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African American Art

Assemblage Artist Noah Purifoy at Auction for First Time

Swann Galleries is pleased to offer the first significant work by assemblage artist Noah Purifoy to come to auction …

Maps & Atlases

Taking a Closer Look: A Map of Kyoto as the Imperial Capital of Japan

The June 3, 2014 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books is marked by a number of uni…

American Art

Let It Snow: Guy C. Wiggins’s Views of New York City

With Memorial Day approaching, all of us here in New York are hoping for warm weather. But, among the most charming …

African American Art

Kara Walker: The Talk of the Town

Swann’s African-American Fine Art Department discusses art-world sensation Kara Walker. Kara Walker is one of …

American Art

Sense of Play: Will Barnet’s Nude with Cats

Among the highlights of our June 12, 2014 auction of American Art—and the image that graces the catalogue cover—is W…

Autographs

Marco Tomaschett: Snippets of History

Marco Tomaschett, Swann Galleries’ Autographs specialist, wrote this piece about clipped autographs, which app…

African American Art

Moneta Sleet, Jr. and Coretta Scott King

On this date in 1969, Moneta Sleet, Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for this image of a mourning …

Vintage Posters

Where He Crosses Over: Edward Gorey Posters & Postcards

“I didn’t know GOREY did that poster!” That was the excited reaction of a Swann employee as she sp…

Vintage Posters

Records & Results: Vintage Posters

The three top lots in Swann Galleries’ April 24, 2014 auction each set new auction records in a sale marked by…

Dreaming Youths: Oskar Kokoschka’s Transition to Expressionism

Among the highlights of our April 29, 2014 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints is Oskar Kokoschka’s Di…

Collectors on Collecting: Sam Speigel on Collecting Edward Gorey

On May 7, 2014 Swann will auction The Edward Gorey Collection of Samuel Speigel, and the catalogue for that sale ope…

Photographs & Photobooks

Records & Results: Vernacular Photographs

Last week Swann Galleries held an auction devoted to Vernacular Photography, which was the first sale of its kind. &…

Maps & Atlases

Battle of the Nile Sketch: The French Fleet on the Eve of Its Destruction

Swann Galleries’ June 3, 2014 auction of Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books offe…

Photographs & Photobooks

Avery Willard Model Visits Swann

New discoveries are often made during our auction previews. Sometimes a guest will identify a place depicted in a wo…

American Art

Artwork from the Collection of Artist James D. Smillie

In the 2014 Spring season, Swann is pleased to offer a selection of works from the collection of American painter/pr…

A Look Inside the Birdman of Alcatraz

Our April 2014 sale Printed & Manuscript Americana offers a rare and fascinating lot related to Robert Stroud, k…

American Art

A Fleeting Moment: Edward Hopper’s Evening Wind

Edward Hopper was born in Nyack, New York, just north of New York City. After briefly studying at the Correspondence…

Pablo Picasso’s Linoleum Cuts

Picasso produced more than 150 color linoleum cuts in the 1950s and 60s, but none stood out more for their bold…

Photographs & Photobooks

Gay New York

Among the highlights of our April 17, 2014 auction of Vernacular Photography is a small archive of photographs and e…

Photographs & Photobooks

Cyanotypes: Into the Blue

The cyanotype or blueprint process has a poetic quality that embodies a painterly aesthetic and is defined by partic…

Significant George Washington Carver Archive Coming to Auction

Among the highlights of our March 2014 auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana is an extraordinary arc…

Photographs & Photobooks

What is vernacular photography?

What is vernacular photography? According to our director of Photographs & Photobooks Daile Kaplan, it is photo…

Camille Pissarro: Prolific Impressionist Printmaker

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was among the most significant players in the Impressionist movement and co-wrote the m…

American Art

American Modernism: John Marin’s Brooklyn Bridge

Swann Galleries’ March 6, 2014 auction of 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings features a run of etch…

Photographs & Photobooks

They’re All Ears: Folsom Prison Mugshots

Before the system of identifying individuals by fingerprint was developed, the authorities relied on the distinct, i…

Photographs & Photobooks

The Photobook Library of Bill Diodato: An Eye on the American Scene

The vast American scene has long captivated photographers. Some took to the road while others focused on the urban s…

Photographs & Photobooks

The Photobook Library of Bill Diodato: Provocateurs & Innovators

As collector Bill Diodato knows, photography begins with the birth of the photobook. Long before the white wall or e…

Photographs & Photobooks

Bill Diodato on Collecting

On February 27, 2014, Swann will auction the Library of Bill Diodato, comprising an excellent assortment of photoboo…

Art Press & Illustrated Books

The Glory of Gorey: Swann to Offer the Sam Speigel Collection

On May 7, 2014, Swann will auction one of the top private collections of Edward Gorey books, illustrations and ephem…

African American Art

James Amos Porter, The Father of African-American Art History

Swann’s African-American Fine Art Department, writes about the catalogue cover image for the upcoming auction Shadow…

Illustration Art

Of Provenance & Peter Rabbit

Christine von der Linn, Swann’s Art & Illustrated Books expert, shares some insight into this week’s…

African American Art

California Artists Pauline Powell Burns and Beulah Woodard

Among the featured artists in Swann’s February 13, 2014 auction, Shadows Uplifted: The Rise of American-American Fin…

Illustration Art

Man-Cave-iana: The Birth of the Drool

Renewed interest in and appreciation of so-called genre illustration art has resulted in the growth of colorful and …

Illustration Art

Charles Schultz’ Peanuts in Illustration Sale

Few comic strips are more beloved than Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts, and few characters more enduring than Char…

Illustration Art

Judging a Book by Its Cover

Our January 23, 2014, 20th Century Illustration sale boasts an abundance of original book-cover art, many examples o…

Illustration Art

Seussian Advertisements: The Early Work of Theodor Seuss Geisel

Swann Galleries is pleased to offer original illustrations by Dr. Seuss–also known as Theodor Geisel–in …

Photographs & Photobooks

The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is a monumental architectural triumph of New York City, constructed on May 24, 1883, which suppo…

Vintage Posters

One of a Kind: Josef Hoffmann’s Wiener Werkstätte Poster

A unique item among the scarce posters in the recently restituted Julius Paul Collection that Swann is auctioning on…

19th & 20th Century Literature

Herman Melville: Neighbor

Thanks to John D. Larson, Swann’s 19th & 20th Century Literature Specialist, for contributing this post: I…

Contemporary Art

Sol LeWitt Before Minimalism

Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) was a pioneering figure in the establishment of Minimalism and Conceptualism during the postw…