painting has not been exhibited since that year—at the beginning of Hendricks’s professional career in Philadelphia. While still a student at PAFA, Hendricks first began exhibiting in 1966 at the Kenmore Galleries. Pluck was part of a group exhibition in the early spring of 1967 at the Lee Cultural Center; Hendricks graduated later that spring from PAFA. While focused on portraiture, still-life painting was part of his studio practice. Another example from 1967 is Star Spangled Chitlins, which was included in the memorial exhibition Barkley Hendricks: Let’s Make Some History at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in 2017. 

Offspring

Offspring, 1970, shows Hendricks’s growing conceptual approach to painting in the early 1970s. In his love of basketball, Hendricks found inspiration in the formal qualities of the game, from the shape of backboards to the painted lines on the court, all without the figure. From 1967 to 1970, primarily between his undergraduate and graduate school years, Hendricks found this inspiration while working for Philadelphia’s recreation department. While still painting objects with attention to light and form, the artist created compositions centered on the geometry inherent in the elements of the game. The 2020 Jack Shainman Gallery exhibition, Barkley L. Hendricks: In the Paint, celebrated this great period of experimentation and included several early examples of basketball compositions that date back to as early as 1966, including Two!, 1966-67, and Still Life #5, 1968.

Magnolia #2

Our appreciation for Barkley Hendricks’s range continues to grow with recent exhibitions and publications of his work in photography and watercolor. For example, Hendricks painted a series of beautiful watercolors of magnolia blossoms while staying in Durham, NC, for the summer of 1975. While he will always be celebrated for his stunning portraiture, his development of such a traditional genre as still life, at a time when the art world eschewed the figurative, demonstrates the creative spirit of this great artist.

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Swann’s Thursday, November 21 auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana brought $608,036, landing squarely in the pre-sale estimates, with 234 of the 320 lots offered finding buyers. Of the auction, Specialist Rick Stattler noted, “This auction found collectors going back to basics, with particularly strong results for the early colonial period, the Constitution and early republic, and especially the Civil War—perhaps part of an increasing interest in the foundations of the American experiment.”

New England’s First Fruits

The sale was led by a rare 1643 first edition of New Englands First Fruits, at $60,000, a
first edition, first state, of the first of Eliot’s Indian Tracts, which examined the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s first years and Harvard College’s establishment.

Mormon History

Additional top lots included the 1815 Catalogue of the Library of the United States which described Thomas Jefferson’s personal library—the initial core of the Library of Congress ($30,000); and three important Mormon lots relating to founder Joseph Smith: a diary of an 1833 mission to western New York with Joseph Smith ($50,000), a family register of Brigham Young and his siblings written by Rhoada Richards, one of Smith’s plural wives ($20,000), and a pair of deeds signed by Smith’s grandfather and uncle ($27,500). 

Rare Books

Book highlights included a 1784 to 1793 volume of Connecticut acts and laws featuring an early printing of the Constitution ($15,000), and Agustín de Mora’s rare illustrated 1701 Mexican book El sol eclypsado antes de llegar al zenid ($8,125), making its first appearance at auction since Swann sold another copy in 1946.

Ephemera, Archives & Manuscript Diaries

Ephemera included the cover lot, a tintype sheet of 1860 presidential candidate campaign photographs ($11,875), and a set of three circa-1790 engravings of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, which showcase rarely seen early views of one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites ($7,000). Large archives included papers of Consul James Maury and his family, Maury’s father had been Thomas Jefferson’s teacher ($5,750), family papers of noted physician Cornelius R. Agnew ($13,750), and records of the Sterling Iron & Railway Company in Orange County, New York ($4,250). No Swann Americana auction is complete without a great diary. Notable manuscript diaries included Catherine Colver Williams, a mother searching the South for her lost soldier son in the Civil War ($5,750); W. Everett Clark, a Civil War hospital worker describing Lincoln, contraband, and more ($7,000); and the journal of the whaling ship Hunter out of New Bedford ($12,500). 

Auction Records

The sale established several new auction records. A panorama view of the Gold Rush boomtown of Dawson City, Yukon Territory, brought $1,875, a record for photographer Floyd W. Sheelor; the Civil War pamphlet The United States Conscription Law of 1863, which established the military draft, brought a record $4,250; Kate Cumming’s Journal of Hospital Life in the Confederate Army, 1866, brought $2,210; and Daniel P. Smith’s Three Years in the Confederate Service, 1885, brought $2,375. 

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Timed Auction — Bidding Now Open!
Lots Begin Closing December 17, 2024

This December, we are pleased to offer more than 100 lots from the Collection of Neil Robert Berzak. Rich in twentieth-century masters, this collection features rare and important photographs at accessible entry points from new and seasoned collectors. Highlights include Ansel Adams’ Portfolio Four: What Majestic Word, In Memory of Russell Varian, 1963, Julia Margaret Cameron’s signed portrait Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1869, George A. Tice’s Petit’s Mobil Station and Watertower, Cherry Hill, N.J., 1974, printed 1979, and Roman Vishniac’s The Vanished World portfolio, 1936-38, printed 1977, among much more.  

Numerous iconic Edward Weston photographs printed by Cole Weston are featured in the collection, including Nude on Sand, Oceano, 1936, printed circa 1980s; Pepper No. 30, 1930, printed circa 1980s; and Nude (Charis, Santa Monica), 1936, printed 1970s. Other notable prints are a rare suite of Arthur Tress’ work from the series Shadow, 1974, printed 1975; Marc Riboud’s The Painter of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1953, printed 1980s; and Timothy O’Sullivan’s Aboriginal Life Among the Navajo Indians, New Mexico, 1873. 

An amateur photographer for more than 70 years, Berzak loved photography and amassed a large and diverse collection that ranged from daguerreotypes to modern photographers. He studied with Ansel Adams in the 1960s and became friendly with many famous photographers of the 1960s and 1970s. Berzak also amassed a large collection of aviation photography. He won many amateur photography competitions and was involved with and president of the Fresh Meadows Camera Club. He was an architect in New York City. 

Highlights from the Collection of Neil Robert Berzak

Additional Works of Note Featured in the Auction

The sale also includes numerous works from various owners, including work by Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Danny Lyon, Sheila Metzner, George Platt Lynes, Patti Smith, Berenice Abbott, Kiichi Asano, Yoshiyuki Iwase, Todd Webb, and many more. 

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The November 26, 2024, Contemporary Art auction served as the first with Nigel Freeman as Swann’s head of fine art. “High prices for excellent examples of Pop art prints by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein led our Contemporary Art auction. Strong sales for a diverse group of work by contemporary Black artists, in particular Richard Mayhew, Emma Amos, Thaddeus Mosley and Vanessa German, signaled the growing breadth of this category at Swann Galleries,” noted Freeman. The auction earned $1,067,020 with a 71% sell-through rate by lot, and brought 11 new buyers to the house.

Auction Records

Auction records included Andy Warhol’s Golda Meir, color screenprint on Lenox Museum Board, 1980, a record for the print at $45,000; and Richard Mayhew’s Ridge, gouache and pastel on paper, circa 2005, set a record for a work-on-paper by the artist at $55,000. Emma Amos’s Crown, color carborundum etching with aquatint, 2002, matched our previous print record for Amos at $21,250.

Pop Art

The top lot in the auction was Andy Warhol’s Black Bean from the portfolio Campbell’s Soup I, color screenprint, 1968, which brought $57,500. Additional Pop Art highlights included Roy Lichtenstein’s Crying Girl, color offset lithograph, 1963, at $37,500

Sculpture

Sculpture included a prototype for Richard Artschwager’s Pregunta II, acrylic painted wood in two parts, 1983, which earned $50,000; two circa-1990s glazed terracotta vessels by Simone Leigh at $37,500 apiece; Thaddeus G. Mosley with a circa-2000 carved walnut sculpture, at $35,000; and Vanessa German’s Power Figure, mixed media assemblage, circa 2013, which brought $17,500.

Paintings

Top spots for paintings in the auction were won by Mildred Thompson with Atmospheric Exploration, oil stick on vinyl, 2002, at $40,000; Benny Andrews with Funeral Procession, oil with fabric and paper collage, 2006, at $40,00; Sir Frank Bowling with Half Moon Balloon, acrylic and acrylic gel on collaged and stitched canvas, 1992, at $25,000; and Hunt Slonem with The Blues and Diamonds, oil and diamond dust on canvas, 2016, at $22,500.

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They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but magazines are an entirely different story. A magazine cover is a visual embodiment of the publication’s identity. The name, layout, logo, and graphic design style create a signature look that ensures loyal readership by consistently delivering on audience expectations. For this reason, magazines historically reserved their covers for the finest art by the most accomplished illustrators, making the cover a statement piece representing the content inside.

Few magazines mastered this art the way The Saturday Evening Post did. With its distinctive vision of middle-class America, the Post used its covers to portray scenes of daily life, humor, and shared experiences. In a magazine world driven by routine—published weekly or biweekly—cover art had to adapt with each issue, offering something fresh while maintaining the magazine’s signature voice. Magazines relied on these images to communicate their values and objectives. For The Saturday Evening Post, those values were typically relatable, ensuring its enduring popularity among a broad audience.

The Master Artists Creating Covers for The Saturday Evening Post: Norman Rockwell & J.C. Leyendecker

Two artists defined The Saturday Evening Post’s iconic illustration style: J.C. Leyendecker and his protégé, Norman Rockwell. Leyendecker’s innovative work in early twentieth-century American magazine illustration shaped the visual language of the era. His mentorship profoundly influenced Rockwell, who carried Leyendecker’s legacy forward while adding his unique touch. Together, they created some of the most memorable magazine covers in American history, with their works now fetching millions at auction.

Norman Rockwell’s Post covers are among the most sought-after pieces of illustration art. In a recent auction, one of Rockwell’s covers reached a staggering $1.8 million. These original creations were often large-scale oil paintings on canvas, painstakingly crafted every two weeks to meet the magazine’s rigorous publishing schedule. They were then reproduced on paper, bringing fine art into homes across America on an intimate, small scale.

Behind each final illustration was a meticulous process of preparation. Leyendecker’s studies were highly refined works in their own right, showcasing his artistic genius and attention to detail. They served as a roadmap for the final piece, enabling him to troubleshoot challenges and refine his concepts before beginning the demanding task of painting the full-size illustration.

Preliminary studies were an essential step in transforming an illustrator’s vision into reality. These small-scale paintings were created before committing to the final oil on canvas. Studies offered artists like J.C. Leyendecker the opportunity to experiment with composition, lighting, color palettes, and character expressions, ensuring that his ideas were fully developed and aligned with the story he intended to tell.

Joseph Francis Kernan‘s Covers for The Saturday Evening Post

While Leyendecker and Rockwell are household names, other illustrators also left a significant mark on The Saturday Evening Post. Joseph Francis Kernan, for example, was celebrated for his warm, relatable depictions of everyday life. Kernan’s art often focused on lighthearted scenes of leisure, sports, and family, embodying the wholesome, optimistic ideals cherished by the Post’s readers.

Kernan’s cover illustration, Dog Bath, is included in our December 12th auction. This piece, one of the 26 covers Kernan created for the Post, perfectly captures a humorous and universally relatable moment: the often chaotic adventure of bathing a dog. Through its charm and wit, Dog Bath highlights how illustration can connect emotionally with its audience, making it more than just an image but a shared experience.

Kernan’s appeal has remained strong in the collector market. In 2021, his 1932 Post cover titled College Football sold at Swann for $75,000, a testament to the enduring power of his nostalgic, heartwarming art.

