David Hammons Garners International Recognition for African-American Art

David Hammons, Untitled, enamel on masonite, circa 1969. Estimate: $80,000 to $120,000.

Contemporary African-American artist David Hammons is known for his body prints and assemblages of found objects, such as his fly swatter. His oversize version of an African-American flag hangs outside the Studio Museum in Harlem. And an early, experimental abstract enamel on masonite painting of his appears in Swann’s October 7, 2010 African-American Fine Art auction. 

Hammons has also achieved recognition and success outside the U.S., and is a featured artist in Journey through the Black Atlantic at Centro Galego de Arte Contemporanea in Galicia, Spain. Despite classification as African-American artists, international museums have been incorporating these artists into recent shows, including Jacob Lawrence in Afro Modern: Journeys through the Black Atlantic this past winter at the Tate Liverpool.