Results of Swann's African-American Fine Art Sale 2338

Swann Auction Galleries' African-American Fine Art Sale 2338 on February 13, 2014 brought in $704,930  with buyer’s premium, almost reaching its pre-sale low estimates ($848,000) for the sale as a whole. Of the 82 lots that were offered at auction, 61 sold (74% sell-through rate by lot). According to Nigel Freeman, Director of African-American Fine Art at Swann Galleries,"Despite trying conditions with yesterday's blizzard, we were thrilled to see institutions and collectors alike compete for these scarce works. Auction records were set for Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Joseph Delaney, Pauline Powell Burns, and Dox Thrash."

Eighteen (18) lots, many of which were in the lower to mid-range, sold above their pre-sale high estimates. There were no lots that were sold in the five figure range. However, the following five lots sold above $25,000, exceeding their high estimates and are worth noting. Lot 44 (William H. Johnson, On a John Brown Flight) had a high estimate of $75,000 and sold for $81,250 with buyer’s premium. This was a record for a print by the artist, and it was sold to a collector.

William H. Johnson, On a John Brown Flight, Color pochoir and screenprint on cream wove paper, circa 1942-45. 16" x 24"
Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 65 (Joseph Delaney, Harlem, Sunday Morning) had a high estimate of $25,000 and sold for $40,000. This was an artist record and it was sold to a collector.

 

Joseph Delaney, Harlem, Sunday Morning, Oil on masonite board, 1942. 40" x 21"
Image: Swann Auction Galleries  

Lot 80 (Aaron Douglas, Snow Storm) sold for $30,000, more than doubling its high estimate of $12,000. It was sold to a collector.
 

Aaron Douglas, Snow Storm,
Charcoal on wove paper, circa 1950-1955. 13¾" x 12½"
Image: Swann Auction Galleries 

Lot 69 (Eldzier Cortor, Untitled / Nude Seated on a Bed) sold for $27,500, doubling its high estimate of $12,000. This lot was sold to an institution.

Eldzier Cortor, Untitled (Nude Seated on a Bed), Pen, ink, pastel and wash on cream wove paper, circa 1948. 24½" x 12¼"
Image: Swann Auction Galleries 

 
Lot 40 (Hale Woodruff, Portrait of a Girl) had a high estimate of $18,000 and it sold to a collector for $27,500. All sold prices are with buyer's premium.

Hale Woodruff, Portrait of a Girl, Oil on masonite board, circa 1935-40. 10¾"x 8½". Image: Swann Auction Galleries  

The next Swann Galleries African-American Fine Art Sale is scheduled for June 10, 2014. Consignment deadline for that sale is March 10, 2014. SEE: Sale2353

 

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.
   

Curator Discusses Exhibition: "Spiral: Perspectives on an African-American Art Collective"

Spiral: Perspectives on an African-American Art Collective is currently on view at the Birmingham Museum of Art through March 6, 2011, and features work by Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, Charles Alston, Hale Woodruff, Reginald Gammon, Richard Mayhew, and Emma Amos.

Spiral was a diverse group of African American artists, originally consisting of 12 members, who met in 1963 seeking to find the Black aesthetic and the extent of their commitment in the struggle for Civil Rights. As an African American collective, the group presented an exhibition, First Group Showing: Works in Black and White, on May 14 - June 4 [1965] with an aesthetic limitation of restricting its palette to the colors black and white. With confidence, it can be stated that the use of this color palette carried some symbolic overtures. The exhibit reflected the different identities and views of the artists included in the group, yet it was unified by its common theme. It was during this period, of the Spiral Group, that Romare Bearden, as one of its founding members, developed his technique of collage.

Further readings.

Swann Galleries Auction

The African-American Fine Art auction (Sale 2169) was held at Swann Galleries on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 1:30 PM. Although smaller than last year's sale which consisted of 264 lots, this sale had 169 lots of many museum-quality works from a number of private collections, representing all of the major 20th-century artistic movements. The smaller number of pieces in the auction might be indicative of the downturn in the economy. One can readily assume, with a fair degree of accuracy, that many of the items that were presented at auction are in private hands and owners are fearful that they might not be able to get the maximum price for their items in an auction at this time. As I speak of money and value, I am ever mindful that there are dangers when one assumes that the price of a piece of art determines the quality of that art; history has shown that "price equals quality" is a poor barometer. However, such can not be mistaken when it comes to African American art that is woefully undervalued in the overall landscape of American art. Comparable African American artists of the same school of art, representing the same time period sell for considerably less than their counterparts. This makes them a favorable group to collect because their works have a greater potential to increase exponentially in value.

In spite of the fact that African American art is one of those current undervalued commodities with potential to realize a substantial future increase in value, the number of items sold and the price at which they sold in this auction is an indication that times are tight even for those with disposal income. There were only twenty lots that had a low estimate of at least $25,000; they included works by Hale Woodruff, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Charles White, Hughie Lee-Smith, Beauford Delaney, Charles Alston, Eldzier Cortor, Norman Lewis, Sargent Johnson, Henry Ossawa Tanner, and Howardena Pindell. A quick analysis of those twenty lots follow:

• Of the twenty lots, eleven (lots 12, 16, 23, 29, 30, 36, 38, 73, 82, 112, and 136) of those were unsold, including Charles White's "Hope Imprisoned," tempera on paper, which was estimated for $150,000 to 200,000. (See image at top left, Lot 30.)
• Six lots (1, 35, 41, 42, 46, and 55) sold for less than their low estimates, including Charles White's "Move on up a Little Higher," which had an estimate of $200,00 - 250,000. Its hammer price was $190,000. (See image at bottom left, Lot 55.)
• Lot 2, Henry O. Tanner's "Adoration of the Golden Calf" was the only item that sold for its high estimate ($60,000).
• Two lots (45 and 93) sold above their high estimates. Lot 45 was Hughie Lee-Smith's "Untitled" (rooftop view) which sold for $85,000; its high estimate was $75,000. Lot 93 was Hale Woodruff's "Cinque Exhorts his Captives" which sold for $130,000; its high estimate was $100,000.

According to Nigel Freeman, Director, African-American Fine Art at Swann Galleries, "...We were thrilled to sell our cover lot, Move on up a Little Higher, a majestic drawing by Charles White to an important museum. We also set a new record price for a Hale Woodruff painting, Cinque Exhorts His Captives, 1973, which sold for $156,000; this was the fourth consecutive auction record for the artist (Woodruff) set at Swann in the past four years."

In ending this piece, I want to clarify the term sold. The "hammer price" refers to the winning bid and reflects the highest bid on the item; then the "buyer's premium," which reflects an agreed upon percentage of the "hammer price" are combined to get the realized amount paid by the successful bidder. In my examples, I have quoted the hammer prices. To view all the lots, follow this link to the archived catalogue:
http://swanngalleries.rfcsystems.com/asp/search.asp?st=U
To view the sale results (realized price paid) follow this link: http://swanngalleries.rfcsystems.com/asp/realtimeresultsmenu.asp


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