Records & Results: Modern & Post-War Art — May 22, 2025

Global Artists Lead the Way in Modern & Post-War Art

The Thursday, May 22 sale of Modern & Post-War Art brought $477,418 with a 72% sell-through rate by lot, with top results for global artists. Of the auction department director, Harold Porcher, noted, “Our auction saw strong results with international artists. Works by Gwen John (UK), Jamini Roy (India), Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu (Nigeria), and Skunder Boghossian (Ethiopia), all sold over the high estimate, drawing attention from equally international bidders.”

Global Artists

The sale was led by Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu’s Man and Bird, oil on canvas, 1963, a striking abstraction that reflects Ugbodaga-Ngu’s practice of incorporating motifs and imagery from the art practices of Nigeria’s diverse cultural backgrounds. The work brought $60,000 against a $20,000 to $30,000 estimate. Also of note was Bernard Réquichot’s life-size oil-and-paper collage on panel, which brought $37,500; Vu Cao Dam’s terracotta bust, at $27,500; Jamini Roy’s Untitled (Christ), tempera on card, circa 1944, which saw back and forth bidding on the phones bringing the winning bid to $15,000 against a $5,000 to $7,500 estimate; and Gwen John’s A Vase of Mauve Colored Flowers, gouache on paper, at $13,750.

American Artists

American artists also saw strong results with Benny Andrews’ surrealist image Cradle, oil on canvas, 1967, and Saul Steinberg’s still-life image Window Upright Eiffel Tower Center, colored pencil on paper, 1979. Both works brought $23,750 apiece.

15% of buyers were new to Swann from global collectors, a testament to the breadth of the material.