RESULTS: Swann's African-American Fine Art Sale 2442

There was a standing-room only crowd at Swann Galleries' spring auction of African-American Fine Art on Thursday, April 6, 2017. Sale 2442, the most recent Swann Auction Galleries' African-American Fine Art Sale brought in $2,522,705 with Buyer’s Premium, exceeding its pre-sale low estimate of $1,982,300 by over $540,000. Of the 181 lots that were offered at auction, 138 sold (76% sell-through rate by lot). Nigel Freeman, founder and director of the African-American Fine Art department at Swann Galleries, said “I am thrilled with this sale’s strong results. We saw great activity with bidding often exceeding the high estimate, and several record prices. We continue to build on our strengths with both modern and post-war artists, surpassing our previous records with artworks from the 1930s through the ‘70s.” 

Lot 102: David Hammons, Untitled (Double Body Print Collage),

pigment and ink on paper and printed  paper collage on cardboard,

1976. 30"x 40". Photograph: Swann Auction Galleries

  

Six of the top lots either reached or exceeded $100,000; this post will focus on those lots. Lot 102, David Hammons' Untitled (Double Body Print Collage), had a pre-sale estimate of $200,000 - $300,000 and sold for $389,000 with Buyer's Premium. "This striking body print is an excellent example of David Hammons' mid-1970s incorporation of collage, and only the second double body print by the artist to ever come to auction." The Double Body Print Collage was purchased by a collector. 

 

Lot 101: David Hammons, Untitled (Body Print), pigment and graphite on wove paper,

circa 1975-77. 26" x 21". Photograph: Swann Auction Galleries

Another piece of art by David Hammons appeared in the top selling category of artworks sold in sale 2442. Lot 101, an Untitled (Body Print), dating circa 1975 -1977 had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 - $90,000; it sold with a Buyer's Premium for $161,000 to a collector. This body print which is a colorful work on paper includes three impressions of the artist's face.

  

Lot 112: Alvin D. Loving, Jr. Untitled, diptych of acrylic on shaped cotton canvas, 1968. Approximately

59½" x 69" and 62"x 69" (two irregular hexagons); together 62" x 138". Photograph: Swann Auction Galleries

All five works by graphic abstractionist Alvin D. Loving, Jr. found homes, with nearly all selling above their estimates. A monumental untitled diptych of two hexagonal canvases broke the artist’s previous auction record, selling to a phone bidder (collector) for $161,000. Lot 112 had pre-sale estimate of $80,000 - $120,000. 

Lot 139: Frank Bowling, Morning Light, acrylic on cotton canvas,

1974. 76½" x 46½". Photograph: Swann Auction Galleries

Morning Light, a brilliantly colored abstraction by Frank Bowling, is an early example of his mid-1970s series of poured paintings. Lot 139, which was a luminous poured painting, sold for $161,000 and was a record for the artist. Morning Light, an acrylic on canvas, had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 - $90,000; it was purchased by a collector. 

Lot 169: Hughie Lee-Smith, Silhouette, oil on  linen canvas,

1995. 42" x 50". Photograph: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 169: Silhouette, a large oil on linen canvas, epitomizes the Surrealism found in Hughie Lee Smith's late-career painting. This paining had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 - $90,000; it sold to a dealer for $161,000. 

Lot 13: Sargent Johnson, Untitled (Negro Mother), copper with paint,

1935 -36. Approximately 12" x 6½"x 2". Photograph: Swann Auction Galleries

"Untitled (Negro Mother) is an excellent and very scarce work in copper repoussé by Sargent Johnson from the mid-1930s. In this defining mid-career body of work, Johnson incorporated themes from African sculpture and modernist design to create powerful representations of African-American womanhood...." Lot 13, Untitled (Negro Mother), had a pre-sale estimate of $80,000 - $120,000. Attaining an artist record, it was sold to a dealer for $100,000.  

The next sale of African-American Fine Art at Swann Galleries will be held in October 2017. For more information, contact Nigel Freeman at nfreeman@swanngalleries.com. 