Related Reading:

Ruth Eastman‘s Covers for The Saturday Evening Post

Another artist who contributed to The Saturday Evening Post’s legacy is Ruth Eastman, whose work often celebrated stylish, confident, and active women. Eastman’s life and art reflected her adventurous spirit, portraying women who were bold, vibrant, and thoroughly modern. Her proposed cover for the Post, Hitting the Links of Palm Beach, demonstrates the thought and creativity behind her work. The piece sold at Swann for $11,875 in 2021.

At its peak, The Saturday Evening Post claimed the largest audience of any American magazine, and much of its success can be attributed to the artistry of its covers. These covers weren’t just illustrations; they were cultural artifacts that reflected and shaped the collective imagination of middle-class America.

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The perpetual sunshine and endless summer enjoyed by California natives has traditionally been linked to the glamor and film industries. But in the 1920s and thirties, a community of artist-photographers known as Group f/64 developed a photographic vocabulary and visual style that might best be described as California Modernism.

Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston were visionaries of visual culture, employing photography’s unique and powerful qualities for personal expression. Their sharp-focus approach resulted in stunning depictions of abstract organic forms and the natural environment. This innovative style contrasted with that of their European counterparts—who rendered urban and industrial settings in unusual perspectives and out-of-focus compositions, oftentimes embracing the technical “mistakes” made by amateur photographers.

The name of this Group is derived from a diaphragm number of the photographic lens. It signifies to a large extent the qualities of clearness and definition of the photographic image which is an important element in the work of members of this Group.

_{f/64 Manifesto}

Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams focused on the majestic beauty of Yosemite. His Stump, Sierra Nevada, 1936, a small-format vintage silver print, employs abstract elements to symbolize the fragility of the natural environment. A pioneer of the conservation movement and former president of The Sierra Club, Adams was also an active spokesperson for photography as an art form. In the 1930s, he coauthored a best-selling book, The Zone System, which became a popular primer of photographic composition and printing, catapulting him to greater prominence.

Edward & Brett Weston

Edward Weston and his son Brett were fascinated by the shifting dunes at Oceano Beach and the stark landscape of Death Valley. An abiding passion for analog darkroom work resulted in beautiful contact prints.

The dimensionality of Eroded Rock, 1930, a vintage silver print—in which the flat surface of the larger rock is offset by detailing the pebbles—is emblematic of the elder Weston’s technical mastery. Brett’s early vintage chiaroscuro prints were assessed as works by a prodigy: a lustrous rock or the stark geometry of dune formations.

Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham’s background was as a scientist, having studied at the prestigious Technische Hochschule, in Dresden, where she learned platinum printing. By the 1920s, she and her family moved to California. As the mother of three children, she looked to her domestic setting for inspiration and found it in botanical specimens, many of which she cultivated in her garden.

Related Reading: Imogen Cunningham’s Magnolia Blossom

As a sign of their stature, both Westons and Cunningham were invited to exhibit prints in 1929 at the prestigious German Film und Foto exhibition, a groundbreaking show and the place to platform American and European modernist photography.

Their pioneering and poetic images resulted in a new, inherently American style of modernity.

Do you have a photograph from Group f/64 we should take a look at?

Learn about how to consign to an auction, and send us a note about your item. 

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2024 was an eventful year for Swann that brought about exciting changes, including the reorganization of our Fine Art Department, which saw Nigel Freeman step in as the head of the department and Lisa Crescenzo as the managing director. The year also saw the addition of The Subculture Sale in February and the return of The New York Sale in September. Single-owner collections were among some of the high spots of 2024; in February, we offered An American Century: The Collection of Dr. James & Debra Pearl & Fine Photographs, March’s Autograph auction featured property from the Steve Forbes Collection, May brought Tennis & Sports Posters: Collection of the Schwartz Family & Tennis Corporation of America, and June’s Illustration Art sale included Highlights from the Collection of Jules Feiffer.

Browse below for a look at some of the year’s highlights.

Books & Manuscripts

Autographs

Related Reading:

19th & 20th Century Literature

Americana

Early Printed Books

Related Reading:

Maps & Atlases

Illustration Art

Related Reading:

Specialty Sales

The Artists of the WPA

The Subculture Sale

Focus on Women

LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History

The New York Sale

Related Reading:

Fine Art

Prints & Drawings

American Art

African American Art

Modern & Post-War Art

Fine Photographs

Vintage Posters

The post 2024: Year in Review appeared first on Swann Galleries News.

Swann has been called many things over the years: Swann Galleries; Swann Auction Galleries; Swann’s [sic], sometimes New York’s oldest specialty auction house.  

But in the fall of 2024, writing for Artnet news, Kenny Schachter referred to Swann as “the unassuming, resolute auction house.” And frankly, these are adjectives that make me proud—validating the work we do, how we do it, and the approach we take to auctions.  

Last year was yet another good year for us and, more importantly, for you, our clients. We continued to bring top historical, artistic and collectible items to market for our clientele who have come to rely on us for such material, proudly setting new sales records not only in the fields we pioneered,  LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History; Printed & Manuscript African Americana; African American Art; and Focus on Women but also in our primary departments of Books, Autographs, Posters, Photographs, Maps and Illustration.  

The biggest change in the last year has been reorganizing Swann’s visual art departments, and by doing so, we bucked the national trend, posting an overall rise in sales from the previous year. We continued bringing scintillating material to auction through our diverse range of departments, proudly setting new records in the fields we pioneered. (Take a look at some of our results here.)

We achieved these results in our historically unassuming, steadfast, tenacious, loyal, and friendly way. And we remain nimble and feisty, a house ready to handle big consignments and exceptional collections. Keep your eyes open for prominent single-owner sales coming up in 2025, including Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim, and Art Deco at 100: Iconic Posters from the William W. Crouse Collection, along with all our core auctions in the first few months of the New Year.  

Technology marches forward, administrations change, and nobody is quite sure what 2025 will hold. Allow us the honor of being your calm in the storm, the unassuming, resolute friend waiting to offer you scintillating items or have a collector’s conversation about something beautiful or fascinating.  

With the best wishes from all of us at Swann for a happy, joyful, peaceful and healthy New Year! 

Sincerely,

Nicholas D. Lowry
President & Principal Auctioneer

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At Auction Thursday, February 6 at 2:00 PM ET

On Thursday, February 6, Swann Galleries proudly presents “Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim” to honor the legacy and enterprise of a trailblazing collector. With over 80 artworks from the estate, this auction showcases postwar and contemporary Black art focusing on abstraction. It includes works by many important African American artists, including Charles Alston, McArthur Binion, Ed Clark, Beauford Delaney, Norman Lewis, Richard Mayhew, Alma Thomas and Jack Whitten. The auction will also feature a significant group of paintings by Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA, the British painter born in British Guiana.  

Scipio-Brim was a successful New York lawyer who privately cultivated her practice of collecting over decades: visiting artist’s studios, museums, galleries and auctions, acquiring work by artists long before they reached their current acclaim. This collection demonstrates both her intellect and genuine passion for the arts. 

Read Nigel Freeman’s essay on Patricia Scipio-Brim and her collection here.

Postwar Abstraction

Amongst many great examples of postwar abstraction, Alma Thomas’s Untitled work from her Atmospheric Effect series is a standout. Each composition in this series depicts spectral bands of color inspired by photography published by NASA. They were first exhibited in her important 1970 solo exhibition “Alma Thomas: Earth and Space Paintings” at the Franz Bader Gallery, Washington DC, and are highly prized by collectors today.  

Other postwar works include a watercolor-and-gouache on paper by Beauford Delaney, executed during his time living in the Clamart neighborhood of Paris in the late 1960s; Norman Lewis’s A Certain Total from 1951; and double portrait from Jack Whitten, completed in 1964.   

Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA

In contemporary art, Patricia Scipio-Brim had a particular interest in the inventive abstractions of Frank Bowling—owning several of his paintings. One of the auction highlights is Looking for Carmen, 2006. This richly multi-layered painting is a fine example of Bowling’s collaged canvases from the 1990s and early 2000s. The artist’s composition balances daring paint passages and surfaces with flair, all atop his signature support of colorful collaged canvas.  

Contemporary Art

Additional contemporary artworks in the collection are from Faith Ringgold, Ann Tanksley, Gregory Coates, Tomashi Jackson, and Christine Neptune. You can see more highlights here on our landing page. Please let us know if you would like descriptions and digital images of any of these works, or to arrange a private viewing by appointment. The collection will be exhibited publicly for the first time at Swann, with a printed catalogue.

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Patricia Scipio-Brim (1947 – 2023) was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, the first of six siblings. She immigrated to New York in the 1970s after she graduated from Bishop Anstey High School. Scipio-Brim went on to receive a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law and a Master of Laws from New York University’s prestigious tax program. She began an impressive legal career in corporate law at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft., and she worked at law firms Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Carter Ledyard & Milburn before moving to the public sector, where she would remain for the rest of her career. In the public sector, Scipio-Brim served as a Supervising Administrative Law Judge in the New York City Department of Finance and as a Real Estate Liaison for the Office of the Public Administrator for New York County, where she appeared in the US Federal Court’s Eastern District as an Appointed State Referee.  

Scipio-Brim’s journey as an art collector began in the early 1980s with an introduction to the art world by her neighbor, the daughter of a prominent artist. Visting many galleries, museums and artist studios, her interests grew across a wide range of figurative and abstract art. She also developed close relationships with dealers and galleries that featured African American artists, including Dorsey’s Gallery, Kenkeleba Gallery, Stella Jones, Peg Alston, Spiral Gallery and Swann Galleries. She was an avid supporter of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Studio Museum in Harlem. She had a special interest in dance—particularly the Alvin Ailey company in New York, International Ailey Partners, and Abraham in Motion—all of which she supported and whose performances she followed internationally. 

Swann Galleries is honored to bring Patricia’s wonderful art collection to auction as a single-owner sale of over 80 works of art. The Patricia Scipio-Brim collection spans over a century of modern, postwar and contemporary African American Art, from Edward Bannister to Tomashi Jackson. Highlights include an impressive, colorful group of abstract paintings; several acrylic canvases by Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA; a 1990 pastel on paper by Ed Clark; and a 1971 Alma Thomas acrylic work on paper from her Atmospheric Effect series. The collection also includes numerous unique artworks by such important postwar artists as Charles Alston, Romare Bearden, Beauford Delaney, Norman Lewis and Bob Thompson, and significant contemporary artists like McArthur Binion, David Hammons, Adam Pendleton, Faith Ringgold and Kara Walker. The collection includes not only paintings but assemblage, works on paper, photography and fine prints. Our illustrated printed catalogue will serve as a valuable record and commemoration of her decades of patronage of Black arts. 

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Timed Sale — Bidding Now Open!

Lots begin closing Tuesday, January 30 at 12:00 PM ET

Works in photography, cartography, printmaking, posters, and painting are all represented in this reflection on how the early twentieth century changed American culture.

Government Support for Artists During the Great Depression

The economic hardships of the 1930s, as well as the drought across the North American prairie, were of great concern to lawmakers in Washington, DC. The agencies that formed as part of the New Deal, an “alphabet soup” that included the Works Progress Administration, the Farm Security Administration, and the Federal Art Project, put artists to work. These artists expressed empathy for the American farmer, as seen in Thomas Hart Benton’s romanticized vision of farm life in Missouri Farmyard, and Dorothea Lange’s tender documentation of the plight of families experiencing the Dust Bowl era. 

Rural Free Delivery and WPA Art in American Society

R.F.D. 36, by Paul Meltsner, depicts a government worker steadily on his route delivering mail to the rural farms in the American heartland—a dead tree between the farmer and mail carrier emphasizes the perseverance in the face of hardship that the American people endured. Rural Free Delivery (R.F.D.) was a concept that moved the burden of mail delivery from that of individual households in rural areas to a single mail carrier. This concept was first discussed in America toward the end of the nineteenth century, and it was voted into law by Congress in 1902 as a national program. Other artists depicting Social Realist works for the WPA include Seymour Fogel, Louis Lozowick, William Gropper, and Reginald Marsh.

