Records & Results: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim – February 2025

Swann Galleries offered the single-owner collection of African American art, Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim, on Thursday, February 6. The auction was an overall success, with 98% of lots finding buyers bringing $1.2 million. “We are thrilled with the terrific results of Patricia’s collection. With many strong prices and only three unsold lots, this estate auction reflected both the great eye of Ms. Scipio-Brim and the continued strength of our African American Art market,” noted Nigel Freeman, Director of African American Art. “We also were very happy to see significant interest in several contemporary artists who are new to our auctions, especially Elizabeth Colomba, Terry Boddie and Tomashi Jackson.”

Auction Records & Debuts

Auction records included Terry Boddie with Stars & Stripes II, a 2002 mixed media work on paper at $18,750; Tyrone Geter with Where Are All the Girls?, a 2019 charcoal and graphite work on paper at $12,750; Idris Habib with K-man, a 2019 mixed media on printed floral cotton fabric at $8,125; and Gregory Coates with A Kiny Place (from The Kinky Series), a 2020 acrylic pigment and wax work on an assemblage of brushes at $5,250. Auction debuts included Elizabeth Colomba, Nahum Flores, Ves Harper, Tomashi Jackson, Ealy Mays, Algernon Miller and Christie Neptune.

Abstraction Highlights

The top lot in the sale was a 1990 abstraction-on-paper by Ed Clark, which brought $106,250. Additional top lots included a 1971 acrylic-on-paper by Alma Thomas from the Atmospheric Effect series at $100,000; a 1958 watercolor-and-gouache-on-paper work by Beauford Delaney at $57,500; and a run of three works by Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA.

Figurative Highlights

Left: Robert Neal, The Laborer, oil on board, circa 1975. Sold for $42,500.

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Figurative works included Kara Walker’s Untitled (Lincoln), gouache on paper, 1997, at $68,750; Robert Neal’s The Laborer, oil on board, circa, at $42,500; and Charles White’s Exodus II, color lithograph, 1966, at $30,000.