November 24, 2020Swann CommunicationsMaps & Atlases Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books: December 2020 Highlights Read more about Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books: December 2020 Highlights At Auction December 17, 2020 Previewing by Appointment Only Through Wednesday, December 16 Maps Atlases & Books with Maps Color Plate Books & Illustrations Prints, Drawings & Ephemera What You…
Read more about Modern & Post-War Art: December 2020 Highlights November 9, 2020 Modern & Post-War Art Modern & Post-War Art: December 2020 Highlights At Auction December 3, 2020 This auction features high-quality examples by sought-after artists Sargent Johnson, Hughie Lee-Smith, Sam Middleton, John Little, Allan Kaprow, and Adolph Gottlieb. Works by Esteban Vicente,…
Read more about African American Art: December 2020 Highlights November 5, 2020 African-American Art African American Art: December 2020 Highlights At Auction December 10, 2020 Previewing by Appointment Only Through Wednesday, December 9 This sale will include significant works by innovative artists, including a fine example of Gamin, an iconic…
Read more about Contemporary Art: November 2020 Highlights October 29, 2020 Contemporary Art Contemporary Art: November 2020 Highlights Featuring works by Louise Nevelson from the collection of Albert Argentieri, a friend of the artist, as well as works from the collection of Stephen Poleskie, founder of Chiron Press, New York. Other artists featured include Dorothea Rockburne, Alex Katz and Roy Lichtenstein.
Read more about Fine Books & Manuscripts: November 2020 Highlights October 26, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Manuscripts: November 2020 Highlights Featuring Major Works by Jane Austen & Charles Dickens, Autographs & Manuscript Items from John Hancock, Igor Stravinsky & more
Read more about Old Master Through Modern Prints: November 2020 Highlights October 19, 2020 Old Master Through Modern Prints Old Master Through Modern Prints: November 2020 Highlights At Auction November 12, 2020 The fall fine prints sale will include masters of printmaking from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. Highlights include woodcuts, etchings and engravings by Albrecht…
Read more about Early Printed Books: Fall 2020 Auction Highlights October 7, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Early Printed Books: Fall 2020 Auction Highlights Early Printed Books, at auction October 27, 2020, featuring sought-after early imprints, incunabula, North American early exploration texts, medical books and more.
Read more about Artists of the WPA: Consign Now for February 2021 October 6, 2020 Swann Artists of the WPA: Consign Now for February 2021 Seeking Paintings, Prints, Photographs, Posters, Books & Related Ephemera Submit Material by December 7 A curated auction presenting WPA-era artwork, photographs, and related material. The New Deal and its related…
Read more about Happening October 5: Reading and Q&A With ‘Dark Archives’ Author Megan Rosenbloom September 24, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Happening October 5: Reading and Q&A With ‘Dark Archives’ Author Megan Rosenbloom Join Us October 5, 2020 at 7PM ET for a fascinating, terrifying look at the rarest books―bound in human skin―and the stories of their creation.
Read more about Fall 2020 Edition of “The Trumpet” September 23, 2020 Swann Fall 2020 Edition of “The Trumpet” Against all apparent odds, the last six turbulent months have shown promising developments within the auction world. Sales are robust and interest is brisk Swann President & Principal Auctioneer Nicholas…
Read more about Old Master Through Modern Prints: November 2020 Highlights September 17, 2020 Old Master Through Modern Prints Old Master Through Modern Prints: November 2020 Highlights At Auction November 12, 2020 The fall fine prints sale will include masters of printmaking from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. Highlights include woodcuts, etchings and engravings by Albrecht…
Read more about Fall 2020 Preview: Rare & Important Travel Posters September 8, 2020 Vintage Posters Fall 2020 Preview: Rare & Important Travel Posters In an era in which armchair traveling has become the new normal, it has never been more engaging to stay at home and travel the world virtually through the glorious designs of historical travel posters.