RESULTS: Swann's African-American Fine Art Sale 2409

The most recent Swann Auction Galleries' African-American Fine Art Sale was held on April 7, 2016. Sale 2409 brought in $1,831,747 with buyer’s premium, exceeding its pre-sale low estimate of $1,333,000 by nearly $500,000. Of the 121 lots that were offered at auction, 99 sold (81% sell-through rate by lot). According to Nigel Freeman, Swann Galleries’ Director of African-American Fine Art, “This sale continued to build on many of our department’s strengths. Burgeoning interest in post-war abstraction continues to rise, with record prices for Frank Bowling and Felrath Hines, as well as high prices for works by Norman Lewis and Sam Gilliam. This sale we saw success for works on paper by Norman Lewis: Untitled (Processional Figure Composition) set a record for a work on paper by the artist, and several other lots eclipsed their high estimates.”

Select highlights from Swann's African-American Fine Art Sale 2409 are featured in this post, focusing on a selection of the top selling lots in the auction. All price quotes for art sold include buyer's premium.

Lot 94    Faith Ringgold (1930 - )
Double Dutch on the Golden Gate Bridge
 

Acrylic on canvas and painted, dye and pieced fabric, 1988; 68½" x 68¼". From the 1988 Woman On A Bridge Series.

Image: Swann Galleries

Double Dutch on the Golden Gate Bridge is a joyous and fantastic image of young girls playing together in this popular jumping rope game. They float elevated above the iconic bridge with the facades of brownstones of the city of San Francisco. This lot had a pre-sale estimate of $150,000 - 250,000; it surpassed its low estimate, and was acquired by a collector for $209,000. 


Lot 18  Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)  
Untitled. 

Oil on masonite board, 1947; 17¾"x 14¾". Signed and dated in oil, lower right. Image: Swann Galleries

This beautiful oil reveals the range of Norman Lewis' early experimentation within the abstract idiom in the late 1940s. In 1947 Norman Lewis did a series of these small abstract paintings on board. Two other paintings from this series - Florence and Shapes - were included in the exhibition From the Margins: Lee Krasner / Norman Lewis, 1945 - 1952 at the Jewish Museum. Lot 18, Untitled, had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 - 90,000; this piece surpassed its high estimate, selling to a dealer for $149,000.  

Lot 38  Hughie Lee-Smith (1915 - 1999)
Untitled (Young Man in a Slum).

Oil on linen canvas, circa 1960; 26"x 36". Signed in oil, lower right. Image: Swann Galleries

This striking and large canvas is a wonderful example of Hughie Lee-Smith's mid-career painting. It appears very closely related to his Slum Lad, circa 1960, in the collection of the Flint Institute of Arts. This painting depicts the same young man a in long-sleeved white shirt, and the same background of crumbling urban decay. Here the figure has turned and is walking away from the viewer - while in Slum Lad he is facing the viewer. Young Man in a Slum, lot 38, sold to a collector for $106,250; it exceeded its pre-sale estimate of  $40,000 - 60,000.


Lot 84  Sam Gilliam (1933 - )
Rondo IX.

Acrylic and canvas collage on cotton canvas, 1983; 44" x 60" with beveled edges. Signed, titled and dated in acrylic, center verso. Image: Swann Galleries

This large painting is an excellent example of Sam Gilliam's Rondo series, a breakthrough new series of paintings in the early 1980s. Thirteen panels from this series were hung together in the rotunda of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in his 1983 solo exhibition Modern Painters at the Corcoran: Sam Gilliam. Rondo IX had an estimate of $50,000 - 75,000; it sold to a dealer for $93,750. 


Lot 32     Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)
Untitled (Processional Figure Composition).

Oil, pen and ink on cream wove paper, 1956; 26" x 40" inches. Signed and dated "June, 1956" in ink, lower left. Image: Swann Galleries

This complex and expressive work on paper is a superb example of Norman Lewis' evolving calligraphy of "little figures" in the mid-1950s. Lot 32, an untitled piece, had an estimate of $40,000 - 60,000; it sold to a dealer for $87,500, which was a record for a work on paper for Norman Lewis.


Lot 87   Frank Bowling (1936 - )
Irv Sandler's Visit.

Acrylic on cotton canvas, 1977; 46½" x 28". The artist's name spray-painted with stencil, lower left verso. Titled, inscribed and dated "27 Aug. 1977" in purple ink, upper right and lower left verso. Image: Swann Galleries

This richly colored and sumptuous abstraction by Frank Bowling is the first canvas from his 1970s series of "poured paintings" to come to auction. Beginning in New York in 1973, the artist used a tilting board platform to controlled the flow and descent of the acrylic paint vertically down the canvas. This lot sold to a collector for $81,250; it had an estimate of $35,000 - 50,000. In this sale, lot 87 was an auction record for Frank Bowling.