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Jennifer Stewart, art collector, advisor, and friend of Patricia Scipio-Brim, recounts her friendship with Patricia, their shared love of art, and Patricia’s sharp eye for collecting.

I first met Pat about 35 years ago at Spiral Gallery on Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn. I was a volunteer at the gallery, owned by James and Beverly Powers, and Pat would come in the day before an opening. We’d sit and chat as she carefully selected the pieces she wanted, always decisive and clear about what spoke to her. She had this wonderful way of knowing exactly what she wanted, and she’d mark her chosen works with a red dot before walking out the door. At every opening, people would try to guess who had bought those special pieces, but I always knew—it was Pat. When Spiral closed, I lost touch with her for a while. But as fate would have it, we reconnected at a theater on Fulton Street, and from then on, our friendship deepened. She started coming to Dorsey’s Art Gallery, and I’d call her whenever I saw pieces I knew she’d love. She never hesitated—if something moved her, she’d come right over and claim it.

Pat’s love for art extended beyond galleries. I had the privilege of introducing her to artists in their studios. I’ll never forget the joy on her face when I took her to Frank Wimberley’s house. She was so excited to meet him, and she ended up purchasing two incredible pieces, both of which are part of this show. Then there was Gregory Coates—Pat came with me to his studio twice and left with over ten pieces. She always teased me about how competitive she was as a collector. While I might take four visits to gather a handful of works, Pat would sweep in and leave with more. That’s just who she was—passionate and focused.

I had the privilege of introducing Pat to other incredible artists, and each visit was an adventure. At Camille Billops’ studio, she discovered treasures that became cherished parts of her collection. When we visited Frank Bowling’s studio, her discerning eye immediately gravitated toward several works. At Kenkeleba Gallery, it became a delightful tradition—Pat never left without finding a piece that spoke to her. Her passion for photography was no different. As a member of our Kujenga Jamii Salon, Pat always encouraged us to aim higher. This is a group to support, celebrate and appreciate the work of featured photographers. The name means building community in Swahili. We meet periodically for dinner and conversation with the artist. While I sometimes sought out lesser-known artists, Pat’s boldness set the tone. “Jennifer, stop this nonsense,” she’d say with a twinkle in her eye. “Let’s go for the best.” With her determination leading the way, we secured works by masters like Anthony Barboza, Beuford Smith and Adger Cowans. Pat’s enthusiasm was infectious, and her unwavering pursuit of excellence elevated every experience we shared.

Pat had a quiet yet commanding presence. She’d come into a room, take her time, and once she made her selections, that was it. She didn’t linger or second-guess herself—she knew what she wanted and made it hers. I admired her for that. More than anything, Pat loved the stories behind the pieces and the connections they created. She wasn’t just collecting art; she was building relationships—with the work, the artists, the dealers and the people around her. She had an incredible generosity of spirit, always encouraging me in my own art ventures and challenging me to see things from new perspectives.

This show is a testament to Pat’s vision, her passion, and her extraordinary eye for beauty. It’s also a celebration of her life and the countless ways she enriched those of us lucky enough to know her.   Pat, your legacy lives on in every piece you chose, every story you told, and every heart you touched.

Jennifer Stewart has been involved in the Arts for over 30 years. She is an art advisor and collector of African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora. She has been affiliated with various Art galleries in the Brooklyn area, including Spiral Gallery and Dorsey’s Gallery. She has curated several shows and has traveled extensively to fulfill her passion for the arts.

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How do you assess your rare book collection and know if it’s right for sale at auction?

At Swann Galleries, we receive many inquiries from folks wondering what to do with shelves and shelves of books. Are they valuable? Maybe! Below, we aim to answer a few of these questions.

Considerations for consigning rare books at auction:

Who put this collection of books together?

Rare Book Collector: The habits of the bibliophile are usually known to friends and family members, especially their spending habits. If the book lover in question routinely paid $1,000-plus per book on the retail market in today’s dollars, the collection likely contains valuable books, and someone in the family already knows.

Scholar: Professional physicians, university professors, authors, artists, librarians, scholars, hobbyists and others surround themselves with books in pursuit of their work. However, books that are rare and valuable to a researcher because of content are not usually the domain of the fine book collector.

Reader: People love books! And many of us retain our prized favorites. It’s easy to build up a collection of beloved titles in literature, children’s books, nonfiction, and other genres. Books fun to read are valued for their content, whereas rare books are valued because of their special qualities, think a perfectly preserved first edition from a Nobel prize winner, signed and in pristine condition. Rare books are going to be the copies that were never read more likely than the well-thumbed favorites.

Someone born generations ago: A collection like this is worth examining. Who knows, maybe they bought Moby Dick when it came out in 1851.

What condition are the books in? In book collecting, as in many other areas of antique and art collecting, condition is paramount. Good condition “for its age” usually means bad condition. Torn and missing pages, intense staining, worming, tears, any fault that makes a book unappealing to you will make the book unappealing to us, and to else anyone looking to buy. Even with the earliest books, we are looking for good condition.

How old is old? For books, old is pretty darn old. 100 years sounds old, but the earliest printed book was produced over 550 years ago. Primacy can be more important, as opposed to just age, when it comes to books. Many books from the 1600s are not worth much at all, while a first edition from the twentieth century can be very valuable.

• Examples include Jean de Mandeville’s Reysen und Wanderschafften durch das Gelobte Land, late eighteenth- early nineteenth- century; Euclid’s Elementa geometria, 1482; Hartmann Schedel’s Liber Cronicarum cum Figuris et Ymaginibus ab Inicio Mundi, 1493; a Book of Hours, circa 1435-45; works by Geoffrey Chaucer; and Sir Philip Sidney’s The Defence of Poesie, 1595.

Are all first editions valuable? Not necessarily. Important first editions are valuable when they are undeniably important landmarks in our culture, the most recognizable works making their earliest appearances in print.

• Examples include first editions of Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, J.R.R. Tolkien, Emily Dickinson, and Herman Melville, as well as works such as Albert Einstein’s Relativity. The Special and General Theory, 1920, and Charles Darwin’s Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the various countries visited by H.M.S. Beagle, 1839.

What does copyright mean? A modern book’s copyright date, often found on the back of the title page, is the date the work was first registered with the government copyright office. It is the birth year of the text. The date of publication is different. Henry Melville first published Moby Dick in 1851, but when it was reprinted in 1862, its copyright date is still 1851. Look for the date on the title page to find the year the book was printed. If there’s no date on the title page, it’s likely a later reprint.

Does rare equal valuable? Rarity can convey value to an important book, but a very rare book of little interest will not become valuable because another copy can’t be located. Likewise, printing anomalies and binding errors do not add value to the book, unlike stamp collecting for example.

What qualities do make a book more valuable? Excellent condition, an inscription or signature in the author’s hand, interesting annotations of an important former owner, a special binding, extraordinary illustrations, hand-colored plates, anything that stands out as special can add to the value.

Too many books, too little time?

If you’re still unsure what to do, we’re here to help! Take photos of the shelves and reach out to us by email. If you have a list of titles, send it along. We routinely review submissions from potential consignors. If anything on your shelves looks promising, we will follow up with additional questions for more information. We’re also available for consultation by phone and email with any general enquiries regarding collection management.

Caveats to assessing your rare book collection:

• There is a minimum value threshold at Swann Galleries. Some books may fall below that basic threshold, but we can help you decide whether your books are right for auction at Swann or not.
• Swann Galleries does not perform written appraisals, but we can refer you to qualified appraisers.
• Please bear in mind that these are guidelines only, exceptions are the rule.

Devon Eastland

Senior Specialist, Early Printed Books

(212) 254-4710 ext. 18

deastland@swanngalleries.com

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At Auction Thursday, February 13 at 12:00 PM ET

The February Fine Photographs auction brings together twentieth-century masters in a curated selection of diverse and rare highlights. We are thrilled to offer a signed example of Roy DeCarava’s iconic Hallway, New York, 1953, a vintage print that was acquired directly from the artist. The sale also includes Robert Mapplethorpe’s stunning Double Jack in the Pulpit, 1988, as well as August Sander’s Handlanger [Bricklayer], 1928, printed 1976, Robert Adams’ Out a Front Window, Longmont, Colorado, from The New West, 1968-71, and Minor White’s striking Moon and Wall Encrustations, Pultneyville, NY, 1964, printed 1970s.

New York Perspectives & Color Photography

Paul Strand’s Wall Street, New York, 1915, printed 1984, and Lee Friedlander’s New York City (Father Duffy, Times Square), 1974, printed 1980s, offer perspectives on New York City, and William Eggleston’s Untitled (In Case of Emergency), 1974, showcases the groundbreaking ways color photography altered the artistic landscape. 

Photography Exploring the Social Landscape

Additional work by Bill Brandt, Graciela Iturbide, Josef Koudelka, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and rare color photographs by Danny Lyon from his Bikeriders series, further add to examinations of the social landscape.

Innovative Approaches & Landscape Shots

Two color photographs by Gordon Parks and work by Clarence John Laughlin and Abelardo Morell showcase innovative approaches to the medium. Finally, iconic landscapes by Ansel Adams and studies by photographers such as Josef Sudek, Edward Weston, and Yousuf Karsh help provide a full perspective on the many approaches to image-making.

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At Auction Thursday, February 20 at 10:30 AM ET

Swann’s upcoming auction presents a diverse collection of vintage posters spanning winter sports and travel, Art Nouveau, fashion, and graphic design, featuring works by some of the most celebrated artists of the past 150 years.

Art Nouveau

A stunning array of Art Nouveau includes decorative panels and plates, calendars, periodicals and posters by Alphonse Mucha, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Jules Chéret, Aubrey Beardsley, Will Bradley, Louis Rhead, Leopoldo Metlicovitz and others.

Graphic Design

Our offering of Graphic Design this year is brimming with the work of prominent artists such as Ludwig Hohlwein, Ladislav Sutnar, Lester Beall, Fortunato Depero, Leo Leonni, Erik Nitsche, Tadanori Yokoo, Edward McKnight Kauffer, A.M. Cassandre, Marcel Duchamp, Kurt Schwitters, and many others. Also featured is an exceptional private collection of 1920s and 30s Soviet aviation images, all part of a broader selection of Russian posters.

Ski & Winter Vintage Posters

A trademark of every Swann winter poster auction is a robust ski section, and this year is no exception. From beautiful pre-World War I Alpine images by Gustav Jahn, Otto Barth, Hugo d’Alési and Gustav Reckziegel, to a travelogue of important resorts and destinations such as St. Moritz, Pontresina, Zermatt, Jungfrau, Kandersteg, and the Tyrol—all depicted by some of the most renowned artists of their eras: Emil Cardinaux, Roger Broders, Martin Peikert and Hugo Laubi. American winter pastimes are not left out, with Sun Valley, New Hampshire and Dartmouth Winter Carnival posters also well represented.

Fashion and Film

Of note is a lovely, scarce grouping of posters for the famous Swiss clothing store Paul Kehl Zurich, popularly known as PKZ. Spanning from 1908 through 1935, the selection is a wardrobe of famous artistic styles and highly regarded artists such as Emil Cardinaux, Burkhard Mangold, Otto Baumberger, Herbert Matter, and Alois Carigiet.

Also represented in this auction is a run of icons of cinematic history, including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Captain Blood, and two scarce posters for The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn and  Olivia de Havilland.

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Punks, goths, mods, beatniks, club kids, and hippies: a shortlist of an endless supply of social factions that make up the fabled “underground.” In the grander societal context, they are known as subcultures: communities formed and concretized upon values that defy those held by the mainstream, who express themselves in fashion, music, and art that are unlike dominant cultural exports. 

