Swann Auction Galleries African-American Fine Art Department

wann launched a new department devoted to African-American Fine Art in February 2007. Today, we are the only major auction house to conduct regular sales of this material. At each African-American Fine Art auction benchmarks have been set for works by important and lesser-known artists.

Charles White's drawing Work, crayon and charcoal on board, 1953, sold for $306,000 on October 6, 2011.

Eastern Star by William T. Williams, acrylic on canvas, 1971, which was the first painting by the artist to come to auction, sold for $120,000 on February 16, 2012.

Kara Walker's portfolio, Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), with 15 screenprint & lithographs, 2005, sold February 16, 2012 for $120,000--a record for a print work by the artist.

Robert S. Duncanson's Untitled (Landscape), oil on canvas, late 1850s, sold for $120,000 on October 6, 2011.

Romare Bearden's Tidings, collage of various papers and mixed media, circa 1973, sold on February 17, 2011 for $96,000.

Contact the Specialists

Nigel Freeman, Director
212-254-4710 ext.33
nfreeman@swanngalleries.com

Hillary Brody
212-254-4710 ext. 29
hbrody@swanngalleries.com

	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART February 14, 2013 Elizabeth Catlett, Barkley Hendricks, Norman Lewis, William T. Williams, Charles White, and many other African-American artists are featured in this auction.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART October 18, 2012 Features works by important African-American artists including Eldzier Cortor, Robert Duncanson, Hughie Lee-Smith, Norman Lewis and Henry Ossawa Tanner.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART February 16, 2012 Features the first William T. Williams painting to appear at auction, a monumental 1971 acrylic on canvas titled Eastern Star.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART October 06, 2011 Features an exciting selection of approximately 160 lots of museum-quality paintings, sculptures and works on paper, including Hale Woodruff's Rape of Europa, oil on canvas, circa 1958.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART February 17, 2011 Featured Elizabeth Catlett's four-feet high cast bronze sculpture, Untitled (Standing African-American Woman), 1967, as well as a special section celebrating Romare Bearden's centennial. The sculpture sold for $108,000, a record for a Catlett sculpture in bronze.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART October 07, 2010 The sale included Robert Colescott's A Legend Dimly Told, featured in the 1983 Whitney Biennial, which sold for $132,000.
	OUT OF THE BLUE: MODERN ART & JAZZ June 24, 2010 76 works by significant artists inspired by blues, jazz and improvisation, including Romare Bearden's collage Back Porch Serenade, 1977.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART February 23, 2010 Approximately 160 works from notable collections and estates--many of which were museum quality. Highlights included Untitled (Body Print) by David Hammons, pigment, ink and colored pencils on paper, 1977, which sold for $114,000.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART October 08, 2009 Featured signature works by prominent African-American artists. Highlights included John Biggers’s Shotguns, acrylic and oil on canvas, 1987, which sold for $216,000, a record price for the artist at auction (detail shown).
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART February 17, 2009 Museum-quality paintings, sculpture and works on paper from private collections represented all major 20th-century artistic movements. Highlights included Charles White's drawing Move On Up a Little Higher, 1961 (detail shown), which sold for $228,000.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART October 07, 2008 Highlights included Norman Lewis, Untitled, oil on canvas, circa 1960-64, which sold for $312,000.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART February 19, 2008 Highlights included works by Aaron Douglas, among them Emperor Jones, gouache on illustration board, 1926, sold for $90,000 (shown).
	THE GOLDEN STATE MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART COLLECTION October 04, 2007 Featured Works by John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee-Smith, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Charles White, and more.
	AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART February 06, 2007 Our first auction devoted entirely to African-American Fine Art. Highlights included Jacob Lawrence's The Legend of John Brown, a portfolio with 22 color screenprints, 1977, which sold for a record $156,000 (detail shown).