Read more about Looking Ahead to Fall 2020 September 4, 2020 Swann Looking Ahead to Fall 2020 Since the middle of March it has been hard to look ahead. Outside of the universal mantra of “I can’t wait for everything to return to normal,” far too little thought has been given to what’s next. Now, at the summer’s end, it’s time to take a deep breath, and with guarded optimism dare to look ahead at what lies in store for us this fall. Or whatever season it is.
Read more about Graphic Design: Featuring Modernist Posters from the Vienna Secession to 1990s Political Images May 25, 2020 Vintage Posters Graphic Design: Featuring Modernist Posters from the Vienna Secession to 1990s Political Images This year’s Graphic Design auction presents exciting posters and materials ranging from the Vienna Secession to political posters of the 1990s. At the heart of the auction are posters from two exceptional private estates: stunning European Avant-garde design from the estate of Alexander Kaplen, and unparalleled Art Deco works from the estate of Jeffrey Aminoff and Kathleen Faccini, a collection that was assembled in the 1980s and 90s.
Read more about LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History May 15, 2020 Pride LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History At Auction August 13, 2020 A Portion of Proceeds to Benefit NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project 19th & 20th Century Trailblazers Our second annual auction dedicated to the art, material…
Read more about Fine Photographs: Highlights by Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe & Michael Halsband April 29, 2020 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: Highlights by Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe & Michael Halsband At Auction June 11, 2020 Masterworks of 20th-Century Photography Michael Halsband’s iconic 1985 silver print, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, presents the two painters in boxing attire. Robert Mapplethorpe’s oversize…
Read more about Old Master Through Modern Prints April 23, 2020 Prints & Drawings Old Master Through Modern Prints With the largest selection of old master prints to be found at auction stateside, this sale offers an array of fine works, notably special section dedicated to fine old master prints and drawings from the Collection of Matthew Rutenberg. Nineteenth-century works include Mary Cassatt and James Whistler, and Modernists are represented by Erich Heckel, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Jacques Villon.
Read more about Meisterstiche: Albrecht Dürer’s Master Engravings April 14, 2020 Old Master Through Modern Prints Meisterstiche: Albrecht Dürer’s Master Engravings Albrecht Dürer’s Melencolia I, St. Jerome in His Study and Knight, Death and the Devil, all from 1513-14 and related in size, style and technical complexity, have been considered his master engravings (or Meisterstiche) since their…
Read more about Fall 2019: Classic & Contemporary Photographs August 29, 2019 Photographs & Photobooks Fall 2019: Classic & Contemporary Photographs Featured photographers include: Walead Beshty, John Divola, Seydou Keïta, Richard Misrach, Vik Muniz, Andres Serrano and Joel Sternfeld. A headliner among the rare photobook offerings is a 1950s–1972 Edward Ruscha archive featuring a signed first edition of his Twentysix Gasoline Stations—as well as other signed artist’s books, a signed lithograph Have a Soup Souper Season, ephemeral material, and a Polaroid.
