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September 4, 2019|Swann News|Illustration art

Artist Profile: Charles Addams

With a proclivity to the grim, grisly and gruesome, Charles Addams walked through life illuminating its incongruous funny bones and sore spots. Here we discuss his contributions to The New Yorker and his famous kooky family.

August 30, 2019 | African-American Fine Art

Artist Profile: Norman Lewis

Norman Lewis was an Abstract Expressionist painter associated with The Irascibles who developed as a painter as the New York Modern Art scene grew. Here we discuss Lewis’s rise from the margins to art market center.

July 8, 2019 | Photographs & Photobooks

Artist Profile: Margaret Bourke-White

From the daguerreian age of the 1840s, photography has been an equal-opportunity pastime. One artist who truly pushed the envelope was Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971), an ambitious photographer of many firsts.

May 10, 2019 | Contemporary Art

A Look at Roy Lichtenstein’s Early Works

Roy Lichtenstein is known for his commercial art-inspired works that provided parody through Pop Art and elevated the art of cartooning. Though all of his work maintains the semi-fantastical air…

August 7, 2018 | Vintage Posters

Records & Results: Vintage Posters

Poster Passion Leads to a Successful Auction Our August 1 Vintage Poster sale set at least six auction records, including a new high price for Sutro Baths. The exhibition for…

July 30, 2018 | Vintage Posters

Keep It Under Your Stetson

Wartime propaganda can serve a variety of purposes, from recruitment and morale-building to conservation. During World War II all of these played a role in the Office of War Information’s…

July 10, 2018 | Vintage Posters

The Hot Bid Interviews Nicho on Cassandre’s “Best Way”

Sheila Gibson Stoodley, author of The Hot Bid, interviewed our President & Principal Auctioneer Nicholas D. Lowry about the most expensive travel poster ever sold. Sheila’s blog, The Hot Bid showcases…

June 28, 2018 | Swann

Swann Summer Reading List 2018

Our Summer Reading List is back for 2018! Here’s what some of us are cracking into in the off-season. Nicholas D. Lowry, President & Principal Auctioneer Noah Charney…

June 25, 2018 | Swann

2017-18 Year in Review

The 2017-18 auction season at Swann Galleries was replete with record prices and rediscovered paintings, offering works created as early as the fifteenth century and as recently as last year.…

June 25, 2018 | Autographs

Records & Results: Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler IIII

On June 21, our auction of Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III saw a 91% sell-through rate for important autographs, letters and documents from some of…

June 18, 2018 | American Art

Records & Results: American Art

Our auction of American Art on June 14 offered original works by bastions of the category including William Glackens and John Singer Sargent, as well as artists whose work has…

June 12, 2018 | Maps & Atlases

Records & Results: Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books

Our auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books on June 7 brought to market landmarks from the history of cartography and ornithology. The nearly 400 lots…

June 11, 2018 | Autographs

William Wheeler III: The Quest for American History

William Wheeler III’s collection of Revolutionary and Presidential Americana, coming to auction June 21, began on his 21st birthday with the gift of his three-times-great-uncle’s appointment as an Ensign to…

June 8, 2018 | American Art

The Many Illustrious Circles of Pavel Tchelitchew

Multi-talented artists can appear in multiple departments at Swann. Our June 14 auction of American Art will feature highlights by Pavel Tchelitchew, whose work also appears in our auctions of Illustration…

June 7, 2018 | Illustration art

Records & Results: Illustration Art

Secrets & Set Designs: Illustration Art Breaks Records The June 5 sale of Illustration Art at Swann Galleries broke long-standing records and brought new artists to auction for the first…

June 4, 2018 | Swann

Pride Month: Some Artists I Love

This post is by Keavy Handley-Byrne of our Photographs & Photobooks department. To celebrate Pride Month, I wanted to share a couple of queer artists’ work in recognition of their…

June 1, 2018 | Maps & Atlases

The Original Beaver Map & Its Legacy

Tucked into the top left corner of an eighteenth-century map in our June 7 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books is a vignette that at…

May 25, 2018 | Illustration art

Interview with Rick Meyerowitz: “A Literate, Civilized & Mature Fellow”

Artist and illustrator Rick Meyerowitz was kind enough to talk to us in advance of our June 5 sale of Illustration Art, which will include highlights from his personal collection,…

May 24, 2018 | Contemporary Art

Records & Results: Contemporary Art

Abstract Attractions We offered nearly 400 works by some of the twentieth century’s greatest innovators in our May 22 auction of Contemporary Art. Abstract works ruled the day, with…

May 17, 2018 | Books

Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Literature

Science fiction ruled on May 15 at our auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature. Selections from the Estate of Stanley Simon, featuring 84 rare and first editions of cornerstones…

May 16, 2018 | Contemporary Art

Contemporary in 3D

Our May 22 auction of Contemporary Art features a selection of recent sculpture and multiples by some of the world’s most famous living artists. Here are a few of our favorites.…

May 11, 2018 | Prints & Drawings

Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints

With highlights spanning six centuries, our auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints on May 8 offered works by the greatest innovators in the field. The sale totaled more than…

May 10, 2018 | Books

The Sci-Fi Collection of Stanley Simon

Stanley Simon of New York City was a passionate life-long collector of sci-fi, thriller and fantasy first editions. His paramount collection of almost 100 first editions, nearly all of them signed,…

