Records & Results: The Pride Sale

Historic Pride Sale at Swann Brings Market Premiers and Auction Records

 

Black and white portrait photograph of David Wojnarowicz by Peter Hujar.
Lot 154: Peter Hujar, David Wojnarowicz: Manhattan-Night (III), silver print, 1985. Sold for $106,250, a record for the artist.

 

The Pride Sale on Thursday, June 20 offered a curated selection of LGBTQ+ art, photography, literature, autographs and ephemera from the past 200 years, with many first-time appearances on the market. The sale was a resounding success with 75% of the lots finding buyers, bringing a total of $950,833.

 

Peter Hujar & David Wojnarowicz

Topping the sale was Peter Hujar’s portrait of David Wojnarowicz. The 1985 silver print sold after aggressive bidding between two collectors on the phone for $106,250, a record for the artist.

Daile Kaplan:

“Hujar’s compelling portrait captures an intimate moment in 1985, a few years after the couple first met. Hujar, who was 20 years Wojnarowicz’s senior, was initially a mentor, introducing him to photography and darkroom practices; soon after they became lovers. The strong bond between the two is encapsulated in David poignant statement, ‘Everything I made, I made for Peter.’ It was deeply satisfying to bear witness and see these two giants of the LBGTQ+ and photographic communities generously recognized.”

 

Image reading DOMINO SUGAR, 5LB BAG, $1:59 with an image of a dog and two children laid over top by David Wojnarowicz.
Lot 157: David Wojnarowicz, True Myth / Domino Sugar, screenprint on supermarket poster, 1983. Sold for $13,000, a record for the print.

 

Additional works by Hujar included Come Out!, 1969, an iconic-image that was used for numerous Gay Liberation Front posters ($10,000). David Wojnarowicz also featured in the sale with True Myth / Domino Sugar, a 1983 screenprint on a supermarket poster, that earned $13,000, a record for the print, and Neon Dancer, a 1982 postcard to activist Jim Fouratt with a multimedia drawing by the artist, which brought $17,500.

 

Photography

 

Black and white photograph of a man peeing into another man's mouth by Roberth Mapplethorpe.
Lot 150: Robert Mapplethorpe, Jim and Tom in Sausalito, silver print, 1977, printed 1979. Sold for $25,000, a record for the photograph.

 

Further photographic material included an important selection of works by Robert Mapplethorpe: Jim and Tim in Sausalito, 1977, which brought a record for the silver print at $25,000. The artist’s complete 1981 Z Portfolio reached $47,500, and a selection of four works from the 1978 X Portfolio sold for $21,250. Duane MichalsNarcissus, 1985, earned a record for the sequence at $27,500.

 

Green tinted poster of a photograph of two women sleeping in bed with the words "Sisterhood Feels Good" along the bottom. By Donna Gottschalk.
Lot 127: Donna Gottschalk, Sisterhood Feels Good, offset lithograph poster, published by Times Change Press, 1971. Sold for $1,125.

  

There was a frenzy of bidding as works by Donna Gottschalk and Joan E. Biren (JEB) came across the block. High points of the run were Sisterhood Feels Good, a 1971 poster by Times Change Press which utilized Gottschalk’s Sleepers, Limerick, Pennsylvania photograph ($1,125), and JEB’s 1971, printed 1997, silver print Charlotte Bunch with members of the Furies in the living room of one of their collective houses ($3,000). Works by Don Herron, Annie Leibovitz and Jack Smith rounded out a standout offering.

  

Autographs

 

A letter written and signed by Harvey Milk on "Office of the Mayor of San Francisco" stationary.
Lot 144: Harvey Milk, autograph letter signed, as acting Mayor of San Francisco, March 7, 1978. Sold for $11,250, a record for an autograph by Milk.

 

Autograph material proved to be popular as well, with an autograph letter signed by Harvey Milk on March 7, 1978, as the acting Mayor of San Francisco, garnered a record for an autograph by the politician at $11,250. The note was written to Don Amador, a leading LA-based activist, and his husband Tony Karnes, and exlaims: “Thought you should have a memo from the 1st upfront gay mayor of any city–it’s for real!!!” An archive of personal effects of trans icon Candy Darling, which included letters, photographs, and her personal datebook and diary for 1970, was won for $19,500.

 

Books

 

Lot 24: Walt Whitman, Memoranda During the War, remembrance copy, inscribed by the author “with his love,” to Peter Doyle, 1875-76. Sold for $70,000, a record for the work.

  

Literary highlights featured a remembrance copy of Walt Whitman’s Memoranda During the War, 1875-76, inscribed by the author, “with his love,” to his partner Peter Doyle, which brought a record for the work at $70,000. Also of note was a marker and graphite study for Frog and Toad Together, 1972, by Arnold Lobel ($9,375).

  

Fine Art

  

A sketch of men in a locker room by Paul Cadmus.
Lot 66: Paul Cadmus, preliminary sketch for Horseplay, pen, ink & pencil, 1935. Sold for $47,500.

 

Fine art from the early-twentieth century included a pen, ink and pencil preliminary sketch for Horseplay, 1935, by Paul Cadmus ($47,000) and Gerda Wegener’s circa 1920 crayon, charcoal and wash drawing, Two Women in a Window, which featured her partner Lili Elbe ($20,000). Works from the latter half of the twentieth century included pieces by Andy Warhol, Michael Leonard and Henry Scott.

 

Nicholas D. Lowry:

“It is validating as a specialist to discover that you can still be pleasantly surprised at an auction. The catalogue was extremely well received, the exhibition was well attended and the auction itself was busy and the bidding was active. Works from every single one of our areas of specialty achieved prices that helped us to decide to turn this auction into a yearly event. The sale was a historic, artistic and cultural exploration for the whole company. We were proud to be able to do it and delighted it turned out so well.”

  

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