Read more about Swann Summer Reading List 2019 July 1, 2019 Swann Swann Summer Reading List 2019 As an auction house that has specialized in rare and antiquarian books for nearly 80 years, it is unsurprising that our team loves reading. What better circumstance to do so…
Read more about Specialists in the Field: Rockaway! 2018 July 18, 2018 Contemporary Art Specialists in the Field: Rockaway! 2018 Wren Krisztin at Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama Communications Digital Content Coordinator Wren Krisztin shares their most recent venture to Rockaway! 2018. Rockaway! is an ongoing public arts project…
Read more about Identifying Types of Photographic Prints August 11, 2017 Photographs & Photobooks Identifying Types of Photographic Prints Our Photographs & Photobooks department has put together a cheat sheet for identifying some of the more common types of photographs we handle. A cyanotype print is made by…
Read more about Swann Summer Reading List 2017 July 13, 2017 Swann Swann Summer Reading List 2017 We spoke to specialists at Swann about their extracurricular activities. Unsurprisingly, their interests are generally aligned with their specialty! We asked them to talk about what they’re reading, and compiled…
Read more about Specialists in the Field: The New Museum June 30, 2017 Contemporary Art Specialists in the Field: The New Museum Specialists at Swann keep up with the cultural heartbeat by frequenting museum exhibitions. Over the summer, we’ll be sharing some of their experiences, beginning with Diana Flatto and Jessica Feldman…
Read more about Postwar Innovations in Printmaking May 5, 2017 Contemporary Art Postwar Innovations in Printmaking These examples come from our May 11 auction of Contemporary Art. From the initial proliferation of engraving in the fifteenth century to the explosion of lithography in the late 1800s,…
Read more about Danny Lyon & New Photojournalism April 7, 2017 Photographs & Photobooks Danny Lyon & New Photojournalism The Photographs & Photobooks department contributed to this post on Danny Lyon’s eponymous portfolio in our April 20 auction of Images & Objects: Photographs & Photobooks. The New Journalism movement…
Read more about Politics & Satire: The Etchings of James Gillray May 25, 2016 Maps & Atlases Politics & Satire: The Etchings of James Gillray With the presidential primary election in full swing, we’re all up to our eyeballs in satirical columns and cartoons. In the spirit of the season, we thought we’d look at…
Read more about A Rare Manuscript Map from the Dutch East India Company: Java May 21, 2016 Maps & Atlases A Rare Manuscript Map from the Dutch East India Company: Java With an almost two hundred year history, the Dutch East India Company (known in Dutch as Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC), was the dominate force in European trade and navigation of Asia…
Read more about Grimm’s Fairytales Signed by Anne Frank Comes to Auction May 4, 2016 19th & 20th Century Literature Grimm’s Fairytales Signed by Anne Frank Comes to Auction Through her poignant writing and tragic story, Anne Frank has become a source of inspiration for millions. Two of our upcoming auctions feature items related to Frank, including Anne and Margot’s…
Read more about The First Auction of Photographs in the United States February 24, 2016 Photographs & Photobooks The First Auction of Photographs in the United States February 14, 1952 Much has changed over the course of our 75-year history here at Swann Galleries, from new departments to the expansion our exhibition space. One small but…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Elizabeth Catlett’s Varied Mediums December 11, 2015 African-American Art Notes from the Catalogue: Elizabeth Catlett’s Varied Mediums An accomplished graphic artist and sculptor, Elizabeth Catlett was known for her poignant depictions of African-American life, Mexican life (after her relocation to Mexico following a grant from the Rosenwald…
Read more about The Foundation of a Capital: Early Maps of Washington D.C. December 5, 2015 Maps & Atlases The Foundation of a Capital: Early Maps of Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., with its neoclassical architecture and grand monuments, almost seems as if it arose organically over centuries on the shores of the Potomac. In reality, the Capital City was…
Read more about Remembering Eldzier Cortor December 2, 2015 African-American Art Remembering Eldzier Cortor Thanksgiving weekend was tinged with grief this year as the art world mourned the loss of painter and print-maker Eldzier Cortor. Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1916, his family moved…
Read more about Leather Bindings, Decorative Dust Jackets and Beyond November 20, 2015 Art Press & Illustrated Books Leather Bindings, Decorative Dust Jackets and Beyond While the old adage tells us that we certainly shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, it’s hard to ignore the artistry that goes into binding books and creating dust…
Read more about Rare Vintage Posters for the Titanic November 13, 2015 Vintage Posters Rare Vintage Posters for the Titanic A subject of fascination since its dramatic demise during its maiden voyage, the legacy of White Star Line’s Titanic has continued to ripple throughout the auction world for years. While…
