Swann Galleries: African-American Fine Art Featuring the Richard A. Long Collection

Swann Auction Galleries will offer a two-part auction of African-American Fine Art on October 9, 2014. Sale 2359, consisting of 171-lots has a separate print catalogue for each of the two parts. Part 1 is the Richard A. Long Collection of African-American Art, consisting of 47 lots that feature more than 60 artworks from the estate of Professor Richard A. Long. Part 2 consists of 124 lots. Excellent choices are to be found in both parts of Sale 2359. To have an opportunity to view much of the artwork in this sale is a rare experience, affording the viewer a chance to see many pieces that have been in private collections and not made available for public viewing in decades, if ever. The online and print catalogues offer a rare view into that world.

This post features a few highlights from both parts of the upcoming sale. When I initially heard that there would be an auction of Richard Long's African-American Art Collection, I was expecting to see representative pieces from Beauford Delaney, Romare Bearden, and possibly Hale Woodruff from what I knew of his professional connection and relationship with these artists. However, there were pleasant surprises among the work of these artists in the collection, as well as  artists, such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Alma Thomas, William Artis and many others who are prominently represented in the collection. The following are representative samples from part 1 of the upcoming auction. To view a full selection, see the online catalogue.

William E. Artis, Vernon, Terra cotta, mounted on wood base, ca. 1946-50. 14"high; 22" high, including base. Image: Swann Auction Galleries.

 
Lot 8  William E. Artis,   Vernon 

Vernon, a terra cotta mounted on wood base, is a large stylized head by William E. Artis and is typical of his beautiful modern sculpture. Artis's Vernon is a fine example of his 1940s portraits of African-American youth that he made with a distinctive and sensitive realism. This 22 inches high, including base, sculpture has an estimate of $20,000 - $30,000.  
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $57,500.

 

Beauford Delaney, Untitled (Abstraction), Oil on linen canvas, 1964, 16" x 13¼". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 13   Beauford Delaney,     Untitled (Abstraction)
This is one of the five Delaney artworks appearing in the Long Collection. This small oil on linen canvas is an exquisite example of Delaney's signature abstraction in yellow and is from an important year in his development. This piece has an estimate of $20,000 - $25,000. 
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $75,000.
 

Alma W. Thomas, Abstraction (Striped Composition), Watercolor and pencil on paper, ca. 1971, 15" x 22½". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

 
Lot 23     Alma W. Thomas,       Untitled (Striped Composition)
This watercolor has an estimate of  $15,000 - $25,000. 
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $28,160.
 

Romare Bearden, Untitled (The Trojan Horse), Collage of various papers and mixed media, mounted on masonite board, ca. 1977, 5"x 4½". Image:Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 32     Romare Bearden,      Untitled (The Trojan Horse) 
The Trojan Horse is one of the 14 lots, featuring works by Romare Bearden. This small but powerful collage is a wonderful example and a revelation. This scene was not included or developed into Bearden's important 1977 Odysseus series of collages and watercolors, which  begins with The Fall of Troy. This work adds to our understanding of his conception of the series. Lot 32 has an estimate of $15,000 - $25,000. 
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $12,500.
  

Romare Bearden, Brazil, Collage of various printed color papers, mounted on masonite board, ca. 1978, 15" x 11". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 34        Romare Bearden,       Brazil
In this striking collage, Bearden shows his skillful hand - the cutting and layering of the various shaped papers that make up the plumed headdress form a tight, almost abstract composition. Brazil may have been a maquette for a poster; it has an auction estimate of $35,000 - $50,000.

Although part 2 of the auction is comprehensive in scope, including exceptional early pieces, modern masters, and contemporary artists covering a variety of media, I've decided to simply highlight some of the abstract painting appearing in the auction. 
Lot was unsold.

Charles Alston, The Bridge, Oil on linen canvas, ca. 1950-53, 20"x 50". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 81       Charles Alston,    The Bridge    
The Bridge, an oil on canvas, is a scarce example of Charles Alston's early modernist painting and his transition toward abstraction. This lot has an estimate of $20,000 - $30,000. 
Lot was unsold.

 

Norman Lewis, Untitled, Oil on heavy linen canvas, 1953, 39"x 47".  Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 86       Norman Lewis,    Untitled

This oil on canvas is a beautiful painting that is a very fine example of Norman Lewis's evolving Abstract Expressionist idiom in the early 1950s. This intriguing transitional work comes from a short period when the artist used a heavier oil paint application and an editing layer of white paint from 1953 to 1954. Lot 86 has an estimate of $60,000 - $90,000.  
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $75,000.

Löis Mailou Jones, Festival, Mixed media on thin cream woven paper, 1964, 32½" x 24".  Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 112    Löis Mailou Jones,    Festival     
This large and vibrant work on paper is a scarce example of abstract painting by the artist. Jones was inspired by the rising popularity of Abstract Expressionism in the early 1960s, and made some forays into abstraction. Festival has an estimate of $7,000 - $10,000.
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $10,625. 

