African American Art

The spring offering of African American Art will include a selection of the iconic artists you have come to expect from the house from a significant group of modern, post-war and contemporary stalwarts.

Of note is Charles White’s 'Woman in Blue,' 1965-66, a scarce example of an oil-on-canvas by the artist. This large painting of a serene, shrouded woman was an important subject for the White throughout his career.

Also featured is a painting by Hughie Lee-Smith, an evocative 1953 composition of urban decay that epitomizes the artist’s career-defining body of work from Detroit. Lee-Smith rose to national prominence in 1953 when he was awarded the Founders Prize by the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Works on paper include Romare Bearden’s 'Jazz Men,' 1970, a vibrant collage that was the inspiration for his popular print, 'Alto Saxophone,' and a beautiful 1963 abstract watercolor by Beauford Delaney from his Paris period that comes from the family of its original French owner.

Two iconic and scarce prints by Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White, both printed at Taller de Gráfica Popular, Mexico City, will feature. The auction also will offer an early proof of Catlatt’s linocut 'Sharecropper,' 1952, and a numbered impression of White’s lithograph, 'Awaiting His Return,' 1936.

The sale will also feature a special selection of 26 artworks from the estate of J. Eugene Grigsby Jr.