Swann Galleries: African-American Fine Art Sale 2353

Swann Auction Galleries will feature its latest African-American Fine Art sale on June 10, 2014. Sale 2353, which is entitled Shape of Things to Come, focuses on the rapid social and political changes in both the art world and the nation during the 1960s and 1970s. African American artists adapted to the times in the era of the Civil Rights Movement and Black Nationalism and a strong selection of works from those decades are represented in Sale 2353. Many of the artists included in this sale have been included in recent major museum exhibitions, representing a re-examination and study of their works.

The Shape of Things to Come consists of 158 lots and features works by Elizabeth Catlett, Barkley L. Hendricks, Noah Purifoy, William T. Williams, Norman Lewis, Faith Ringgold, Melvin Edwards, Bettye Saar, Charles White, Romare Bearden, Lorna Simpson, Richard Mayhew, Hughie Lee-Smith, and others.

A number of works in this sale have been in private collections, unseen by the general public, from 20 to over 50 years. The documentation of these works via photographs, established provenance, and identifying them as having been in major museum exhibitions add to their value. 

Selected highlights from Sale 2353 follow:

Hughie Lee-Smith, Rooftops, Oil on linen canvas, 1961, 24"x 18". Image: Swann Auction Galleries 

Lot 22 Hughie Lee-Smith, Rooftops
 
Rooftops is a fascinating example of Hughie Lee-Smith's early 1960s work in New York in which he continued to paint rooftop scenes as he had in Detroit. Rooftops shows Lee-Smith interest in portraying the changing urban environment, showing the deterioration of America's urban areas during periods of great growth and prosperity.  Lot 22 has an estimate of $25,000 - $35,000. 

Faith Ringgold, The American People Series #15: Hide Little Children, Oil on canvas, 1966, 26"x 48". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 35 Faith Ringgold, The American People Series #15: Hide Little Children

This painting is from Faith Ringgold's The American People Series that included approximately twenty paintings completed between 1963 and 1967. This was her first mature series of paintings and they displayed her pointed observations on race relations during the Civil Rights era. In the publication, Faith Ringgold, The David C. Driskell Series, author Lisa Farrington notes "despite their apparent playfulness, Ringgold used these charming faces as a smokescreen to obfuscate, but not completely veil, a vastly profound message- the shielding of America's youth from racial hatred." Lot 35 has an estimate of $35,000 - $50,000.  

Noah Purifoy, Untitled: Standing Figure, Assemblage construction, circa 1968-70, 51½"x 15"x 12". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 45 Noah Purifoy, Untitled: Standing Figure  

The figurative sculpture, Standing Figure, is an outstanding example of Noah Purifoy's important work in assemblage, and is the first significant work of the artist to come to auction. "By 1970, Purifoy had expanded his range of assemblage material to include diverse, organic materials such as leather, feathers, brass and copper. The enigmatic female figure, with leather breasts mounted on her flanks, and a dense decorative surface, reflects both the assemblage aesthetic and early Surrealist sculpture."

Lot 45, which was acquired directly from Purifoy by sculptor Artis Lane, has an estimate of $60,000 - $90,000.

William T. Williams, Truckin, Acrylic 0n cotton canvas, 1969, 84"x 60". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 61 William T. Williams, Truckin 

Truckin, a significant early painting by William T. Williams, is his earliest painting to date to come to auction. "It is an excellent example of Williams' first year of painting after completing his MFA from Yale University, with the imagery that quickly gained him an international recognition as an abstract painter in the late 1960s and early 1970s."

Lot 61 has an estimate of $75,000 - $100,000.

Barkley L. Hendricks, Sergio, Oil and acrylic on linen canvas, 1972, 60"x 44". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

 Lot 80 Barkley L. Hendricks, Sergio

Sergio has an extensive museum exhibition history, extending from early 1970s through 2010. This is a bold portrait by Barkley Hendricks that was painted at the beginning of his career, and is an excellent example of his trailblazing work in portraiture.  Sergio was executed during the time, spring of 1972, that Hendricks was finishing his MFA studies at Yale University.

Lot 80 has an estimate of $80,000 - $120,000.

 

Elizabeth Catlett, Standing Figure, Carved tropical wood and black enamel, 1986, 18"x 7"x 4¼". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

 

Elizabeth Catlett, Reclining Figure, Black marble, 2005, 32"x 15"x 11½". Image: Swann Auction Galleries

 Lot 119 Elizabeth Catlett, Standing Figure and Lot 144 Reclined Figure

There are two important late-career sculptures by Elizabeth Catlett, one, Standing Figure, in tropical wood and black enamel, 1986 (estimate $150,000 to $200,000); the other, Reclined Figure, in black marble, 2005 (estimate $60,000 to $90,000). These works embody Catlett’s expression of the female form found within the natural beauty of her materials.