Looking back at the twentieth century, endless artistic movements, musical genres, lifestyles, and hobbies can be considered subcultures, as can certain political movements, but they weren’t always self-aware. Most often, subcultures were just groups of like-minded people gathering around a shared interest. Sometimes, their gathering led to important political transformations, other times to beloved music and art; some subcultures disappeared with their members, and others live on to this day.  

At Swann, the Subculture Sale is a means to celebrate the revolutionary, beautiful, exciting, and curious exports of these movements. The Subculture Sale covers a range of material terrain, highlighting facets of subcultural inner workings across decades and ideologies: 

Vintage Posters

Posters were engaging, large-scale ways to get one’s message out to the public view, and subcultural groups often created them to promote their ideas, events, or artworks. Gary Yanker argues that political posters confronted “man more directly than any of the other media,” and writes about the democratic purpose of the poster when other dominant forms of ideological dissemination – television and radio – were primarily controlled by wealthier political groups.  

The below William Weege protest posters exemplify the role of posters in promoting political messages. Three versions picture scantily clad women to draw attention to their message, while one quotes a Bible verse to draw sympathy to the conditions being protested. The posters are graphic, one- or two-color prints that were likely easy to produce in extensive quantities for large-scale distribution.  

Ephemera & Archives

The archive of an organization or artist is an excellent way to peek under the hood and understand how they operated and what they were thinking in real time. Archives often contain photographs, correspondence, studies, and other ephemera that viewers wouldn’t otherwise have access to. They can tell us the story of an artist’s practice, the development of a project, or what life looked like within a specific group.  

Often, archives contain ephemera: items that were not created to have a lifespan beyond their original purpose for creation. Though seemingly insignificant, ephemera can help us develop a more well-rounded understanding of the minutiae that make important cultural moments possible, like letters between important figures or drafts of major artistic works. That ephemera should not really have survived at all, which makes collecting it all that much more exciting.  

Swann has offered a number of important archives, but the collection of materials related to Joan Jett Blakk’s 1992 satirical presidential campaign perhaps best represents the esoteric nature of subcultural movements. The archive features preliminary poster designs, correspondence between Blakk and poet Eileen Myles, and a number of promotional materials related to the campaign.  

Photographs

Photographers have long held an interest in documenting the activities of subcultures. Often in closed-off spaces, their concerts, happenings, parties, and meetings are an elusive and intriguing subject. Photographers capture a more human side of subcultures, one that looks at its participants in their spaces of comfort.  

Peter Hujar is a prime example of the importance of photographers in documenting subculture. Known for his black-and-white portraits depicting notables within New York’s underground art and performance scene, Hujar’s perspective is an intimate and evocative view into a world of subversive gender identity and avant-garde art.  

Fine Art

A number of fine artists used their perspectives as societally oppressed or underrepresented people to inform their artistic practice, creating work that spoke to the ideas and values they could not otherwise express. Fine art allowed these artists to have control over their messaging, whether they chose to distort their ideas into sublimation, or create images that visually beautify a discernable message.  

Hugh Steers’ work frequently depicted representations of his struggle with AIDS; indoor scenes of confinement, often with subjects whose faces were disguised behind paper bags or by downturned heads. His friend and former teacher, Julie Heffernan, writes that the characters in his paintings became figures of comfort and companionship to him, and that painting itself provided him comfort as his health declined.  

Periodicals & Publications

Subcultural groups often used magazines and newsletters to communicate ideas and happenings, share art, and build community on a larger scale. Often, these were handmade and cheaply printed, as few groups had the resources to create polished publications. The “zine” revolution allowed groups to use a photocopier to cheaply and efficiently mass produce and distribute their ideas around the world. Zines were often highly specialized and represent the highly niche interests of various groups.  

Music

Many subcultures were formed, expressed, or defined through music. In genres like reggae and punk, the music was the message, projecting sentiments of peace and love or outrage and revolution. In some genres, like goth, the subculture was defined more by the social scene and aesthetic atmosphere brought about by the music than its lyricism. Goth music is dark and brooding, and listeners of the genre were often identifiable by their similarly somber, antique-inspired clothing and heavily contrasted makeup. Though many music genres that were rooted in subculture dwindled, some broke through to the mainstream. 

Now the most widely listened to genre worldwide, hip hop began as a reaction to worsening social and economic conditions in early-1970s New York City. Faced with an increasingly bleak reality and few economic opportunities,  young people in the Bronx turned to the streets for community and entertainment. Brick walls became backdrops for graffiti art, and sheets of cardboard became dance floors. The outings were soundtracked by DJs and MCs. Hip-hop happenings were held across the city, providing a place for disillusioned youth to channel their emotions into art and find community with their peers. 

The funny thing about subcultures is that we can often relate to their principles more than we may imagine or wish to think. There is a commonality in the desire to build “a nation based on love and respect…” (Yippie Manifesto, 1968), to exemplify the values of “authenticity and creativity” (Walt Cassidy, Club Kid), or perhaps even, if only for a moment, to embody Andy Warhol’s whimsy as he asks the stoic Joan Didion: Why can’t it just be magic all the time? 

Subcultures often straddled two opposing ideas: that the safest place for those who wish to live outside acceptability is within the armored gates of their own community, and that the idea of a changed world, one where their ideas or means of self-expression weren’t deemed “radical” —  where the “sub” could be dropped — was possible. Subcultures thrived in this dichotomy; a purpose for artistic creation, and an intimate space where it was celebrated. For many denizens, the world only needed to be as big as a sticky do-it-yourself music venue or a decrepit Bowery loft to be worth being in. 

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At Auction Thursday, March 6 at 12:00 PM ET

An eclectic and engaging dialogue between several European, American, and Latin American artistic traditions and movements, this auction will include original artwork, prints, and sculpture.

Latin American Selections

Latin American art leads the auction with José Clemente Orozco’s Man in Chains (Prometheus), a powerful, anguished image and the same subject of Orozco’s important 1930 Prometheus mural at Pomona College. Other highlights in this section include original works by Wifredo Lam and Pablo Esteban O’Higgins.

Early American Masterpieces

An early American highlight is a New England Tonalist landscape by George Inness, Thunderstorm, Medfield, Massachusetts, circa 1877. In this painting, men load a hay wagon in preparation for a storm about to roll in. In contrast to Thunderstorm’s brooding tumult, we will offer a tranquil painting with crisp details portraying Dollar Island, Lake George, 1873 by David Johnson, a Luminist artist, part of the movement which is characterized by the absence of visible brushstrokes and the interplay between light and reflection in natural landscapes.

European Animal Studies

More early highlights include a beautiful watercolor by Rosa Bonheur of a cow and her calf. Another expressive animal artwork is a small bronze by Renée Sintenis, a German sculptor who not only specialized in these small-scale animal sculptures, but also in sculpting nudes and athletes.

Modern Art Highlights

Among Modern highlights is a lovely ceramic by Pablo Picasso, Bright Dove, 1953; and Lyonel Feininger’s watercolor Locomotive, 1942, a highly sought-after subject for the artist. We are also privileged to offer an intriguing selection of artworks formerly in the collection of the important artist, teacher, and art historian Gerald Ferguson, who lived and worked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, edited the book Marsden Hartley and Nova Scotia (1987), and passionately collected works by Hartley and Rockwell Kent, who explored this region. We look forward to offering original works on paper from Hartley’s time in Europe, as well.

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The German and Austro-Hungarian answer to the growing Art Nouveau movement of the 1890s was first dubbed the Jugendstil, or “Youth Style” movement, characterized by its stylized graphics. More broadly recognized as the Secessionists, pioneers of this new movement took influence from the Arts and Crafts movement of England, Japonisme in France, and an interest in new forms that broke away from the historicism of the art academies. With heavy hitters like Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele among their ranks, the Secessionists aimed to create an “art of using forms that, although they signify nothing, represent nothing and recall nothing, can move the human soul,” as said by one of its founders, August Endell. Posters of this period, used to advertise the movement’s magazines and exhibitions as well as products, offer a first-hand look into the elements of style that defined the movement as it evolved.

Munich

The first of the Secessionist movements, the Munich Secession, was founded around 1892, when more artists were living in Munich than in Berlin and Vienna combined. The first Secession was a response to the more close-minded artistic institutions of Germany who discredited modern styles and held only historical painting in esteem. A group of Munich artists were inspired by the Art Nouveau, Impressionist, Pre-Raphaelite, and other “non-academic” forms being exhibited throughout Europe and decided to break away, or “secede,” from the traditional, mainstream art scene.

Franz Von Stuck, one of the co-founders of the Munich Secession, created what would become the iconic emblem of the Secession in his depiction of the head of Athena, which was used to advertise the group’s first international exhibition. This poster is considered to be “the first modern artistic German poster” (Rademacher p. 58), and the head of Athena continued to be used by Secessionist artists like Gustav Klimt, whose own depiction of the goddess later became the emblem for the Vienna Secession:

(left) Franz von Stück, Internationale Kunst – Ausstellung / (Secession), circa 1898. Sold in 2020 $3,500; (right) Gustav Klimt, XVIII Secession Ausstellung, 1903. Sold in 2004 for $29,000.

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Franz Von Stuck, one of the co-founders of the Munich Secession, created what would become the iconic emblem of the Secession in his depiction of the head of Athena, which was used to advertise the group’s first international exhibition. This poster is considered to be “the first modern artistic German poster” (Rademacher p. 58), and the head of Athena continued to be used by Secessionist artists like Gustav Klimt, whose own depiction of the goddess later became the emblem for the Vienna Secession.

Vienna

The most notable of the Secession schools, the Vienna Secession, was formed by Austrian artists across disciplines. Led by Gustav Klimt, artists such as Joseph Maria Olbrich, Josef Hoffmann, and Otto Wagner, who resigned from the conservative Association of Austrian Artists in 1897 and formed their own group.

(right) DIE FLÄCHE, an incredible design magazine by the Wiener Werkstätte who had come out of the Vienna Secession. Sold in 2020 for $3,750.

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Ver Sacrum was the official magazine of the Vienna Secession, striking at first glance with its square and grid-like structure that took inspiration from artists of the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement like Charles Rennie Mackintosh: “This format allowed for a designer’s use of multiple text columns, decorative borders, and negative space.” The style was characteristic of the Vienna Secession, allowing for elaborate decorative “lettering ornamented to the limit of legibility” (Weill p. 115), also utilized in the posters of the time.

Alfred Roller, one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession—Koloman Moser, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoshka and Otto Czeschka—contributed often to Ver Sacrum and became editor after its seventh issue. His posters promoted the magazine and the group’s exhibitions, one of the most popular of which was for the fourteenth exhibition dedicated to Ludwig von Beethoven. The theme of this exhibition came from the Vienna Secession’s desire to unite all artistic disciplines, harkening back to the ideal originated by Richard Wagner in the early 19th century of the “Gesamtkunstwerk” or “total work of art.” This poster of a muse appeared as the frontispiece in the catalogue for the exhibition, where Klimt’s famous Beethoven Frieze was first unveiled.

Berlin

Max Lieberman and Walter Leistikow founded the Berlin Secession in 1898. This secession found its origins in a dispute in 1891 when the commission of the Association of Berlin Artists rejected works by Edvard Munch. After a series of major rejections of works by modern artists, reaching a climax with the Great Berlin Art Exhibition’s rejection of a painting by Walter Leistikow, the Berlin Secession was created with an initial 65 members, all agreeing that they did not have the support of the academy. This rare poster by Ludwig von Hofmann might be the first ever to advertise a Secession exhibition in Berlin.

While this piece (below) was designed one year before the founding of the Berlin Secession, the artist, Otto V. Holten, takes great inspiration from the decorative designs of William Morris, creating a work considered the first “pure Art Nouveau” image published in Germany, without any of the Hellenistic influences that were found in mainstream German art up to this time.

