October 3, 2023Alice Le CampionPhotographs & Photobooks A Brief Introduction to Post-War Japanese Photography Read more about A Brief Introduction to Post-War Japanese Photography Post-war Japanese photography witnessed significant developments and innovations that reflected the changing social, cultural, and political landscape of Japan. The devastation caused by World War II had a profound influence…
Read more about Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — October 5, 2023 September 12, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Auction Highlights: Fine Photographs — October 5, 2023 Our October 5, 2023, Fine Photographs auction features a wide range of rare and important work including an unusually large-format example of Harry Shunk and Jànos Kender’s Le Salut de…
Read more about Specialist Picks: Fashion Photography from the April 27, 2023 Auction April 19, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Specialist Picks: Fashion Photography from the April 27, 2023 Auction Beyond Fashion: Photography in a Category Overlooked in the Fine Art Lexicon Though ostensibly fashion photography is simply intended to sell a product or a lifestyle, the category also offers…
Read more about Fine Photographs: Featuring 100 Works from the Stephen White Collection — April 27, 2023 Auction Highlights March 29, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: Featuring 100 Works from the Stephen White Collection — April 27, 2023 Auction Highlights We are excited to present A Singular History of Photography: 100 Works from the Stephen White Collection in our spring Fine Photographs auction. This dynamic sale tells the history of…
Read more about Records & Results: Fine Photographs Winter 2023 March 7, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: Fine Photographs Winter 2023 The February 2023 timed-app exclusive sale of Fine Photographs brought $996,156 with 220 of the 266 lots offered finding buyers, an 83% sell-through rate by lot. I am thrilled to…
Read more about Photographs from the Richard T. Rosenthal Collection February 22, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Photographs from the Richard T. Rosenthal Collection An eclectic collection driven by an eye for the interesting, unusual, and beautiful, as well as intellectual interests as wide-ranging as car racing, early cased imagery, crime, and botanical studies,…
Read more about Fine Photographs: February 23, 2023 Auction Highlights January 24, 2023 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: February 23, 2023 Auction Highlights The Photographs season begins with an exciting online auction featuring an array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century highlights. The sale is headlined by Irving Penn’s exceptionally bold and textural Blast, 1980;…
Read more about 2022: Year in Review January 3, 2023 19th & 20th Century Literature 2022: Year in Review 2022 was a historic year for Swann in more ways than one. The house celebrated its 80th year of auctions, bringing with it the 70th anniversary of the first photography…
Read more about Rare Vintage Print of Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother’ Brings $305k in October 2022 Auction of Fine Photographs October 24, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Rare Vintage Print of Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother’ Brings $305k in October 2022 Auction of Fine Photographs The Thursday, October 20 sale of Fine Photographs at Swann Galleries brought $1.2M with a strong showing for American photography and portfolios. Romana Javitz & Dorothea Lange The top lot…
Read more about Romana Javitz: Champion of FSA Photographers October 14, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Romana Javitz: Champion of FSA Photographers Romana Javitz was curator of The New York Public Library’s Picture Collection from 1928 to 1968, where she assembled one of the most historically important and artistically significant collections of twentieth-century photographs.
Read more about Fine Photographs: October 20, 2022 Auction Highlights September 27, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: October 20, 2022 Auction Highlights A range of exciting photographs includes a vintage 1936 example of Dorothea Lange’s iconic Migrant Mother from the personal collection of the legendary Romana Javitz, who developed the New York…
Read more about This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2022 Auctions in Review August 22, 2022 19th & 20th Century Literature This Season’s Successes: Winter-Spring 2022 Auctions in Review 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.
Read more about Beefcake Photography August 16, 2022 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Beefcake Photography Beefcake imagery was appropriated by the gay community for its own benefits to become a visual testimony of same-sex desire during the pre-Stonewall era.
Read more about JEB & Shelby Sharie Cohen on Photographing the Lesbian Community August 12, 2022 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History JEB & Shelby Sharie Cohen on Photographing the Lesbian Community the market established with the LGBTQ+ sales. Both photographers speak here in their own words, discussing their approach as well as the transformations they have witnessed as artists.
Read more about Photographers Who Galvanized Landscape Photography… April 5, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Photographers Who Galvanized Landscape Photography… …And some who are still experimenting and expanding the genre.
Read more about Fine Photographs: April 14, 2022 Auction Highlights March 14, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: April 14, 2022 Auction Highlights Edward S. Curtis — The North American Indian The April 14 auction will be headlined by the seminal Portfolio I from Edward S. Curtis’ The North American Indian, featuring many of his…
Read more about Records & Results: 70 Years of Photographs at Swann February 14, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results: 70 Years of Photographs at Swann On February 10, 2022, we held Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann, not only did the sale mark the 70th anniversary of photography auctions at the house…
Read more about Danny Lyon’s Civil Rights Photography February 7, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Danny Lyon’s Civil Rights Photography Related Reading: Do you have photographs by Danny Lyon we should take a look at? Learn about how to consign to an auction, and send us a note about your item.