The works will be on public exhibition at Swann Galleries, to check dates, see Preview Dates.  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, and to make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction, please contact Nigel Freeman at 212-254-4710, extension 33, or via email at nfreeman@swanngalleries.com.                                                     

Live online bidding is also available via invaluable.com.

 

Results of Swann's Printed and Manuscript African Americana Sale 2342

The Printed and Manuscript African Americana Sale 2342 was held on March 27, 2014 at Swann Auction Galleries. This was the 19th annual Printed and Manuscript African Americana Sale, and it included the largest number of lots (596) over the past decade, topping last year's auction which previously had the highest number of lots with 561. This demonstrates that there is still a strong and growing market of available African American historical items. Sale 2342 attracted many institutional bidders and saw record results for rare books and other publications. Wyatt Houston Day, Swann's African Americana specialist said, "We were very pleased to see so many of the top lots purchased by institutions, including a number of research-oriented lots. Among record-setting books were a Banneker Almanack, a rebound copy of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and an inscribed copy of Anna Julia Cooper's A Voice from the South."

Some highlights of Printed and Manuscript African Americana Sale 2342 follow: 
Lot 140:  Banneker's Almanack and Ephemeris for the Year of our Lord, 1793

Banneker's Almanack and Ephemeris for the Year of our Lord, 1793, Image: Swann Auction Galleries

This publication by self-taught astronomer, mathematician, surveyor and author Benjamin Banneker had not appeared in auction in the past 25 years; it contained a portion of a poem by Phillis Wheatley. Banneker helped with the survey of the Federal Territory that was to become the grid of Washington, D.C. Lot 140 exceeded its high estimate of $15,000 and sold for $52,500, including buyer premium.

Lot 98: Cooper, Anna Julia. A Voice from the South by a Woman of the South

Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South by a Woman of the South. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

This was a first edition, presentation copy of a rare book, with a fine association. Loosely laid in was a pencil note in Cooper's hand presenting the book to an officer of the 29th Ohio Volunteers.  In addition, it was inscribed on the title-page. With an estimate of $6,000 - $8,000, the book almost doubled its high estimate when it sold for $15,000 with buyer's premium.

Lot 164: Richard McCrary's I am a Black Woman! Poster depicting Angela Davis

Poster depicting Angela Davis. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

 

This poster depicting Angela Davis with Richard McCrary's I am a Black Woman! poem had an estimate of $600 - $800; it sold with buyer's premium for $7,500.

Lot 339A: Randolph, A. Philip. Collection of material relative to the Pullman Porters

Collection of material relative to the Pullman Porters. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 339A consisted of a large collection of rare Pullman Porter material, including virtually all the equipment needed by a porter, plus personal identification, etc. It had an estimate of $15,000 - $25,000, and sold for $17,500 with buyer's premium.

Lot 589: Peacock, Eulace. Personal archive of this great African American track and field star

Eulace Peacock's personal archive. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Eulace Peacock, often referred to as "The Fastest Man of Earth" was an American track and field athlete of the 1930s. Lot 589 consisted of over 100 gold, silver and bronze medals; correspondence, newspaper clippings, programs, and ephemera; a few photos, and other items. Although Lot 589 did not reach its low estimate of $10,000, it sold for $8,750 with buyer's premium.

For complete results of the Printed and Manuscript African Americana Sale 2342, SEE online: Sale 2342. Also, an illustrated catalogue with prices realized (by request) is available for $35.00 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010.

Artist Talk: Floyd D. Tunson: Son of Pop (Arts District)

Provocative         Looking for Growth         Inspires       

Posing Questions         Voice of the Underdog         Physical Layers

Inside Jokes         Culturally Based          Sufficient Dialogue

Art Changing How We Think about Things

Upcoming Exhibition: Floyd D. Tunson: Son of Pop on view September 27 - December 13, 2014 at 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM.  Catalogue accompanies this exhibition.      