The innovative vision of the Secessionist artists has continued to endure through the ages, its design values appearing in psychedelic posters from the likes of Wes Wilson in the 1960s to graphic designers inspired by its timeless style today.

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A Weston by Any Name: Identifying Photographic Prints by Edward, Brett & Cole Weston

Edward Weston was a self-taught photographer who migrated to California from the midwest and began his commercial career shooting portraits in Glendale. His early style was characterized by a soft-focus approach that emulated painting and was associated with a school of photography known as Pictorialism. Later, Weston was a member of Group f/64—a community of artist-photographers who developed a photographic vocabulary and visual style described as California Modernism.

Early Career

In 1921 Weston met Tina Modotti, a young Hollywood actress and political activist, and they formed an intense romantic and professional relationship. The couple traveled to Mexico City, where they lived from 1923 to 1927, and opened a portrait studio. Soon they were introduced to leading figures of radical political and the artistic avant-garde who profoundly influenced Weston, including Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Subsequently, he shifted to a more direct, sharply focused and structured photographic style known as “straight” photography, which was championed by Alfred Stieglitz. Weston’s photographs were typically mounted, signed, dated and editioned one of 50–edition sizes that were overly ambitious and never fulfilled.

Upon returning to the states, Weston’s aspirations as a fine art photographer led him to New York City, where he met Stieglitz, Charles Sheeler and Paul Strand, who further strengthened the new direction of his work. Weston’s modernist compositions of vegetables, shells and landscapes are among his finest works. The 1930s were a halcyon period of exhibitions, prizes and book projects, and in 1937 and ’38 he was the first photographer to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Edward & Brett Weston

Ten years later, in 1948, he exhibited the first signs of Parkinson’s disease and was unable to continue working in the darkroom. He designated his son Brett, a noted photographer in his own right, to print a select group of approximately 1,000 negatives, which were known as Project Prints.

These modern photographic prints were generated in the 1950s and bear the distinct visual hallmarks of a Weston photograph. Sometimes the prints were mounted, and occasionally they were initialed by Edward, or signed “Edward Weston” by Brett. A full set is housed at the Center for Creative Photography, the repository for Edward’s work.

Edward & Cole Weston

By the late 1960s a commercial marketplace for photography emerged, and Weston was among its key players. In the 1970s dealers pitched modern or posthumous iterations of prints, which they said looked “cleaner” than vintage examples. With Brett’s career in full swing, Edward’s youngest son, Cole, was tasked with printing posthumous contact prints from his father’s negatives.

Cole’s prints were sold at his photo workshops for $10, and are generally mounted, with the mount verso bearing a special handstamp, “Negative by Edward Weston, Print by Cole Weston.” In most instances, Cole has also signed the back of the mount.

More on Edward Weston and California Modernism

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Swann Galleries offered the single-owner collection of African American art, Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim, on Thursday, February 6. The auction was an overall success, with 98% of lots finding buyers bringing $1.2 million. “We are thrilled with the terrific results of Patricia’s collection. With many strong prices and only three unsold lots, this estate auction reflected both the great eye of Ms. Scipio-Brim and the continued strength of our African American Art market,” noted Nigel Freeman, Director of African American Art. “We also were very happy to see significant interest in several contemporary artists who are new to our auctions, especially Elizabeth Colomba, Terry Boddie and Tomashi Jackson.”

Auction Records & Debuts

Auction records included Terry Boddie with Stars & Stripes II, a 2002 mixed media work on paper at $18,750; Tyrone Geter with Where Are All the Girls?, a 2019 charcoal and graphite work on paper at $12,750; Idris Habib with K-man, a 2019 mixed media on printed floral cotton fabric at $8,125; and Gregory Coates with A Kiny Place (from The Kinky Series), a 2020 acrylic pigment and wax work on an assemblage of brushes at $5,250. Auction debuts included Elizabeth Colomba, Nahum Flores, Ves Harper, Tomashi Jackson, Ealy Mays, Algernon Miller and Christie Neptune.

Abstraction Highlights

The top lot in the sale was a 1990 abstraction-on-paper by Ed Clark, which brought $106,250. Additional top lots included a 1971 acrylic-on-paper by Alma Thomas from the Atmospheric Effect series at $100,000; a 1958 watercolor-and-gouache-on-paper work by Beauford Delaney at $57,500; and a run of three works by Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA.

Figurative Highlights

Left: Robert Neal, The Laborer, oil on board, circa 1975. Sold for $42,500.

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Figurative works included Kara Walker’s Untitled (Lincoln), gouache on paper, 1997, at $68,750; Robert Neal’s The Laborer, oil on board, circa, at $42,500; and Charles White’s Exodus II, color lithograph, 1966, at $30,000.

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At Auction Thursday, March 20 at 10:30 AM ET

Highlights of this March auction include material related to many of the nation’s most important civil rights leaders, including a manuscript recollection by Rosa Parks of the first time she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a scarce printing of Dr. King’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. A substantial Frederick Douglass section includes a photograph, several of his publications, his handsome autograph statement on voting rights, and an 1886 letter sharing the history of America’s first private school for Black girls.

On the military front, we have a very special copy of Keep Us Flying, the first poster to recognize the Tuskegee Airmen. It was the personal property of the poster’s model, Lt. Robert W. Deiz, and is accompanied by two family snapshots that show the resemblance. Also included are a variety of posters by Danny Lyons for SNCC and Emory Douglas for the Black Panthers. The entertainment section includes a poster for an early appearance of Cab Calloway and his Cotton Club Orchestra from 1931 and posters for concerts by Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Nina Simone and more.

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The Whitney Museum of American Art’s recent exhibition, Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945, was a comprehensive evaluation of post-revolution art in Mexico and the powerful influence it had on artists of America. The exhibition was curated by Barbara Haskell, and assistant curator, Marcela Guerrero, and ran from February 17, 2020, to January 31, 2021.

Below we reflect on the Mexican muralists who influenced the artists involved in the Works Progress Administration programs, as well as many additional Modern artists that followed after them.

Los Tres Grandes

In 1920, after a decade of revolution and unstable factions seizing control of the Mexican government, Álvero Obregón was elected president. Under Obregón’s leadership, and with the aid of José Vasconcelos, his Minister of education, they launched a program to build schools and employed artists to decorate the walls with murals in order to tell the history of the Mexican peoples in imagery. 

From this program, three leading talents emerged, often referred to as Los Tres Grandes: Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Their murals—and most paintings, film, and photography of their contemporaries—celebrated the indigenous peoples of Mexico and promoted Socialist government beliefs shared by many artists active in Mexico at that time. These artists’ influence on American art was profound, as can be seen in works by over forty Americans included in the exhibition, and many of these Americans who drew inspiration from the Mexican Muralists would end up contributing to the WPA’s artist programs.

Related Reading: The Artists of the WPA: The Promise of a New Deal

Projects in the United States

José Clemente Orozco

At the end of Obregón’s four-year term as president, the funding for mural projects declined, with most awards going to Diego Rivera. Los Tres Grandes sought mural projects in the United States, beginning with Orozco, who completed the first modern mural in America, Prometheus, at Pomona College, Claremont, CA, in 1930.

Orozco arrived in the United States in 1927 and in March 1930 was commissioned by Pomona College in part due to the efforts of José Pijoán, a professor of Spanish civilization there and Sumner Spaulding, architect of the recently dedicated Frary Hall.

The theme of Prometheus bringing the fire of knowledge to humankind was chosen, both because it was fitting for a college hall, and because Orozco had his own internalized interpretation of the story: personal artistic sacrifice to benefit the masses. Orozco clearly identified with his mythical subject, placing great emphasis on Prometheus’ large hands in both the mural and the present painting. Orozco’s oeuvre is replete with prominent hands, perhaps owing to Orozco having had his own left hand amputated after an accident involving fireworks as a young man. Orozco would have been well acquainted with the Prometheus myth having studied classical casts as a young artist and from his association with Alma Reed and Eva Sikelianos in New York, and their 1929 intention of staging Prometheus Bound.

In the Pomona College mural, Orozco highlighted two subjects of the painting of great importance: the colossal Titan Prometheus reaching for the fire and the dynamic crowd. Some in the crowd are delighted and embrace; others scorn Prometheus’ gift, reflecting the mixed reception of Orozco’s art. Though there was conservative opposition to Orozco’s mural, Orozco was also highly praised. By May 1930, he had already been commissioned to paint murals at the New School for Social Research in New York. The Pomona College mural, which predated Diego Rivera’s arrival in San Francisco, heralded in a new era in mural painting. According to David W. Scott in “Orozco’s Prometheus,” appearing in College Art Journal in Autumn 1957, “Prometheus stands as a masterful introduction to what was to become the most astonishing cycle of cosmic myths created by a modern artist.”

Jackson Pollock traveled to California to see the mural and was so inspired that he kept an image of Prometheus in his studio. Mitchell Siporin and Edward Millman studied the murals of Orozco before starting their frescos for the St. Louis Post Office, the largest mural project of the WPA.

Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera created murals in San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City.  His Man at the Crossroads, a fresco commissioned by the Rockefeller family for Rockefeller Center, was destroyed after Rivera refused to modify the mural by removing the image of Vladimir Lenin from the composition. Rivera would later recreate the mural in Mexico City. Not only did he influence American artists indirectly through his artwork and activism, but he also taught several artists that would go on to use their learned fresco craft under the employ of the WPA.

David Alfaro Siquieros

David Alfaro Siqueiros, the most progressive of the three, would only complete one mural in America. América Tropical: Oprimida y Destrozada por los Imperialismos was completed in Los Angeles in 1932. The imagery, with a bound and murdered indigenous person at its center, proved too much for American audiences and was soon painted over. In 2012 the work was presented to the public after an extensive restoration and renovation funded by the Getty Foundation. Siqueiros’ use of industrial-grade paints and materials influenced Jackson Pollock who studied under Siqueiros in his Experimental Workshop, which he opened in New York City in 1936.

The parallels of the art created in Mexico under the Obregon presidency and that of artists working in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, WPA programs is extraordinary. Expressing hope through the imagery of hardship—is an American tradition in our art, theater, and our music.

Related Reading: Etched in History: Printmakers of the Federal Art Project

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At Auction Thursday, April 3 at 12:00 PM ET

Swann Galleries’ Spring 2025 auction of African American Art will be held on Thursday, April 3. The auction will feature a standout selection of artworks from multiple periods spanning the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Artists from the Harlem Renaissance and Modern era consist of Allan Rohan Crite, Meta Warrick Fuller, and Richmond Barthe. Represented in the Post-War era are works by Norman Lewis, Beauford Delaney, Charles Searles, and Hughie Lee-Smith. Contemporary artists Howardena Pindell, Suzanne Jackson, Thaddeus Mosley, and Ed Clark round out the auction. 

Harlem Rennaissance

Te Adoramus Domine translated to “We adore you, Lord” is a painted plaster plaque from Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, circa 1921. Depicting the Three Kings (Balthazaar, Melchior, and Kaspar) this plaque is a scarce example of her work to come to market.

Post-War

This significant 1954 New York oil painting by Norman Lewis was originally owned by Joan Murray, who was Lewis’s partner from 1946–52. Murray was a psychology graduate student at the time but was also an observer of his practice in the New York School. Joan Murray wrote an introductory essay for Norman Lewis’s 1951 solo exhibition at the Willard Gallery. This atmospheric canvas is a beautiful abstraction of nature and a mid-career example of Lewis’s distinctive brand of Abstract Expressionism.

Friend of Beauford Delaney during his Paris period, painter and collagist John-Franklin Koenig was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and spent most of his career in France. He worked as a painter and collagist in a modern, non-representational style. Koenig served in WWII and moved to Paris in 1948 to study under the GI Bill. In 1950, he and Jean-Robert Arnaud opened the Galerie Arnaud in the basement of Arnaud’s bookstore at 34 rue du Four. Delaney, part of the same artistic expatriate community, exhibited at their gallery in the late 1950s.