Lot 17   Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)
Untitled (Figurative Abstraction).

Oil on linen canvas, 1945; 28"x 17". Signed and dated in oil, lower left. Image: Swann Galleries

 This intriguing, modernist composition is the earliest abstract painting by Norman Lewis to come to auction. 1945 is the first full year of his foray into abstraction, and his oil paintings from that year are very scarce. Norman Lewis was painting linear figurations with diagonals and curves, bisecting vertical lines and grids - abstracting figures in the city. Figurative Abstraction had an estimate of $75,000 - 100,000, and it sold to a dealer for $75,000.


Live online bidding was available via invaluable.com. Thanks to Swann Galleries for the use of images and written material in the catalogue. 

Results of Swann's Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art Sale

Swann Auction Galleries' African-American Fine Art Sale 2323 (Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art) on October 3, 2013 brought in $1,735,690 with buyer’s premium, exceeding its pre-sale low estimate ($1,504,000) for Sale 2323 as a whole. Of the 149 lots that were offered at auction, 111 sold (74% sell-through rate by lot). According to Nigel Freeman, Director of African-American Fine Art at Swann Galleries, “We are very pleased to set a new artist record for Norman Lewis at auction. This important work—previously unrecorded—far surpassed the prior record (also set at Swann, in October 2008) of $312,000. We also saw strong prices for abstract artists including Frank Bowling and Al Loving.”

Four artist records were set in Point of Departure: Postwar African-American Fine Art, Sale 2323. Those lots are highlighted in this post.

Norman Lewis, Untitled
Image: Swann Auction Galleries 

Lot 22: Norman Lewis, Untitled, oil on canvas, circa 1957. This piece exceeded its high estimate of $350,000 and sold for $581,000 to a collector, shattering the artist's previous record of $312,000. As stated in the auction catalogue, "This important mid-century painting is not only a truly exceptional example of Norman Lewis's painting, but an exciting discovery. This previously unrecorded painting is one of the most significant 1950s calligraphic figure paintings by Norman Lewis that we have seen, and yet it has never been publicly exhibited."

Frank Bowling, Karters Choice
Image: Swann Auction Galleries 

Lot 84: Frank Bowling, Karters Choice, acrylic on canvas, 1972. "This monumental Frank Bowling painting is a significant work from his important map paintings, and possibly one of the last major works from the series." Karters Choice exceeded its low estimate of $40,000, selling for $50,000 with buyer's premium to a collector. Bowling painted this in New York after his solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, which ran from November 4 - December 6, 1971.

Mavis Pusey, Nuvae
Image: Swann Auction Galleries 

Lot 79: Mavis Pusey, Nuvae, oil on canvas, circa 1968. Nuvae shows the sophistication of Mavis Pusey's late 1960s abstractions with its subtle palette and modernist composition. Its high estimate was $10,000; however, it tripled that estimate as it set an artist record with a realized price of $33,750 with buyer's premium. Nuvae was sold to a collector.

Robert Blackburn, Refugees
Image: Swann Auction Galleries 

Lot 2: Robert Blackburn, Refugees, lithograph, circa 1938. This is the final lot in which a work set an artist record in auction. This scarce, early print which is alternately titled People in a Boat was printed at the Harlem Community Art Center, where Blackburn studied lithography with printmaker Riva Helfond. Refugees sold for $17,500 with buyer's premium against a $7,000 - $10,000 estimate. As with the previously featured lots, Refugees was sold to a collector.

The Norman Lewis (Lot 22) and Frank Bowling (Lot 84) pieces featured earlier were among my personal favorites.  Adding to those favorites were the Elizabeth Catlett, Head, terracotta sculpture, 1947 (Lot 31) which sold for $173,000 to an institution, and Sargent Claude Johnson, Dancer, varnished terracotta, circa 1938-40 (Lot 1) which sold above its low estimate for $37,500 to an institution. The biggest surprise among favorites was the unsold lot by Hale Woodruff, Gathering Storm (Blue Landscape), oil on linen canvas, circa 1958-60, that had an estimate of $60,000 - $90,000. Because this modernist canvas is an excellent example of Hale Woodruff's postwar painting, I thought that it would have been a museum purchase.

To view the final results from Sale 2323, visit: Swann Galleries catalogue.