Swann Galleries’ spring offering of African American Art on April 2 brought a solid $2.6M, with seven auction records being set. Of the sale, Nigel Freeman, department director, noted, “We were thrilled to see a very active audience of bidders engaged over this large auction. This auction had excitement across modern, post-war and contemporary artists with strong results and levels of participation.”
Richard Mayhew
Richard Mayhew, Scarlet Journey, oil on canvas, 2006. Sold for $249,000.
Richard Mayhew’s Scarlet Journey, oil on canvas, 2006, led the sale. Scarlet Journey is a high-toned composition and a stunning example of Mayhew’s later landscapes, pushing the limits of the genre to the edge of abstraction with colorful, atmospheric swaths of color. The work garnered back-and-forth bidding across several phones and online bidders, with the hammer dropping on the painting at $249,000.
Geoffrey Holder
Geoffrey Holder, The Family, oil on board, 1958. Sold for $35,560.
Geoffrey Holder’s Carmen, circa 1960, generated excitement, bringing $120,650 against a $15,000 to $25,000 estimate and setting a record for the artist (pictured above). Actress, choreographer, and dancer Carmen de Lavallade was married to Geoffrey Holder until his death in 2014. The portrait is emblematic of the couple’s personal and professional relationship. Also, by Holder was The Family, oil on board, 1958, which brought $35,560, the second highest price for Holder.
Auction Records
Willie Birch, The Future Home, Cross Road Baptist Church, gouache on paper in artist-made frame, 1986. Sold for $25,400, a record for the artist.
Additional auction records for artists included Willie Birch with The Future Home, Cross Road Baptist Church, gouache on paper in an artist-made frame, 1986, at $25,400, besting the record previously set by Swann in 2025; Richard Yarde’s Savory Series: Heel and Toe, watercolor on paper, 1995, at $19,050; Adebunmi Gbadebo’s 2023 mixed-media work-on-paper earned a reacord at $13,970; Melvin Clark’s Power Trio, oil on canvas, 1996, at $12,700; and Black Joe Jackson’s Dog and Waiting for the Bus, both enamel on board, circa 1980, at $12,700. Calvin B. Jones made his auction debut with I Always Dress Up When I Go Out To Dance, acrylic and collage on canvas, 1988, at $10,795.
Richard Yarde, Savoy Series: Heel and Toe, watercolor, 1995. Sold for $19,050, a record for the artist.
The Estate of Dr. J. Eugene Grigsby Jr.
Hale Woodruff, Desert Rocks, oil on board, circa 1949. Sold for $120,650. From the Estate of Dr. J. Eugene Grigsby Jr.
The selection of 24 works from the Estate of Dr. J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. garnered $170,942, with Hale Woodruff’s Desert Rocks, oil on board, circa 1949, leading the offering at $120,650. Also of note were prints by Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett and John Biggers.
Additional Highlights
Charles White, Woman in Blue (Woman with Folded Arms), oil on canvas, 1965-66. Sold for $114,300.
Additional highlights included Charles White’s Woman in Blue (Woman with Folded Arms), oil on canvas, 1956-66, which brought $114,300; Al Loving’s July 15, 1981 (Wild Goose Lake Series), acrylic on cotton canvas, 1981, at $88,900; Beauford Delaney’s Ibiza, watercolor on paper, 1965, at $69,850; Romare Bearden’s Jazz Men, collage of papers, acrylic and pencil on board, 1971, at $63,500; and Hughie Lee-Smith’s Untitled, oil on board, 1953, at $63,500.
Elizabeth Catlett, Olmec Bather (Olmec Bather #1), cast bronze with green patina, 1966. Sold for $88,900.
Sculpture, ceramics and mixed media works of note included Elizabeth Catlett’s Olmec Bather (Olmec Bather #1), cast bronze with green patina, 1966, sold for $88,900; Simone Leigh’s Untitled, glazed terra cotta stoneware cowrie shell, 2012, at $69,850; Glenn Ligon’s Skin TIght (Mihammad Ali Text), screenprint on canvas punching bag, 1995, at $48,260; and David Hammons’s African American Flag, printed fabric on a painted wooden pole, 2003, at $38,100.
Simone Leigh, Untitled (Cowrie), glazed terra cotta stoneware, 2012. Sold for $69,850.
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