Dancer #1 is a striking and significant painting by Charles Searles—the first in his important Dancer series of the mid-1970s. After he graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1967, he was awarded a William Emlen Cresson Memorial European Traveling Scholarship in 1971. Searles traveled to Nigeria, Ghana, and Morocco. After returning from Africa, Searles began teaching art at the Ile Ife Cultural Center in Germantown—where he also played percussion in the Afro-American Dance Ensemble. This series was inspired by the repetitive movements of the Ife Ife dancers and the bright mixture of patterns in their dresses.

In 1958, Hughie Lee-Smith moved to New York City and taught at the Art Students League for 15 years. He was represented in New York by the Petite Gallery and then the Janet Nessler Gallery throughout the 1960s. His work from this period consists of beautifully painted, stark urban scenes and beautiful lakeshore scenes; both are excellent examples of Hughie Lee-Smith’s mid-career paintings. Girl Fleeing, 1959, is a fragile moment captured by Lee-Smith of a young woman running in a sea of green from a distant city on the horizon, further denoting an expanse of space, Lee-Smith’s unique vision of a modern and existential landscape with Surrealist undertones.

Contemporary

Howardena Pindell first engaged with hole-punched circles by counting and numbering each one, then placing them over a gridded form—often the lines of graph paper—and adding embellishments such as acrylic, watercolor, glitter, and even baby powder. Her inspiration for numbers and grids grew from her father—a mathematician who often wrote down figures in a gridded journal. This punched paper assemblage is a colorful and early example of Howardena Pindell’s important work in this innovative medium. Several other examples of this series, including Untitled #69, were included in the artist’s 2018 traveling retrospective, Howardena Pindell: What Remains to Be Seen, curated by Naomi Beckwith and Valerie Cassel Oliver, organized at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. 

Suzanne Jackson has lived and worked in Savannah, Georgia, since 1996. Side-a-Sapelo references Sapelo Island, one of the Georgia Sea Islands, and the site of Hog Hammock, the last remaining Gullah Geechee community in the Sea Islands. Jackson was a Professor of Painting at SCAD until her retirement in 2009.

Untitled is an example of Thaddeus Mosley’s biomorphic forms composed of the felled trees of Western Pennsylvania. Solely using a chisel and gauge, Mosley repurposes sycamore, cherry, and walnut to rearticulate the natural gradations of the material’s surface. Influenced by the work of Isamu Noguchi to Constantin Brâncuși—and the West African master sculptors of the Dogon, Baoulé, and Mossi peoples—he creates figures that conjure imbued energies and their objectivity.

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Excellence Across Continents: Johnson, Lam & Costa Bring $700k Auction Triumph

The Thursday, March 6 auction of 19th & 20th Century Art brought $723k, with 81% of lots finding buyers. Of the auction, Specialist Meagan Gandolfo noted, “The sale brought good results for American, Latin American and European art, and it was encouraging to see clients respond well to our blending of the material. The exceptional David Johnson painting on panel, the Wifredo Lam works on paper, and the Olga Costa works were the subjects of exciting bidding, and I am pleased with the results and high sell-through rate.”

American Art

The top lot of the auction was David Johnson with Dollar Island, Lake George, oil on panel, 1873. After five minutes of competitive back-and-forth bidding, the lot sold for $81,250 against a $15,000 to $20,000 estimate. Additional American art to note was a similar landscape scene by George Inness with Thunder Storm in Medfield, Massachusetts, oil on canvas, circa 1877, which brought $11,875. Marsden Hartley found success with Alpspitz, Mittenwald Road (Dreitorspitze from Gschwandtnerbauer), charcoal on board, circa 1933-34, at $14,750, and Lyonel Feininger with Locomotive, watercolor and ink on paper, 1942, at $22,500.

Latin American Art

Diego Rivera, Pablo Esteban O’Higgins, and Olga Costa were among the standouts of the Latin American Art offerings. Rivera’s Retrato de una mujer, charcoal and pastel on paper, 1921, brought $15,000; O’Higgins’s Arriba de Milpa Alta, oil on canvas, saw $13,650; Costa’s Oaxaqueña molienda de cacao, color crayon with watercolor, 1941, sold for $12,500, the second highest auction record for a work on paper, and Oazaqueña con un collar oro, oil on board, 1949, sold for $8,125.

European Art

European art was led by two Wifredo Lam works on paper, a 1963 abstract portrait at $18,750 and a 1958 abstract scene of birds at $30,000. Also of note was Shimon Okshteyn’s Smoking Hand, oil and pencil on canvas, 1984, which brought $18,750; Pablo Picasso’s Bright Dove, glazed terre de faïence rectangular dish, 1953, at $13,750; Bernard Cathelin’s Nature Morte Sicilienne, oil on canvas, 1960, at $13,750; and Rosa Bonheur’s Vache et son veau, watercolor with charcoal, 1863, at $10,000.

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“I was amazed & astonished at the youthful appearance and the profound and eloquent speech. . . . I knew I would never forget him.”

Featured in the March 20, 2025, auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana is Rosa Parks’s hand-written recollection of her first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., along with a wide-ranging collection of memorabilia, including the street sign from when Detroit’s 12th Street was renamed Rosa Parks Boulevard in 1976.

Rosa Parks’s Handwritten Recollection of Her First Meeting with MLK

This unsigned essay recalls an important moment in the history of the civil rights movement: the first meeting of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. on June 19, 1955.

The previous year, King had completed his doctoral coursework at Boston University and came to Montgomery, Alabama, as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. On June 5, 1955, he received his PhD. Two weeks later, the largely unknown young pastor was invited to deliver the keynote address for the statewide NAACP meeting across town at another Baptist church. There, he crossed paths with the branch secretary, Rosa Parks. Their fates would become much more intertwined that December, when Parks refused to surrender her seat on a Montgomery bus. King’s inspiring leadership of the city-wide bus boycott launched his national fame.

Here are the notes written by Parks on their first meeting, in full:

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Meeting him for the first time shortly after he became the pastor of the Dexter Ave. Baptist Church in Montg’y Ala. Aug. 1955. He came to the Montgomery Branch NAACP meeting as guest speaker on the invitation of Mr. Robert Nesbitt, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People member, and deacon of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. I was secretary of the NAACP. Rev MLK was at the church when I came in to the Holt St Bapt. Church where the meeting was held. We spoke to each other without introducing ourselves. I was busy getting chairs placed at the table to open the meeting.

Mr. Nesbitt and other members came. The business was conducted as usual. Mr. Nesbitt introduced this very young man as the pastor of the Dexter Ave Bapt. Church. I was amazed & astonished at the youthful appearance and the profound and eloquent speech delivered by Rev. M.L.K. Jr. I knew I would never forget him. I thought we were very fortunate that he came to Montgomery, Ala. He was 25 years old.”

Some additional notes were apparently intended as insertions to the narrative. She has listed but crossed out the text:

“Holt St. Baptist, age 25 years / Robert Matthews, Pres. / Dexter Av. Bapt. Ch. 11 A.M. Due to his youth, some members were opposed to him as pastor of the aristocratic and historic Dexter Ave Bapt Church.” She then added: “Mr. Matthews had requested Mr. Nesbitt invite MLK to address the NAACP meeting.”

Two Montgomery phone numbers are written in the upper margin of the first page. Parks’s cousin Rotha L. Boswell (1913-1999), whose family used this number from at least 1979 until her death; and Robert D. Nesbitt (1908-2002), a church deacon who led the effort to bring Dr. King to Montgomery and is discussed in the essay, who used this number from at least 1993 through his death. Parks left Montgomery soon after the bus boycott ended and lived in Detroit until her passing in 2005. Parks likely phoned Boswell and Nesbitt to confirm her memories; if she was still in Montgomery, a visit may have been more likely.

Also included in a much shorter note written out by Parks on a sheet of identical lined notebook paper, which reads “Library of Negro Life & History. Dr. MLK Jr w/ fellow Baptist ministers, the Revs. R.D. Abernathy, Fred Shuttlesworth, Wyatt Tee Walker, and Andrew Young organized the SCLC. Dr. King was elected its president.” This describes events in early 1957, during which Parks had no personal involvement. She may have drawn her list of names from “The International Library of Negro Life and History” book series, which launched in 1967.

The composition date of these manuscripts may be impossible to know for certain, but we feel confident that they were written after 1967 and before the death of Rotha Boswell in 1999. The most likely window would seem to be between her 1988 retirement and the publication of her two memoirs in 1992 and 1994. That period is consistent with the style of lined notebook paper seen here. However, this account does not appear in either memoir. In the 1992 “My Story,” she does mention briefly that at the time of her December 1955 arrest, “I did not know Dr. King. I had met him in August 1955 when he was guest speaker at an NAACP meeting, but I didn’t often attend the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church” (page 135).

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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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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). 

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.

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At Auction Tuesday, April 15 at 10:30 AM ET

 The Reba W. & Dave H. Williams Collection of Color Woodcuts 

The April 15 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints opens with The Reba W. & Dave H. Williams Collection of Color Woodcuts (lots 1 – 64), featuring color woodcuts by important early twentieth-century American artists who were pioneers in the field, such as Arthur Wesley Dow, Blanche Lazzell, Gustave Baumann, and Edna Boies Hopkins. 

Old Master Prints 

The Old Master section includes engravings, woodcuts, etchings and drypoints by both well-known and lesser-known esteemed master printmakers whose images have stood the test of time. Albrecht Dürer’s scarce woodcut The Knight on Horseback and the Lansquenet stands alongside etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn and Jacques Callot. 

19th Century Prints 

The section will include an iconic satirical lithograph by Honoré Daumier, A Travers les Ateliers, which was published in Le Boulevard. Works by Impressionist artists, such as Mary Cassatt’s At the Dressing Table, will be presented for sale before a robust section of Art Nouveau prints. 

American Prints 

The American section highlights the variety of printmaking techniques championed by American artists in the early twentieth century, including etchings by Martin Lewis, lithographs by Louis Lozowick, and a color woodcut by Alice Ravenel Huger Smith. 

European Modern Prints 

Important artists such as Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky and Henri Matisse are represented among the modernists in the European section. This section also offers prints by Surrealists such as Yves Tanguy, Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst. 

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“Collecting is a series of small victories, making discoveries, acquiring objects over time and learning their histories, and then sharing these objects and their stories with others of similar interests and enthusiasms.” — Dave H. Williams

Reba W. and Dave H. Williams began their collection in the mid-1970s and amassed one of the largest and most prestigious collections of American prints in the world. With over 5,000 works spanning from the late nineteenth through the twentieth centuries, the Williamses championed the history of printmaking in the United States. They were devoted to the study and promotion of the field, founding The Print Research Foundation in 2003 in Stamford, Connecticut, and organizing 18 exhibitions from their collection that traveled around the world. In 2009, they donated a large portion of their collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  

The Williamses were introduced to the field of color woodcuts in 1983 when Reba, by chance, viewed Margaret Patterson’s Swans at an auction preview. Enthralled by the bright colors, this initial purchase opened a new area to them in the world of printmaking that they had not yet collected. The prints they acquired were by both known and previously undiscovered artists and focused particularly on the depiction of birds and florals.  

(left) Edna Boies Hopkins, Violets and Phlox (Florals), color woodcut, circa 1909-13. Estimate $7,000 to $10,000.

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As they started collecting, they learned all they could about the medium. The color woodcut movement in the United States started with Arthur Wesley Dow in the late nineteenth century when he discovered Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and became fascinated with them. He subsequently gave up most of his painting practice to dedicate himself to the production of color woodcuts and teaching woodcut techniques to others, educating many who became significant printmakers of the early twentieth century, including Margaret Patterson and Edna Boies Hopkins.   