Read more about Deborah Rogal’s Specialist Picks: 5 Photographs from the 70th Anniversary Sale February 7, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Deborah Rogal’s Specialist Picks: 5 Photographs from the 70th Anniversary Sale Armed with seven decades of photography history at her disposal, and nearly 20 years in the field, Swann photographs and photobooks director, Deborah Rogal, shares five of her favorite images…
Read more about Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann January 4, 2022 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann Over 70 years ago, Swann held the first auction dedicated to photography in the United States. This 1952 photography auction was astonishingly early for a sale devoted to a medium…
Read more about 2021: Year in Review December 22, 2021 Swann 2021: Year in Review As we close out another successful year at Swann we look back at our record-filled sales.
Read more about Artists of the WPA & the Dawn of a New American Identity December 20, 2021 The Artists of the WPA Artists of the WPA & the Dawn of a New American Identity The New Deal not only established a great legacy, but a greater generation of artists whose works defined the American spirit.
Read more about Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women November 5, 2021 Focus On Women Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women This past summer Swann held its first auction devoted to works by women. We are pleased to annouce another edition of this sale, to be held in June 2022, once again spearheaded by Devon Eastland, our Early Printed Books Specialist, but offering a wide assortment of material
Read more about Spotlight on Stephen Shore’s Color Photography October 11, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Spotlight on Stephen Shore’s Color Photography Stephen Shore’s extensive career has been defined by a quest to discover everyday America through its vernacular architecture and landscape. Ambitious, Shore rose to prominence at a young age. At…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Fine Photographs—At Auction October 21, 2021 September 27, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Upcoming Highlights: Fine Photographs—At Auction October 21, 2021 Our Fine Photographs auction features rare and important vintage works, including items from the Collection of Aron M. Mathieu, founder of Modern Photography magazine.
Read more about Virginia Zabriskie Collection Opens the Fall 2021 Season at Swann September 23, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Virginia Zabriskie Collection Opens the Fall 2021 Season at Swann We opened our fall 2021 season with the single-owner sale of The Virginia Zabriskie Collection on Tuesday, September 21. The success of the auction was the result of a multi-department…
Read more about Dada & Surrealism from the Virginia Zabriskie Collection September 8, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Dada & Surrealism from the Virginia Zabriskie Collection During her time as a gallerist, Virginia Zabriskie was keyed into the zeitgeist of the era. She embraced the Dada Manifesto and Surrealist ideals, presenting several exhibitions that explored these…
Read more about LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Auction Bests Itself for the Third Year in a Row August 23, 2021 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Auction Bests Itself for the Third Year in a Row Auction Brings $1.3M and Records Abound New Record for Tom of Finland, Shattering Top Price Set by Swann Last Year “Swann’s third annual auction of LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture &…
Read more about Highlights From The Virginia Zabriskie Collection August 20, 2021 American Art Highlights From The Virginia Zabriskie Collection We are honored to offer the collection of Virginia Zabriskie in a special single-owner auction that opens our 2021 fall season. Virginia Zabriskie’s personal collection was built during a pioneering career spanning more than five decades, marked by audacity and innovation in a field that was seldom encouraging to professional women.
Read more about First Sale Dedicated to the Accomplishments of Women at Swann Exceeds High Estimate July 20, 2021 Focus On Women First Sale Dedicated to the Accomplishments of Women at Swann Exceeds High Estimate Early Printed Book, Archives, Vernacular and Fine Art Photography, Among other Material, Draws Interest Among Collectors The house’s inaugural Focus on Women sale on Thursday, July 15, 2021 brought $333,893…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Focus on Women — At Auction July 15, 2021 June 28, 2021 Focus On Women Upcoming Highlights: Focus on Women — At Auction July 15, 2021 What You Need to Know on Auction Day This auction will be held live and conducted remotely. There will not be bidding in the room, though we accept order bids,…
Read more about May & June 2021 Fine Art Sales Roundup for Swann Galleries June 24, 2021 Swann May & June 2021 Fine Art Sales Roundup for Swann Galleries Modern & Post-War Art, Fine Photographs & Contemporary Art Auctions of Modern & Post-War Art, Fine Photographs and Contemporary Art at Swann Galleries in late May and early June 2021…
Read more about American Street Photography of the 1940s–50s May 14, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks American Street Photography of the 1940s–50s The roaming photographer, camera slung around her neck or gripped in a hand, walking city streets, sitting in a café, invisible, but watching, capturing, finding enduring, candid, illustrative moments, is…
Read more about Photographs & Photobooks: May 2021 Auction Highlights May 5, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Photographs & Photobooks: May 2021 Auction Highlights Exploring the thematic and visual diversity of the photographic medium, this auction covers twentieth-century masters as well as contemporary practitioners and items from the visual vernacular: albums, archives, and individual objects.