 

Aaron Douglas, Creation, Oil on canvas board, 1969, 20"x 26".  Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 125      Aaron Douglas,    Creation
This striking oil painting is an unusual example of a foray into abstraction by Aaron Douglas. Douglas had never completely crossed into abstraction like his peers Charles Alston and Hale Woodruff despite a modernist sensibility. This work, Creation, has an estimate of $30,000 - $40,000. 
Lot was Unsold. 

Kenneth Victor Young, Untitled, Acrylic on raw cotton canvas, 1969-70, 52"x 58".  Image: Swann Auction Galleries    

Lot 128       Kenneth Victor Young,    Untitled
This large canvas of floating orbs is a wonderful example of the late 1960s paintings of Kenneth Young, the Washington, DC color field painter who is regaining national recognition today. This lot has an estimate of $12,000 - $18,000.  
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $18,750.

Alma W. Thomas, Untitled (from the Atmospheric Effects Series), Watercolor on thick woven paper, 1971, 22"x 30½".  Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 129   Alma W. Thomas,   Untitled (from the Atmospheric Effects Series)
This lot has an estimate of $20,000 - $30,000.
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $35,000.
 

Sam Gilliam, Paper Theatre, Raked acrylic on polypropylene on plywood panel, 1991, 30"x 62".  Image: Swann Auction Galleries   

Lot 165    Sam Gilliam,     Paper Theatre
Paper Theatre  has an estimate of $30,000 - $40,000.  
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $30,720.

Before closing, I must mentioned that the top lot in Sale 2359 is Elizabeth Catlett's Singing Head (Lot 140) carved wood with painted details and inlay. This example of Catlett's mid-career work has an estimate of $120,000 - $180,000.  
Price Realized with Buyer's Premium: $125,000.
 
The works will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries Saturday, October 4, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, October 6 through Wednesday, October 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Thursday, October 9, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. An illustrated auction catalogue, with information on bidding by mail or fax, is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, or online.
 
For further information on the auction or the works, contact Swann's African-American Fine Art department.                                       
 

Live online bidding is also available via invaluable.com.

Thanks to Swann Galleries for the use of images, written material in the catalogue and Press Release.

Swann Galleries: African-American Fine Art, Sale 2237

Swann Auction Galleries' recent (February 17, 2011) African-American Fine Art Sale was successful in selling 78% of the 148 lots offered. According to Nigel Freeman, Director of African- American Fine Art at Swann Galleries, "As the art market rebounds, we are seeing a surge in collectors seeking African-American fine art - especially scarce and important works. The sale began with intense competition for 19th century paintings by Duncanson and Porter, and the momentum was sustained all the way to the final section, a celebration of Romare Bearden's centennial year, where two of his collages from the early 1970s sold in the high five figures." Freeman's statement is substantiated by the fact that the top five selling lots were bought by collectors.



Elizabeth Catlett, Untitled (Standing
African-American Woman)
Cast bronze with dark brown patina,
1967, 47" x 20" x 8" (without the
base) 

 The sale's top lot was Elizabeth Catlett's Untitled (Standing Africa-American Woman), a cast bronze sculpture from 1967 that sold for $108,000, which is the highest prize ever for an Elizabeth Catlett bronze sculpture. As stated in the catalogue, "This stunning bronze figure is a wonderful discovery from Mexico--this is the first time this important sculpture by Elizabeth Catlett has been exhibited in the United States. ...This is one of the largest bronze works by the artist that is not a public commission...." More images and discussion.

Vincent Smith, The Voices are Stilled,
Oil on masonite, 1965,

47½” x 45½”

Vincent Smith's The Voices are Stilled (Lot 70) was also an artist record at $21,600. "The Voices Are Stilled is a striking and important early painting by Vincent Smith, and the first significant work by the artist to come to auction. With intense nocturnal colors, Smith captures the light of an evening street populated by his typically quirky and expressive figures. This Brooklyn street scene also includes the small Bedford-Stuyvesant storefront office of the Congress of Racial Equality (or C.O.R.E.)." In the case of both Catlett and Smith, the art works did not reach their high auction estimates of $180,000 and $25,000, respectively. It is hoped that with continued exposure and knowledge of the value and importance of these works by African American artists that the auction prices will consistently approach or toppled the upper estimates. 

In addition to Catlett's Standing African-American Woman bronze sculpture, the top five lots included these four additional pieces: Romare Bearden's Tidings, a circa 1973 collage, $96.000; Le Balayeur, a 1958 oil on canvas by Beauford Delaney that also sold for $96,000; Bearden's The Stubborn Old Lady, a 1971 collage, $72,000; and Robert Scott Duncanson's Untitled (Landscape), a circa 1860-1865 oil on board, $45,600. Bearden's Tidings and Duncanson's Landscape both exceeded their high estimates. The prices quoted are inclusive of Buyer's Premium.