Their collection would grow to include around 300 color woodcuts, many of which were made by members of a group of printmakers in Provincetown, Massachusetts. World War I drove many artists who had been living in Europe back to the United States; several of them, including Patterson, Hopkins, Ethel Mars, and Blanche Lazzell, moved to the small town on Cape Cod. They developed a new way of printmaking—the white line woodcut—in which printmakers carved their designs onto a single block, rather than multiple blocks in the Western printmaking tradition, and inked each section with a different color. The small grooves between each segment created a distinctive white line between elements in the composition. Lazzell championed the white-line woodcut and was renowned for her devotion to the technique and for the sophistication of her work, as well as the influence of abstraction and Cubism.  

The collection also included artists who settled in the West, such as Gustave Baumann and William Seltzer Rice. Baumann, who had lived for a period in Provincetown but did not utilize the white-line technique, settled in Taos, New Mexico, where he depicted many Western landscapes. He became one of the most well-known and desirable printmakers to use the technique. Rice was an artist who was relatively unknown when the Williamses were introduced to his work. Born in Pennsylvania, he moved to California in 1900, where he became associated with the Arts and Crafts movement and depicted the local flora and fauna. The Williamses eventually owned around 20 of his boldly colorful woodcuts.   

Along with Rice, we can also thank the Williamses for rediscovering the work of Luigi Rist.  In 1984, they were introduced to Rist’s woodcuts and were impressed with his technical expertise. Rist often used a large number of blocks to achieve a velvety tone uncommon in woodcuts. Largely unknown during his lifetime and without representation, his prints depicting flowers and food were not the style of the time. When the Williamses first started collecting his work, the available pieces were scarcely offered on the market. Reba researched his works, curating an exhibit of his woodcuts that was mounted at The Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey, and wrote and published a catalogue raisonné of his prints, bringing to light his expertise and developing his market.   

It is a testament to their collecting approach that has brought Rist, as well as other artists who specialized in color woodcuts, to the forefront of scholarship and strengthened their markets. The Williamses appreciated finding artists whose work was unsung and unknown, and at the core of their collecting approach was a desire to share what they have learned and loved with other print enthusiasts. Dave Williams wrote in Small Victories, his memoir about collecting, that “Collecting is a series of small victories, making discoveries, acquiring objects over time and learning their histories, and then sharing these objects and their stories with others of similar interests and enthusiasms.” Swann is pleased to present selections from their collection for sale and to share these works with future collectors. 

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(right) Arthur Wesley Dow, Lily, color woodcut, 1898. Estimate $3,000 to $5,000.

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Auction Closing April 10 at 12 PM ET

This two-part auction continues with a selection that explores the underground of culture: following on the interest and excitement of last year’s subculture sale, the second part of the auction will devote itself to the world of Jazz, Music, Art, Dance, Hip Hop, and other aspects of society that exemplify the alternative current of expression that informed some before they became mainstream.

Intriguing and delightful items make waves, from early surfing material to Lenny Bruce, to the designs of John Savage and Jamie Reid, Fluxus posters, flyers, books, photographs, brochures, and more covering Cookie Mueller, the Living Theater, Andy Warhol, Sun Ra, the Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, punk rock, Robert Crumb, among others.

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Auction Closing April 10 at 12 PM ET

The autographs portion of the April 10 Autographs & Subculture auction is shaping up to prominently feature builders of business and industry. Among those in the sale is one who helped fuel the machines that built the twentieth century—John D. Rockefeller—who signed the photograph that is available in one lot, and in another is a signed file copy of the marriage license of his daughter Elizabeth. An important eighteenth-century builder is the Russian empress Catherine the Great who, in 1794, founded the city of Odessa in Ukraine, and who signed the vellum document appointing a captain of artillery that is available in the sale. George Bernard Shaw, whose signed and inscribed portrait—a stunning photograph by Frederick H. Evans—is also in the sale.

Autographs by others who, in different ways, played a role in building world history are also available, including items by Thomas Jefferson, Robert Mapplethorpe, Edward Hopper, and Nelson Mandela.

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The upcoming Autographs & Subculture sale on Thursday, April 10, will feature an array of pop-culture icons. While prepping for the auction, Bella Savignano, whose background specializes in subculture material, shared a few highlights with us.

At the top of the tour, Savignano takes us through a “psychedelic construction kit” published by the American Publishing Company in 1966, which cheekily calls itself Ludacris Systems Development, a wink to LSD, “I imagine for some publishing need to sensor themselves,” she notes. “It’s a really interesting piece that’s evocative of its time in the ’60s, and not really something you would see commercially produced today,” she continues, commenting on the puzzle’s ties with the rising recreational use of the popular psychedelic drug of the time and the tendency to create art while taking a trip.

Savignano continues on to share work by Jane Bowman, who emerged in the 1970s and 1980s as a prominent figure in the graffiti art and stenciling scenes of the Bay Area and New York City, and a scarce example of original work by Jamie Reid, of Sex Pistols fame.

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Swann’s Thursday, March 20 auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana finished at $1,116,969, one of the best sales of the year so far and one of the best since this annual auction was launched in 1996. It finished well above the presale estimate range, with a vigorous 88% sell-through rate. The sale featured competitive bidding from participants at the audience brandishing paddles, a welcome sight, although the bulk of the bidding occurred by telephone or on the Swann App.

“Institutions and private collectors are maintaining their commitment to preserving Black history. We are proud to do our small part in bringing this important material into the public eye.” — Rick Stattler, Director of Books & Manuscripts

Victor H. Green’s The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, 1958

(left) Victor H. Green, The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, 1958. Sold for $62,500.

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The top lot in the sale was the 1958 edition of the Negro Travelers’ Green Book, which brought $62,500, a record for any edition of the Green Book (Previously set by Swann in 2023 for $50,000).

Fierce competitive bidding was seen across the sale. 19 different lots hammered for at least 500% of their pre-sale estimate. Most notably, David Walker’s incendiary 1830 pamphlet Walker’s Appeal  . . . to the Colored Citizens of the World brought $52,500 on a $3,000-4,000 estimate; no examples had been at auction since Swann sold one in 1978.

A large collection of Pullman Porter artifacts and ephemera brought $32,500 on a $4,000-6,000 estimate; a collection of Malcolm X material from the Alex Haley estate brought $30,000 on a $4,000-6,000 estimate; a trunk of photos and records from Washington’s Club Caverns nightclub brought $40,000 on a $7,000-10,000 estimate; papers of pioneering veterinarian Jane Hinton brought $25,000 on a $4,000-6,000 estimate (as a gift to her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania); and the Mississippi-printed Manual for Midwives by Felix J. Underwood from circa 1935 brought $13,750 on a $1,500-2,500 estimate.

Auction Records

Additional records were set for the 1825 abolitionist book The Negro’s Memorial, by Thomas Fisher at $9,375 (previously set by Swann at $6,000 in 2011); W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Quest of the Silver Fleece, $5,500 for a signed copy; the Tuskegee Airman WWII poster Keep Us Flying! Buy War Bonds, Lt. Robert W. Deiz’s (the model) copy, at $5,250 (previously set by Swann at $4,680 in 2017); a volume of the works of occult author Paschal Beverly Randolph, $4,750 (previously set by Swann at $1,000 in 2016); Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave, $8,750; and Venture Smith’s Narrative of the Life, $27,500 for a second edition.

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Our Spring Fine Photographs auction is rich in masters of the medium, working in all formats, including nineteenth-century panoramas, photo books, portfolios, and fine art prints. Iconic works such as Alfred Eisenstaedt’s Premiere at La Scala, Milan, 1934, printed circa 1990, Dorothea Lange’s A Sign of the Times (Depression – Mended Stockings, Stenographer, San Francisco), 1934, printed circa 1960, Gordon Parks’ American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942, printed 1996, Brassaï’s Couple d’amoureux, quartier place d’Italie, Paris, 1932, printed circa 1970, and Roy DeCarava’s stunning portfolio of 11 (of 12) photogravures titled Roy DeCarava, 1950-79, printed 1991, showcase the rich range of fine art photographers throughout the century. 

We are also thrilled to offer Joshua Beal’s incredibly rare panorama of Lower Manhattan Beal’s Photographic View of New York, 1876. Astonishing both in scale and detail, this work prominently features the New York Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge. Other important American and European nineteenth-century photography can also be found, including Francis Frith’s The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, 1858. Contemporary highlights include Alex Soth’s Charles, Vasa, Minneapolis, 2001.  

Photobooks also take a prominent seat in this sale, headlined by Hans Bellmer’s La Poupée, 1936—with 10 of 10 silver prints, the rare edition of 80 copies with the text printed on rose paper. Other important titles include Walker Evans’ collaboration with James Agee Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, 1941, this copy signed by Agee, Eikoh Hosoe’s Otoko to Onna [Man and Woman], 1961, and Roger Parry & Fabian Loris’ Banalité, 1930. 

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On the centennial of the famous Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, the Parisian exhibition which gave the world the term “Art Deco,” Swann is proud to offer for sale selected highlights from the most significant private collection of its kind. This collection first appeared in 2013 in print as The Art Deco Poster, Vendome Press, and then as an exhibition at New York’s Poster House Museum from September 2023 through February 2024.

At the heart of this collection is one of the most famous graphic triptychs ever designed—Adolphe Mouron Cassandre’s Dubo Dubon Dubonnet, cinematic in their frame-by-frame storytelling, they depict a man drinking and literally filling himself with a delicious apéritif. To say that this particular triptych represents a trifecta of superlatives may seem like a gratuitous play on words, but in fact, these images are a cultural, historic and artistic touchstone of twentieth-century design. Immediately beloved, the little drinking man became widely used by the company over the years; appearing in countless settings and in various media, immortalizing the brand. These exceedingly rare large images are the middle size of three formats published in 1932. This was the very first appearance of the legendary brand mascot logotype. Crouse purchased the posters in 2002 at the Gail Chisholm Gallery in New York City during an exhibition of “A.M. Cassandre and the French Avant-Garde Posters.” They have been in his collection since.

In addition to the work of A.M. Cassandre, the William W. Crouse Collection is replete with a pan-European survey of graphic design: Alexei Brodovitch, Edward McKnight Kauffer, Charles Loupot, Paul Colin, Willem Ten Broek, Federico Seneca, Sepo, Leonetto Cappiello, Francis Bernard, Niklaus Stoecklin, Ashley Havinden, Giuseppe Riccobaldi del Bava, Marcello Nizzoli, Fix-Masseau, René Vincent, and Herbert Matter are just a few of the renowned artists whose works are represented in this landmark sale.

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“I am often asked, everywhere I’ve been, what is the symbolism of my butterflies? Why Butterflies? The only thing I can say of them is that they are the spirits of my ancestors. The Chinese believe butterflies are the spirits of their ancestors…They’re free.”  

— Walter H. Williams in an interview with David C. Driskell, November 11, 1972, Copenhagen  

Painter and printmaker Walter Williams is remembered for his contributions as a significant African American expatriate artist living in Denmark in the late twentieth century. His oeuvre is marked by the duality between his upbringing in civil-rights era New York, and the freedom he found in his bold decision to live and work as an artist in Denmark. Speaking to this, binary oppositions linger delicately in Williams’ iconographic works, masterfully rendered in warm and vibrant hues. His symbols for summer and winter, joy and sorrow, rest and work, express life and its dualities that we all face. His southern landscapes, bucolic scenes depicting fields of expansive floral growth, often populated by serene, childlike figures, oppose and reimagine the harmful vestiges of racial oppression in the American South. Williams’ symbols of freedom include butterflies as free-flying figures, flowers and fauna that represent a source of life, and birds represent the flight into freedom. Like his peers William H. Johnson and Jacob Lawrence, he depicted sunflowers often—symbolic of happiness. 