Artist Talk: Theaster Gates (Creating Heat: The Artist as a Catalyst)

  

                Artists Changing the World       Urban Planning       Sculpture       

          Space Treasures       Abandoned Neighborhoods       Creating Heat                     
                  
                  Performance and Visual Arts       Create Cultural Spaces  

               Restoring Neighborhoods       Cultural Capital       Artistic Gesture     
                  
                   Creating New Economies        Artists as Change Makers     

Swann Galleries: Printed and Manuscript African Americana, Sale 2342

Swann Auction Galleries will feature its 19th Annual Printed and Manuscript African Americana Sale on March 27, 2014. Sale 2342, consisting of 596 lots, will offer a rich assortment of historical material related to the African American experience. This extraordinary sale catalogued, as it is each year by Wyatt Houston Day, features items dating  back to the 18th century through the modern civil rights era, and highlights the contributions of black artists, musicians, educators, statesmen, athletes and more.  

The lots within Sale 2342, Printed and Manuscript African Americana, are divided into broad subject fields, such as the following: slavery and abolition, art, Black Panthers, business, civil rights, education, film, Marcus Garvey, literature and poetry, military, music, photography, and other areas. Every item is described in a print and online catalogue. A print catalogue may be purchased directly from Swann Auction Galleries and the online catalogue may be viewed at its website.
 
The items will be on public exhibition at Swann Auction Galleries on March 22, 24-26, 2014. This is an opportunity for all prospective buyers, collectors, scholars, dealers, students, and anyone with an interest to preview the exhibition and see items and their condition first-hand. However, if unable to attend the exhibition, the experts at Swann's are available to discuss any aspect of the sale, including condition.     

The following are selections from the 596 lots included in Sale 2342:

Lot 41: This item is included in the large archive of the Bourne Family . Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 41: Archive of the Bourne Family, 1793-1919. Large archive of manuscript and printed matter: letters, documents, flyers, broadsides, pamphlets etc. Hundreds of items, contained in four large ring binders. Estimate for this lot is $40,000 - 60,000.  
 

Lot 280: This item is included in an archive of 97 G. W. Carver letters. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 280: Carver, George Washington. Archive of 97 Letters Signed, "G.W. Carver," to his friend Mrs. Sophie Liston. This lot has the  highest pre-sale estimate in this sale, and consists of letters signed by George Washington Carver to his friend Mrs. Sophie Liston who he met his first year at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. The letters -- written from 1925 to 1937 -- cover various topics, including agricultural lecture tours, racism, conditions during the Great Depression, Tuskegee Institute life, Christian Science Church, national government policy, polio treatments, massage and oil therapy, painting and gardening, and most come with their original envelopes. The pre-sale estimate is $80,000 to $120,000. 

Lot 339A: Pullman Porter Collection. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 339A: RANDOLPH, A PHILIP. Collection of material relative to the Pullman Porters. This large collection of rare Pullman Porter material includes virtually all the equipment needed by a porter, plus personal identification, etc. This exceptional collection of Pullman Porter material is the most complete that Swann Galleries has ever offered. The pre-sale estimate is $15,000 to $25,000.

Lot 433: 48 star linen reunion flag, 14" x 23½". Columbus Ohio, circa 1900. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 433: 5th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops Survivor Reunion, Columbus Ohio. This is a circa 1900 rare survivor's reunion flag for the 5th Regiment with the lettering "U. S. Colored Troops Survivor Reunion, Columbus, Ohio". The estimate is $7,000 to $10,000. 

Lot 589: Personal archive of Eulace Peacock. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 589: PEACOCK, EULACE. Personal Archive of this great African American Track and Field star. Eulace Peacock was an American track and field athlete of the 1930s, and was often referred to as the "Fastest Man on Earth". He was Jesse Owens's chief rival, and beat Owens five times in the trials running up to the 1936 Olympics, where he was unable to compete due to injury. The archive contains gold, silver and bronze medals, correspondence, newspaper clippings, programs, the passport he would have used to travel to Berlin, and more. The estimate is $10,000 to $15,000. 

Live online bidding is available via Invaluable. Also, you may make advance  arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction, please call Swann's bid department (212-254-4710, ext. 0) during business hours (Monday - Friday, 10 AM - 6 PM). For further information, please contact Wyatt Houston Day at 212-254-4710, extension 300, or via e-mail at whday@swanngalleries.com. 

