This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2022 Auctions in Review Fall 2021 – Winter/Spring 2022: Swann Galleries’ Top Grossing Season in 80-Year History The winter-spring auction season at Swann is a masterclass in marathon training, and the 2022 iteration proved no different with 20 auctions held between late January and the middle of August. In February we celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the first auction dedicated to photographs, not only at Swann, but in the United States; the season saw the success of the second iterations of The Artists of the WPA and Focus on Women; private collections featured throughout the first half of the year including offerings from the collection of civil rights attorney Jack Greenberg in Printed & Manuscript African Americana in March, part one of rare books from bibliophile Kenneth Rappoport in our Early Printed Books auction in May, art from the collection of the late Francis v. O’Connor featured in our May sale of Contemporary Art, and a special sale dedicated to Edward Hopper and his contemporaries closed out June. Below we share highlights from this past season. Artists of the WPA Daniel Celentano, Pelham Bay, oil on canvas, circa 1935. Sold January 2022 for $55,000. Related Reading: The Artists of the WPA Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann Lisette Model, three photographs from the portfolio Twelve Photographs, silver prints, 1937-46, printed 1977. Sold February 2022 for $32,500. Related Reading: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann Fine Books & Autographs Robert Indiana, The Book of Love: A Portfolio of 12 Original Poems & 12 Original Prints, artist’s proof set, 1997. Sold February 2022 for $100,000. Sold June 2022. From left to right: Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, first edition, three volumes, London, 1847. Sold for $23,750; Martin Luther King Jr., typed letter signed writing about how the N-word is ‘rooted in racist caste ordering, 1966. Sold for $15,000. 19th & 20th Century Art Giacomo Balla, Il Disperato; Autoritratto, oil on canvas, 1898-1900. Sold March 2022 for $221,000. Printed & Manuscript African Americana Sold March 2022. From left to right: Benjamin Banneker’s Almanack and Ephemeris, the first almanac by Banneker, Baltimore, 1792. Sold for $75,000; Carte-de-visite of Charles Remond Douglass in uniform, the youngest son of Frederick Douglass, 1864. Sold for $47,500; Actress Juanita Moore’s copy of the script for A Raisin in the Sun, signed with manuscript notes throughout, 1959. Sold for $30,000. Related Reading: Selections from the Collection of Jack Greenberg African American Art Alma Thomas, Untitled (Atmospheric Effects Series), acrylic on paper, 1971. Sold March 2022 for $209,000. Early Printed Books From the Ken Rapoport Collection. Sold May 2022. From left to right: William Shakespeare, Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, second impression, London, 1632. Sold for $161,000; Miguel de Cervantes, El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, third authorized edition, first Valencia edition, 1605. Sold for $52,500. Contemporary Art Willem de Kooning, Quatre Lithographies, portfolio with four color lithographs, 1986. Sold May 2022 for $209,000 Graphic Design William Addison Dwiggins, The Architext & The Industrial Arts / 11th Exhibition of Contemporary American Design, 1928. Sold May 2022 for $62,500. Modern & Post-War Art Tilsa Tsuchiya, Untitled, oil on canvas, 1973. Sold May 2022 for $161,000. Focus on Women Louisa May Alcott, autograph letter signed in response to a fan letter praising Little Women, post-1868. Sold June 2022 for $23,750. Illustration Art Al Hirschfeld, Sweeny Todd, illustration for the 1979 original Broadway production, published in The New York Times, pen and ink, 1979. Sold June 2022 for $40,000. Related Reading: Al Hirschfeld Caricatures & Theater Portraits Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books Currier & Ives, The City of New York, large chromolithograph, 1876. Sold June 2022 for $15,000. Edward Hopper & His Contemporaries: Making A Modern American Art Sold June 2022. Clockwise: Charles Demuth, Tulips, watercolor and pencil, 1924. Sold for $137,000; Charles Demuth, Daylilies, watercolor and pencil, 1918. Sold for $68,750; Edward Hopper, Night Shadows, etching, 1921. Sold for $47,500. Related Reading: Making A Modern American Art Series LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Hugh Steers, Edge of the Tub, oil on paper, 1994. Sold August 2022 for $44,200. Related Reading: Artist Profile: Hugh Steers Do you have an item that we should take a look at for our upcoming season? Consign with Swann. Share Facebook Twitter August 22, 2022Author: Kelsie JankowskiCategory: 19th & 20th Century Literature Tags: 19th & 20th Century Art 19th & 20th Century Literature African American Art Al Hirschfeld Alma Thomas Artists of the WPA autographs Benjamin Banneker Charles Demuth Charlotte Brontë contemporary art Currier & Ives Daniel Celentano Early Printed Books Edward Hopper Fine Books & Autographs Focus on Women Frederick Douglass Giacomo Balla Graphic Design illustration art LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+ Art LGBTQ+ History Lisette Model Lorraine Hansberry Louisa May Alcott Maps & Atlases Martin Luther King Jr. Miguel de Cervantes Photographs & Photobooks Printed & Manuscript African Americana Prints & Drawings Robert Indiana Tilsa Tuschiya Vintage Posters Willem de Kooning William Addison Dwiggins William Shakespeare Previous Making A Modern American Art: 1920 – 1930 Next American Art: September 22, 2022 Auction Highlights Recommended Posts Artist Profile: Antonio Lopez Illustration Art August 12, 2020 Devon Eastland’s Specialist Picks: What to Watch in the October 12, 2023 Auction Early Printed Books October 11, 2023 Selections from Letterform Archive Vintage Posters April 21, 2021