Read more about Self-Portrait Photography April 13, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Self-Portrait Photography A Little Self(ie) Love Whether you love them or hate them, selfies have become a large part of self-representation in contemporary culture. Though the term selfie tends to refer specifically…
Read more about Play Ball!: The Unlikely Tradition of Baseball Ephemera at Swann April 1, 2021 Swann Play Ball!: The Unlikely Tradition of Baseball Ephemera at Swann With the arrival of baseball’s Opening Day, spring is truly here. Swann does not handle baseball memorabilia in the traditional sense, leaving the encapsulated gem-mint rookie cards and game-worn jerseys to…
Read more about Dorothea Lange, Ed van der Elsken, Peter Hujar & More Shine in March 2021 Sale of Fine Photographs March 15, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Dorothea Lange, Ed van der Elsken, Peter Hujar & More Shine in March 2021 Sale of Fine Photographs Our March 11, 2021 sale of Fine Photographs saw strong results across the auction with humanist works and portraits drawing interest from collectors. “We were pleased to see strength across…
Read more about Artist Profile: Peter Hujar March 8, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Artist Profile: Peter Hujar Peter Hujar was a leading figure in the vibrant downtown New York art scene of the 1970s and 80s. He chronicled the unfolding of public LGBTQ+ life from the time…
Read more about 5 Portrait Photographers To Inspire Your Collection March 4, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks 5 Portrait Photographers To Inspire Your Collection Photography is a particularly compelling medium for making portraits. The possibility to render oneself or another in this representational medium is relentlessly appealing, and in any given sale, we see…
Read more about Dorothea Lange & Photography as a Tool for Social Change March 2, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Dorothea Lange & Photography as a Tool for Social Change Dorothea Lange‘s iconic photographs from her time documenting for the Farm Security Administration, as well as her international travels, resonate through the decades since. Here we provide insight to the…
Read more about Fine Photographs: March 2021 Auction Highlights February 18, 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Fine Photographs: March 2021 Auction Highlights Fine photographs by Diane Arbus, Julia Margaret Cameron, Robert Frank, Adam Fuss, Dorothea Lange, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Irving Penn, portfolios by Ansel Adams, Berenice Abbott, Eugène Atget, Paul Strand, and more.
Read more about The Artists of the WPA: The Promise of a New Deal January 20, 2021 The Artists of the WPA The Artists of the WPA: The Promise of a New Deal On February 4, 2021, Swann offered: The Artists of the WPA. The first iteration of the multi-departmental sale, featured paintings, prints, photographs, posters, books and related ephemera by artists whose…
Read more about 2020: Year in Review December 23, 2020 Swann 2020: Year in Review In a year that was unlike any in our lifetimes, Swann’s specialists and staff proved to be as resilient and innovative as ever, bringing forward new and safe ways to…
Read more about Top Prices for Portfolios in October 2020 Fine Photographs Auction October 27, 2020 Photographs & Photobooks Top Prices for Portfolios in October 2020 Fine Photographs Auction “Our market continues to be dynamic and varied. We saw strength in the FSA and other Depression-era photography as well as in other classical material. The bidding was also lively…
Read more about Touring the October 22 Sale of Fine Photographs October 21, 2020 Photographs & Photobooks Touring the October 22 Sale of Fine Photographs Our Photographs & Photobooks department takes us on a virtual tour through the October 22 sale of Fine Photographs. Deborah Rogal on The Estate of Evelyne Z. Daitz Related Reading:…
Read more about Collection Spotlight: Evelyne Daitz, Trailblazing Photography Gallerist October 9, 2020 Photographs & Photobooks Collection Spotlight: Evelyne Daitz, Trailblazing Photography Gallerist Evelyne Daitz helped to set the foundation for the market and pioneered the ways in which the medium is still considered and collected today. We are honored to be offering numerous works from Daitz’s estate.
Read more about Fall 2020 Preview: Fine Photographs September 9, 2020 Photographs & Photobooks Fall 2020 Preview: Fine Photographs Highlights for both the new collector and the seasoned auction aficionado include photographs by Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Alma Lavenson and Dorothea Lange.
Read more about Swann in Profile: Deborah Rogal July 10, 2020 Photographs & Photobooks Swann in Profile: Deborah Rogal After 15 years with Swann, Deborah Rogal is stepping into the role of Director of our Photographs & Photobooks department. As she transitions into her new position we asked a few questions about her time with the house: how things have changed over the years, the photography market, and what’s to come.
Read more about Records & Results: June 2020 Fine Art Sales July 7, 2020 Swann Records & Results: June 2020 Fine Art Sales A Full Month of Fine Art Sales at Swann Delivers Record Prices Swann offered four sales of Fine Art this June, each one proving audiences are undeterred by the remote…
Read more about A Toast to Daile Kaplan, Swann’s Doyenne Emerita June 26, 2020 Photographs & Photobooks A Toast to Daile Kaplan, Swann’s Doyenne Emerita At the end of this month Daile will be stepping away from her role as Vice President and head of Swann’s Photographs & Photobooks Department.