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African American Art

Elizabeth Catlett’s Varied Mediums

An accomplished graphic artist and sculptor, Elizabeth Catlett was known for her poignant depictions of African-Amer…

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 ov…

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 El…

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 …

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 T…

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…

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 remember…

African American Art

The Art Collection of Maya Angelou – A Foreword to the Auction Catalogue

Swann Galleries is very proud to be offering for sale the art collection of one America’s great cultural heroes, Dr.…

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…

Walt Whitman Standing in Solidarity with the Secret Six

Walt Whitman was in Boston overseeing the publication of his third edition of Leaves of Grass when he attended …

Maps & Atlases

A Famous Cartographic Blunder: The Island of California

For more than a century the state of California was thought to be an island. How? Misinformation by way of maps. In …

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…

Photographs & Photobooks

The Hall-Harte Archive of Suffragist Photographs

We are delighted to offer a suffragist archive of rare and important photographs documenting “The Li…

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 Tr…

Swann FAQ: What Is an Edition?

Among the items that Swann auctions are books, fine art prints, photographs, posters and maps–all of which hav…

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 Cri…

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 …

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 …

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…

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 auct…

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 Soc…

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 16…

Photographs & Photobooks

O. Winston Link: A Turbulent Past

O. Winston Link’s photographs have infused Swann’s Photograph Department auctions with a consistent, quiet pow…

African American Art

Notes from the Catalogue: Dr. Amalia Amaki on Dr. Richard A. Long

Dr. Amalia Amaki, noted art historian and artist, wrote the catalogue introduction for The Richard A. Long Collectio…

African American Art

Must-See Fall Show: Norman Lewis & Lee Krasner at the Jewish Museum

Last week, From the Margins: Lee Krasner and Norman Lewis opened at the Jewish Museum. The exhibition combines the w…

What Is an After Print?

One of the most common questions we get asked at Swann is what it means when a lot is catalogued with the word ̶…

Illustration Art

75 years of Madeline

In honor of the 75th anniversary of everyone’s favorite French schoolgirl, our Art Books specialist Christine …

White Line: Blanche Lazzell and the Provincetown Printers

Swann Galleries’ upcoming September 23 auction featuring American Prints & Drawings includes Blanche Lazze…

Photographs & Photobooks

Nick Brandt, Activist-Photographer: “I Stick with Nature”

The delicate condition of the natural world is vividly brought to life by Nick Brandt, who organized the Big Life Fo…

Vintage Posters

WWI&II, Grand Prix and Tennis Images Led Swann’s Top August Posters Auction of All Time

Coming on the heels of tremendous media coverage (see: The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, Luxury Travel Magazine, Robb R…

African American Art

African-American Artists on Martha’s Vineyard

Martha’s Vineyard, an affluent summer colony located on an island south of Cape Cod, has long attracted African Amer…

African American Art

The Richard A. Long Collection of African-American Art Comes to Swann

On October 9, as part of our Fall African-American Fine Art auction, Swann will offer the collection of Richard A. L…

Vintage Posters

“The Great War” in Posters

Summer 2014 marks 100 years since the start of World War I, also known as The Great War. Sparked by the assassinatio…

Vintage Posters

Keep Calm and Poster On

The image is so iconic, it’s been co-opted countless times, but in Swann Galleries’ upcoming Vintage Pos…

Top Lots: Melville’s Whale, Signed Flannery O’Connor Firsts, Rex Stout Titles

Topping our June 19, 2014 auction of 19th & 20th Century Literature was a first American edition of Herman Melvi…

Celebrating Bloomsday 2014

To celebrate the life and literary oeuvre of James Joyce on the international holiday that is Bloomsday, we are look…

American Art

Top Lots: Winslow Homer, Preston Dickinson & James D. Smillie

The first of its kind at Swann to break $1 Million, the American Art auction on Thursday was our highest-grossing sa…

African American Art

Barkley L. Hendricks in Conversation with Nigel Freeman at Swann

Last week Swann Galleries had the pleasure of hosting an artist talk with Barkley L. Hendricks, whose “unique …

African American Art

Records & Results: African-American Fine Art

An auction focused on the politically charged and artistically fertile period of the 1960s and 70s, Swann Galleries&…

American Art

Naturalist Charles Burchfield

If you’ve got summer on your mind these days–and who doesn’t?–you may be drawn to some of th…