May 9, 2018 | Vintage Posters

Records & Results: Graphic Design

Our auction of Graphic Design on May 3 offered vintage posters that defined the styles of the twentieth century. In a highly-curated selection of just over 250 lots, the highlight…

May 8, 2018 | Contemporary Art

Specialist Selections from Contemporary Art

We asked the Contemporary Art department to pick their favorite work from their May 22 auction. For people who see dozens–if not hundreds–of works of art each day, it takes…

May 7, 2018 | Prints & Drawings

Ancient Then & Ancient Now: Piranesi’s Views of Rome

Giovanni Battista Piranesi spent eight years researching the ancient ruins of Rome before completing his magnum opus, Le Antichità Romane. A complete set of the 220 engravings in four volumes is a…

April 30, 2018 | Books

Records & Results: Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics

Our auction of Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics on April 26 featured highlights by artists of the twentieth century and scarce volumes from fine presses. Leading the sale…

April 25, 2018 | Vintage Posters

How Car Posters Drove Graphic Design

In the dawn of the motor car, most automobile purveyors relied on a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, touting ever-evolving technology and styles to drive car sales. A selection…

April 24, 2018 | Books

Have You Met Breuer? An Architectural Archive

An archive of illuminating material from the office of the great modernist architect and designer Marcel Breuer leads the architecture section of our April 26 auction of Fine Illustrated Books &…

April 23, 2018 | Photographs & Photobooks

Records & Results: The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks

Our April 19 auction The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks was led by the only known extant print of River Rouge Plant, Detroit (with Ford signage on freight car), 1947,…

April 16, 2018 | Printed & Manuscript Americana

Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana

Our auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana on April 12 was the department’s highest-grossing sale in four years, continuing an upward trajectory as each offering of Americana and African Americana…

April 13, 2018 | Photographs & Photobooks

A Walker Evans Print, The Only One of Its Kind

The cover lot of our April 19 auction, The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks is the only known extant print of Walker Evans’s graphic silver print, River Rouge Plant, Detroit, Michigan…

April 9, 2018 | African-American Fine Art

Records & Results: African-American Fine Art

We held our highest-grossing auction to date on April 5, totaling $4.5M—more than $1M over the high estimate of the sale. The 160 works that made up the highly curated…

April 6, 2018 | Printed & Manuscript Americana

Dream vs. Reality in the Civil War

Personal correspondence and manuscript material are always a highlight in our auctions of Printed & Manuscript Americana. On April 12, we’ll be offering a selection letters from Thomas Belknap, a clerk…

April 2, 2018 | Printed & Manuscript African Americana

Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana

Institutional purchases dominated the buying field at our auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana on March 29. The top lots of the auction were almost entirely manuscripts, archives, early…

March 30, 2018 | Prints & Drawings

#5WomenArtists: Lisa Crescenzo’s List

As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…

March 30, 2018 | African-American Fine Art

William Johnson’s Jitterbugs

Two extremely scarce prints from William H. Johnson’s Jitterbugs series will make their auction debut with African-American Fine Art on April 5. The series was conceived and executed during Johnson’s tenure in New York…

March 29, 2018 | Vintage Posters

#5WomenArtists – Lauren Goldberg’s List

As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…

March 28, 2018 | Books

#5WomenArtists: Christine von der Linn’s List

As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…

March 27, 2018 | African-American Fine Art

#5WomenArtists: Atina Sutton’s List

As part of Women’s History Month, we’re offering a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell us…

March 26, 2018 | Photographs & Photobooks

#5WomenArtists: Deborah Rogal’s List

We’re jumping into Women’s History Month to offer a week of #5WomenArtists, inspired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We asked some women of Swann to tell…

March 26, 2018 | Autographs

Records & Results: Autographs

Our auction of Autographs on March 22 offered a selection of letters, photographs and works by some of history’s greatest game-changers, with communications by founding fathers, letters from artists and…

March 23, 2018 | Printed & Manuscript African Americana

Huey Newton’s Portraits & The Founding of the Black Panthers

New findings in our March 29 auction of Printed & Manuscript African-Americana clarify information behind iconic portraits of Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton. Ensconced in a wicker…

March 19, 2018 | Autographs

Charles Dickens Reveals His Inspiration

A very formal letter by Charles Dickens to Lord Robert Grosvenor was a highlight of our March 22 auction of Autographs. The letter, dated July 9, 1838, was…

March 15, 2018 | Prints & Drawings

Records & Results: 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings

Our auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings on March 13 offered an especially grand selection of original works by some of the greatest artists of the last…

March 12, 2018 | Books

Records & Results: Early Printed Books

Our March 8 auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books coincided with the opening of Rare Book Week in New York City. With 94% of offered lots sold, the…

March 9, 2018 | Vintage Posters

Records & Results: Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection

Vintage Posters Featuring Highlights from the Gail Chisholm Collection offered premier examples of advertising and propaganda from around the world, and broke several auction records. Nicholas D. Lowry, President of…

March 8, 2018 | Prints & Drawings

Monet: The Master at 16

Before the term “Impressionism” and the overthrow of the established art world, Claude Monet was just a creative teenager. A rare example of Monet’s early experiments with en plein air…

February 28, 2018 | Photographs & Photobooks

Records & Results: Icons & Images: Photographs & Photobooks

We opened the 2018 season with a $1.6M auction of Icons & Images: Photographs & Photobooks on February 15. Important rare and unique work, both fine art and vernacular, brought…

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