Early Life

Born July 11, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, painter, printmaker, and sculptor Walter Williams has a legacy that spans an ocean and two continents. Williams, drafted into the US Army from 1942 to 1945 and assigned to an all-Black unit in France, began his artistic career with the help of the GI Bill upon his return to New York in the early 1950s. He studied painting under Ben Shahn, Reuben Tam, and Gregorio Prestopino at the Brooklyn Museum Art School from 1951-55. His melancholic New York City scenes were exhibited as early as 1952 at Roko Gallery and included in the 1953 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting at the Whitney Museum of American Art. That year, Williams also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alongside David C. Driskell, Robert Indiana, and Alex Katz.  

Southern Landscapes & Travels to Denmark  

After receiving a John Hay Whitney Foundation fellowship in 1955, which he used to travel to Denmark in 1956, Williams left behind the stark subjects of the city for a warmer, poetic countryside. The same year he married his second wife, Marlena, a ceramicist and Danish citizen. Influenced by the landscapes of the American South and the fields he found in his trips to Denmark, he found a new level of expression in a series of imaginary Southern landscapes. He dreamed of children joyously playing in seas of green. It became a subject the artist would revisit repeatedly for the next twenty years in both painting and printmaking. A lesser-known subject in Williams’ body of work are his renditions of the Black Madonna. Inspired by the abundance of religious iconography seen in European churches, Williams executed numerous woodcuts and paintings of a Black Madonna and Child. In these works, Williams simultaneously uplifts Black nurturing and motherhood while reimagining placing Black figures in a distinctly European pictorial space, a reflection of his own experience as an African American expatriate in Europe. In 1958, Ebony magazine included Williams in a cover story on young Black artists that featured Barbara Chase-Riboud on the cover of the issue.  

Fisk University

After settling in Denmark, Williams organized his 1964 exhibition entitled “Ten American Negro Artists Living and Working in Europe.” The other artists featured were Harvey Cropper, Beauford Delaney, Herbert Gentry, Arthur Hardie, Clifford Jackson, Sam Middleton, Earl Miller, Norma Morgan, and Larry Potter.

Shortly after this, Williams’s lifelong friend David Driskell tapped him to become an artist-in-residence in 1968 at Fisk University’s Art Department in Nashville, where Driskell was chair. Williams was among six artists that Driskell hired to help build the department. Williams’ wife Marlena accompanied him, and they set up a studio. He studied alongside Earl Hooks, developed a ceramic practice, and taught at Fisk for the 1968–1969 school year. At the end of his residency at Fisk, he assembled a farewell exhibit of his paintings, colored woodcuts, and pottery at the school. In 1969, he and Marlena returned to Denmark, where he continued to work and teach in his studio in Frederiksberg. 

Legacy & Art Market

The legacy of Walter Williams’ body of work and network of influence has gained increased recognition in the twenty-first century. His work was featured prominently in the 2024 exhibition Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century, which was organized by the National Nordic Museum, Seattle, and has traveled to the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Scandinavia House in New York. Inspired by her original research, the exhibition was curated by Ethelene Whitmire, Professor of African American Studies, at University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Leslie Anne Anderson, Chief Curator of the National Nordic Museum, Seattle. The exhibition examined the lives and artistic practices of expatriate African American cultural figures, including Ronald Burns, Doug Crutchfield, Herb Gentry, Dexter Gordon, William Henry Johnson, Howard Smith, and Walter Williams, all of whom lived and worked in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden in the second half of the twentieth century. His paintings are held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Middlebury College Museum of Art. His prints are found in many institutional collections, including the Metropolitan Musuem of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Howard University Gallery of Art. 

Williams’ woodcuts, paintings, and ceramics have come to auction since 2000. His woodcuts have hammered consistently between the median depending on varying factors due to condition and how richly inked the impressions are. His works on canvas like Sunflower Girl, circa 1951-52, White Butterfly, 1969, Untitled (Seated Man with Bowed Head), 1951, and Untitled (Boy in a Field), circa 1956-59 have increased in value over the years to command high five-figure and six-figure prices. Moving to Denmark allowed William to create to create freely, unbound to the racial-political strife of the United States and placed him amongst of Black artists who were living and working internationally.  

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Timed Auction — Bidding Now Open!
Lots begin closing Tuesday, April 22 at 12 pm eastern.

We are lucky to feature a well-balanced sale this spring, with offerings in all major categories of rare book collecting. The sale kicks off with an interesting travel section featuring dozens of early and illustrated books with an emphasis on travel to the Holy Land. Early printed books from Incunabula to early modern will give bidders a chance to add to their collections. Art books also make a strong showing, with signed copies of books illustrated by Picasso, Miro, Calder, Delaunay and many others, including a deluxe signed set of Derriere le Miroir volumes in custom slipcases.

Bibliophiles will also be pleased to find the fine bindings, press books, and a fabulous group of finely bound and illustrated editions of the Omar Khayyam. Literature fans can browse important first editions and important signed works by nineteenth and twentieth-century authors. The sale ends with science, medicine and technology. We are very pleased to present the first 50 lots in the collection of the late Owen Gingerich, Harvard Astronomy Professor and book collector extraordinaire. Keep an eye out for more of Professor Gingerich’s collection next fall.

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In Paris, on April 29, 1925, the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes opened to the public. The exhibition was conceived to highlight the new modern style of design, of which French artists were at the forefront. Over the next six months, over 16 million visitors from 20 different countries streamed through architecture, interior design, graphic design, fashion, jewelry, and other decorative arts exhibitions.

The organizing committee officially commissioned four artists to design posters promoting the exposition to advertise the event and encourage visitors. Each was printed in two different sizes (24×15 and 39×25 inches), and in keeping with pragmatic economic restraints, the posters were designed using only a small handful of colors to help contain expenses.

Ironically, these four posters do not epitomize Art Deco design as subsequent generations have come to understand it. Designed in the lead-up to the event, the imagery is not unified in its theme and appears to represent a lack of messaging on behalf of the organizers with the four artists. Given free rein to interpret the theme of the exposition, two artists focus on the concept of the event’s title, emphasizing the industrial aspect in the show’s name; one is an out-of-place anachronism by an artist who had done significant Art Deco work, and the final image—arguably the most famous—does capture the Art Deco design sensibility.

Robert Bonfils

Robert Bonfils worked as an illustrator, bookbinder, painter, textile designer, set designer, decorator, and professor. Many of his illustrations were woodcuts, and this poster, a lithograph in the style of a woodcut, is a classical allegory of a young girl frolicking in the woods with a gazelle. Above them is a stylized rose—a symbol which became closely associated with the exhibition and the Art Deco movement. This poster was issued in red, black, and white, but a rarer variation was also issued in blue, black, and white.

Charles Loupot

After studying in Lyon, France, Charles Loupot fought and was wounded in the First World War. He returned from the front and settled in Lausanne, where his parents were living, and quickly began his successful career as a poster designer. In 1923, he moved to Paris, where he became one of the leaders of the French Art Deco school of graphic design. He is commonly associated with his colleagues A.M. Cassandre, Jean Carlu, and Paul Colin. His design, printed in only three colors, shows the image of smoke from factory chimneys morphing into the petals of a rose, symbolizing the connection between art and industry, which the exposition was highlighting. As in many of his posters, Loupot uses vibrating tones to frame his image.

Andre Girard

This is by far the rarest of the four posters commissioned for the seminal Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Similar in its use of smoking chimneys to the poster designed by Loupot, André Girard’s image has a much stronger and more dynamic layout. The smokestacks rise in a pyramid that visually echoes the seething mass of men scrambling to get to the top of their pyramid. At the pinnacle, one man holds aloft a chalice, perhaps meant to indicate a form of perfection that all are striving for. As with the other three posters designed for the exhibition, colors are kept to a minimum. Girard went on to greater recognition in the 1930s via the posters he designed for Peugeot, Duco (paints), the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Columbia Records, for whom he designed numerous posters as well as the first illustrated record sleeves in France.

Émile-Antoine Bourdelle

Three of the four official posters that were commissioned to announce the 1925 Art Deco exhibition were designed by promising young artists with established credentials within the graphic design world. The fourth commission was given to Émile-Antoine Bourdelle, an older sculptor at the peak of his career, who was among the most important of all living French artists. He had both studied and worked with Auguste Rodin and, in turn, was a professor of Matisse and Giacometti. In 1913, his exterior and interior designs for the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées were considered among the very first Art Deco architectural designs in Paris. The title of his painting for the poster, By Labor and by Genius, and the image indicate his bourgeois academic background and connection to the nineteenth-century “official” French art world.

The term Art Deco, allegedly, wasn’t coined for widespread use until a 1966 retrospective exhibition in Paris on the design movements of the 1920s and 30s, and it went into wider use shortly thereafter. However, the design sensibility of Art Deco has near-universal recognition and remains eminently popular and sought after. These four posters, announcing the very show from which this popular movement derived its name, are not the highest form of the art which appears in graphic form, not by a long shot. But they do represent a distinct crossroads in art history. One can only wonder how other artists would have designed them with the benefit of hindsight in the years and decades following the show.

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Art Deco at 100: Iconic Posters from the William W. Crouse Collection

In Paris, on April 29, 1925, the Exposition des Art Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes opened to the public. The exhibition was conceived to highlight the new modern style of design, of which French artists were at the forefront. Over the next half a year, more than 16 million visitors streamed through the exhibitions of architecture, interior design, graphic design, fashion, jewelry, and other decorative arts from 20 different countries. Now, on the centennial of the exhibition from which the term “Art Deco” was eventually coined, Swann is honored that William (Bill) Crouse chose us to sell highlights from his inimitable collection of posters. 

I have known Bill for almost my entire professional life. At first, before I met him in person, I had heard his name­—there was some collector who was actively assembling the most formidable collection of Art Deco posters. Over the years, he worked with many advisors and dealers I knew, who helped guide him and educate him, but ultimately, he developed his own, fine—and refined—sense of taste, and his collection grew. I was there in 2002, at Gail Chisholm’s Gallery in New York, for her exhibition A.M. Cassandre and the French Avant Garde Posters, where Bill bought the Dubonnet triptych; a year later, in 2003, Bill particiapted in Swann’s auction of “The Chassaing Collection of French Art Deco Posters,” where he added several other rare and exquisite pieces to his collection. 

Bill has always sought after the posters with “clean geometric lines and bright colors,”  particularly the strong, elegant Machine Age images. Never one to hesitate to buy the finest examples of rare posters, many of the items in Bill’s collection are so scarce they very infrequently, if ever, come to market. For posters, which are by their very definition multiples, it is hard to imagine that images are so scarce that only a small handful survive. And yet Bill’s collection is filled with these scarce images. 

As his collection developed, so did its renown, breaking into the mainstream in 2013 when he published The Art Deco Poster (Vendome Press). Now, out of print, the book sells for hundreds of dollars. The Crouse collection was given a further boost of publicity in 2023, when it went on exhibition at New York’s Poster House museum. The six-month show was a sensation, which is no wonder, as Museum Director and Chief Curator Angelina Lippert explained to the New York Times, that it was “the first global history of Art Deco posters hosted at a museum.” 

Bill didn’t just seek to amass the greatest collection of Art Deco posters but lived surrounded by them in his Florida home. In doing so, he sought out the best pieces he could find and put the utmost care into maintaining and presenting them. The frames are of the highest quality, with the posters archivally mounted within specially designed Art Deco matte black frames—each with cutting-edge, exacting, Tru-Vue acrylic. It was not just the posters themselves; their entire presentation was museum quality. 

We are thrilled to offer 100 lots in honor of the 100th anniversary of the defining 1925 Parisian exhibition. The posters are still as breathtaking and fresh as the day they were created.

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