Read more about Autographs: The Little “F” in Freud’s Signature October 15, 2015 Autographs Autographs: The Little “F” in Freud’s Signature Written by Autographs Specialist Marco Tomaschett: Autograph collectors all encounter it at one time or another: the perfectly illegible autograph. The impossible convulsive scrawl of Giacomo Puccini, or the idiosyncratic…
Read more about Egon Schiele: A Look at the Artist’s Evolving Self-Image September 22, 2015 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Egon Schiele: A Look at the Artist’s Evolving Self-Image Egon Schiele is celebrated among the Austrian Modern Masters Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, who are best remembered for their insightful portrayal of the human condition. Schiele’s style was informed…
Read more about Biography of Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) July 30, 2015 African-American Art Biography of Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) On September 15, 2015 Swann Galleries offered The Art Collection of Maya Angelou. Author, poet, actress and champion of civil rights, Dr. Maya Angelou was one of the most dynamic voices…
Read more about Vernacular Imagery, Photobooks & Fine Photographs December 18, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks Vernacular Imagery, Photobooks & Fine Photographs Swann’s second sale devoted to Vernacular Photography showed the strength of this growing segment of the photo market, with strong results for esoteric material. The top vernacular lot was…
Read more about The Hall-Harte Archive of Suffragist Photographs December 3, 2014 Photographs & Photobooks The Hall-Harte Archive of Suffragist Photographs We are delighted to offer a suffragist archive of rare and important photographs documenting “The Liberty Bell Tour, Votes for Women.” The march was organized by Louise Hall and her life-partner Ethel…
Read more about Nicholas Lowry on Travel Posters from the Julius Paul Collection December 2, 2014 Vintage Posters Nicholas Lowry on Travel Posters from the Julius Paul Collection Swann President and Posters specialist Nicholas D. Lowry writes beautifully about the December 17 auction of Travel Posters from the Julius Paul Collection. Read on for his notes on the sale.…
Read more about Swann FAQ: What Is an Edition? December 1, 2014 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings Swann FAQ: What Is an Edition? Among the items that Swann auctions are books, fine art prints, photographs, posters and maps–all of which have their own definition of the word “edition.” When it comes to prints,…
Read more about Thomas Paine’s American Crisis Makes the Albany News November 24, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana Thomas Paine’s American Crisis Makes the Albany News “These are the times which try men’s souls…” so begins Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis, arguably his second most famous work. Our 2014 annual fall Americana auction, Swann will offer…
Read more about The 14th State: Thomas Jefferson Signs Vermont Statehood Act November 20, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana The 14th State: Thomas Jefferson Signs Vermont Statehood Act Among the highlights of today’s auction of Autographs was one of 28 copies of the act making Vermont the 14th state in the Union signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of…
Read more about Fluxus: The Art of the Everyday November 12, 2014 Contemporary Art Fluxus: The Art of the Everyday Examples of Fluxus artwork appear in many of our auctions, and demand seems to be on the rise for works by the group, which was active from the early 1960s through…
Read more about Wearable Art: Basquiat Tags a Jacket November 4, 2014 Contemporary Art Wearable Art: Basquiat Tags a Jacket A highlight in our upcoming auction of Contemporary Art is a leather jacket tagged by various 1980s graffiti artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988). These artists frequented the popular four-floor after-hours…
Read more about In Memoriam: W. Michael Mathes, by Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D. November 3, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana In Memoriam: W. Michael Mathes, by Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D. On November 6, 2014 Swann auctioned The Latin Americana Library of Dr. W. Michael Mathes. The catalogue for the auction begins with a biography of the sale’s namesake, written by…
Read more about Notes from the Catalogue: Diego Rivera’s Printmaking Career October 25, 2014 Old Master Through Modern Prints Notes from the Catalogue: Diego Rivera’s Printmaking Career Diego Rivera (1886-1957), the painter who helped establish the Mexico Mural Movement and was a leading figure in Social Realism, was born in Guanajuato in North-Central Mexico. In 1897, Rivera…
Read more about American Books Printed Before the Bay Psalm Book? October 17, 2014 Printed & Manuscript Americana American Books Printed Before the Bay Psalm Book? The Bay Psalm Book is often described as the first book printed in America. Issued in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640, it was certainly the first book printed in the English…