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

 

Swann Galleries: African-American Fine Art Sale 2338

Swann Auction Galleries' upcoming African-American Sale, Shadows Uplifted: The Rise of African-American Fine Art, focuses on 19th century, Works Progress Administration (WPA), and Harlem Renaissance artists whose work helped to shape the landscape of American art. Shadows Uplifted: The Rise of African-American Fine Art, Sale 2338, will be held on February 13, 2014. It includes 82 lots of paintings, sculptures, drawings, fine prints, and photography by artists who emerged from the shadows of academic and genre painting, and defined a new visual culture during the Harlem Renaissance and WPA eras. These treasures capture many of the earliest, select, and scarce works from this time period.

According to Swann Galleries, "the auction's title is taken from Frances Harper's 1892 book , Iola Leroy or Shadows Uplifted, one of the first novels written by an African-American female author. The struggles faced by African-American visual artists at the turn of the century mirror those of the book's protagonist-- a young woman in antebellum South. 


Some highlights of Shadows Uplifted follow:

Lot 14
Henry  Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)
Study for Disciples Healing the Sick

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Study for Disciples Healing the Sick. Oil on thin plywood panel, circa 1930, 10½"x 13¾"
Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Study for Disciples Healing the Sick, a wonderfully modern and painterly oil, is an excellent example of Tanner's late studies for his Biblical scenes. As preliminary works, Tanner experimented in palette, medium and composition in these small scale paintings. This Study, Lot 14, was one of the studies made in preparation for the much larger painting, Disciples Healing the Sick, circa 1930, 36"x 48", in the collection of the Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries.

Study for Disciples Healing the Sick has an estimate of $60,000 - $90,000.


Lot 25
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890-1960)
Untitled (Head)

Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Untitled (Head). Stained and oiled wood, circa early 1930s, 12½"x 6½"x7"
Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Untitled (Head) is the first work by early modern sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, who studied at Rhode Island School of Design, to come to auction. This enigmatic and imposing untitled carved wood head dates from the early 1930s.

This androgynous head is most similar in its material, and simplified polished features to Prophet's polychrome wood Discontent, circa 1929. Instead of a skull cap, Discontent is cloaked in a cowl but shares the distinctive Roman nose and features of this untitled head. Lot 25 has an estimate of $35,000 - 50,000.

Additional sculpture highlights are Beulah Ecton Woodward's African Head, Lot 58 (estimate $10,000 - $15,000); Augusta Savage's iconic Lift Every Voice and Sing, Lot 59 (estimate of $12,000 - $18,000); Sargent Claude Johnson's The Knot and the Noose, Lot 79 (estimate of $40,000 - $60,000); and William E. Artis' Michael (Head of a Boy), Lot 82 (estimate of $8,000 - $12,000).


Lot 28
James A. Porter (1905-1970)
Self-Portrait

James A. Porter, Self-Portrait.
Oil on linen canvas, circa 1935, 14"x 12" 
Image: Swann Auction Galleries

James A. Porter, artist, art historian, and head of the Howard University Art Department, shows himself here as a young artist at his easel. Porter was widely exhibited in the 1930s at such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, the Baltimore Museum, and the Harmon Foundation (New York). In 1943, Porter's seminal Modern Negro Art was published; it was one of the first comprehensive academic studies of African-American art.

This work, Self-Portrait, is the cover image for Sale 2338, and it is the first portrait in oil on canvas by Porter to come to auction. Its estimate is $12,000 - $18,000.


Lot 55
Hughie Lee-Smith (1915-1999)
Coal Breakers

Hughie Lee-Smith, Coal Breakers. Oil on canvas, 1938, 30¼" x 25¼" 
Illustrated: King-Hammond, Leslie. Hughie Lee-Smith, plate 5, page 17. Image: Swann Auction Galleries

Lot 55 is a scarce early painting by Hughie Lee-Smith from the late 1930s, and it is one of his earliest paintings to come to auction. Coal Breakers (1938) is Lee-Smith's first known social-realist oil painting, and an important early manifestation of his long interest in depicting figures in desolate landscapes. Coal Breakers is the top lot in Sale 2338 and has an estimate of $80,000 - $120,000.

Printmakers are represented in Sale 2338 by Dox Thrash, Claude Clark, Allan Freelon, Hayward L. Oubre, Albert Alexander Smith, and others, including a collection of approximately 200 linoleum cut blocks (Lot 47) by Allan Rohan Crite.

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. View online catalogue.

Live online bidding is available. Also, you may make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction, please call Swann's bid department (212-254-4710, ext. 0) during business hours (Monday - Friday, 10 AM - 6 PM). For further information, please contact Nigel Freeman, Director (African-American Fine Art Department) at 212-254-4710, extension 33, or via e-mail at nfreeman@swanngalleries.com.