2021: Year in Review As we close out another successful year at Swann we look back at our record-filled sales. The Artists of the WPA John Vachon, a select group of 38 vintage silver prints, circa 1937–42. Sold for $37,500, a record for the grouping. The house held a sale celebrating the contributions of the artists of the Works Progress Administration in February. The auction included paintings, prints, photographs, posters, books and related ephemera by artists whose careers were sustained by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal-era programs. Records & Results: The Artists of the WPA Preview Highlights from the 2022 Edition Visual Art at Swann African American Art, Contemporary Art, Modern & Post-War, and Prints & Drawings Fne art sales shined at Swann in 2021, delivering dozens of records for established artists, market newcomers, and underrepresented artists alike. For the African American Art department, 2021 was their best year yet — in April the department held (what they thought was) the second-highest-grossing sale in the department’s history, but the October sale proved to be even better: it was the all-time highest-grossing sale for the department, as well as the house, bringing over $5 million. Contemporary Art offered a selection of works from the Feminist Art from the Collection of Harriet Lyons in their June sale. The Modern & Post-War Art category at Swann, helmed by Harold Porcher, turned one this December, with three sales under our belt the department has established a solid footing in Swann’s regular roster of sales and is aiming to expand their Latinx Modernist offerings in the next year. And, prints and drawings, our busiest department with a minimum of six sales a year, continued to offer exceptional and rare works on paper from art historical stalwarts. Elizabeth Catlett, Head, carved limestone, 1943. Sold for $485,000, a record for Catlett. Records & Results: African American Art — Spring 2021 Records & Results: African American Art — Fall 2021 Left: Howardena Pindell, Untitled #57, acrylic, watercolor, punched graph papers, gold and computer tape, 1974–75. Sold for $137,000, a record for the artist.Right: Bisa Butler, Nandi and Natalie (Friends), quilted and appliquéd dyed cotton fabrics, 2007. Sold for $75,000, an auction debut for Butler. Records & Results: Contemporary Art – Summer 2021 Records & Results: Contemporary Art – Fall 2021 Left: Wolf Kahn, Against Near Hills, Evening, oil on canvas, 1991. Sold for $185,000.Right: David Hockney, Hotel Acatlán: Second Day, color lithograph diptych, 1984–85. Sold for $137,000, a record for the print. Records & Results: Modern & Post-War Art — Spring 2021 John Wesley, 7 Maidens, Duco and oil on canvas, 1963. Sold for $93,750. Records & Results: Old Master Through Modern Prints — Fall 2021 Left: Vincent van Gogh, Homme à la Pipe: Portrait du Docteur Gachet, etching, 1890. Sold for $161,000.Right: Francis Picabia, Sans Titre (Le Rêve), watercolor, pencil, charcoal, brush & ink, circa 1930–32. Sold for $221,000. The Virginia Zabriskie Collection Man Ray, Perpetual Motif, metronome with lenticular printed eye, conceived circa 1922–33, executed 1970-71. Sold for $161,000, a record for the work. In September the house offered The Virginia Zabriskie Collection—a combined effort from our prints and drawings and photographs departments. Zabriskie was a pioneering gallerist who was responsible for launching the careers of a number of artists, as well as bringing photography to the forefront of collectors’ minds at a time when the medium was still considered vanguard. The sale was a success, exceeding the pre-sale estimate. Records & Results: The Viriginia Zabriskie Collection Books & Manuscripts Fine Books & Autographs Frederick Douglass, Autograph Letter Signed, recruiting help for his paper after schism with Garrison, Rochester, 1851. Sold for $112,500, a record for an ALS by Douglass. Records & Results: Fine Books & Autographs — Winter 2021 Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, first edition, first issue in the original first-issue dust jacket, New York, 1926. Sold for $32,500. Left: Nikola Tesla, Three Autograph Letters Signed, written after the destruction of his Fifth Avenue lab, 1895 & 1897. Sold for $42,500.Right: Nikola Tesla, Two Autograph Letters Signed, 1894. Sold for $35,000. Art, Press & Illustrated Books Ed Ruscha, Stains, signed, number 16 of 70 copies, Hollywood, 1969. Sold for $112,500, a record for the work. In November we offered Contemporary Artists’ Books: The Property of a Texas Collector. The single-owner sale featured rare and original works by leading artists, many that had not been seen outside of institutional collections. The important sale of books brought more than $1.2 million. Records & Results: Contemporary Artists’ Books: The Property of a Texas Collector Early Printed Books Costumes et Plantes de L’Hindoustan, two manuscript volumes, volume one showing depictions of Hindu gods, volume two of daily life, India, pre-1842. Sold for $100,000. Maps & Atlases John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, hand-colored aquatint, from Audubon’s Birds of America, 1828. Sold for $137,000. Printed & Manuscript African Americana Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., early draft of the Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963. Sold for $185,000. Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript African Americana — Spring 2021 Printed & Manuscript Americana The Book of Mormon, first edition, Palmyra, 1830. Sold for $112,500. Records & Results: Printed & Manuscript Americana – Fall 2021 St. John Honeywood, Battles of Lexington and Concord, after the famous engravings by Doolittle, four ink and watercolor drawings, circa 1778. Sold for $100,000. Focus On Women This past summer we held our first auction devoted to the accomplishments of women. The sale featured early printed books, archives, vernacular and fine art photography, among other materials, all created by or relating to women who are pioneers in their respective fields. We are pleased to announce 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. Left: Juana Inés de la Cruz, Fama, y Obras Posthumas del Fenix de Mexico, Decima Musa, Poetisa Americana, first edition, third part of the poet’s works, Madrid, 1700. Sold for $81,250.Center: Lucienne Block, Frida Kahlo, 1933. Sold for $6,250.Right: Jane Russell, archive of letters written during a whaling voyage, from Hawaii and other ports, 1840s. Sold for $30,000. Records & Results: Focus On Women Consign to Focus on Women 2022 Illustration Art Edmund Dulac, The Snow Queen, illustration for the chapter Second Story: A Little Boy and a Little Girl from The Snow Queen published in Stories from Hans Andersen with illustrations by Edmund Dulac, watercolor, gouache, pen and ink, 1911. Sold for $125,000, a record for the artist. Illustration Art had a standout year, opening 2021 with the first sale of the year, and closing it out in December—each sale filled with auction debuts and record prices. The year began with the Dick McDonough Collection of Golf Illustration, which featured an incredible selection of original golf and sport-related illustrations. The department also brought new auction records for Edward Gorey and Edmund Dulac in their December sale. Records & Results: Illustration Art — Winter 2021 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Tom of Finland, Home – Secured, colored pencil, 1982. Sold for $87,500, a record for Tom of Finland. Records & Results: LGBTQ+ Art, History & Material Culture — Summer 2021 Photographs & Photobooks Left: Dawoud Bey, Markie, Brooklyn, NY, from the Street Portrait series, silver print, 1988. Sold for $10,000.Center: Dorothea Lange, Woman of the High Plains, Texas Panhandle, silver print, 1938, printed circa 1960. Sold for $45,000.Right: Martin Chambi, Peru, presentation album with 104 photographs, 22 by Chambi, 1947. Sold for $40,000. Records & Results: Fine Photographs — Spring 2021 Records & Results: Fine Photographs — Summer 2021 Vintage Posters H.A. Volodimer, Grand Prix D’Endurance de 24 Heures / Coupe Rudge – Whitworth, 1923. Sold for $15,000, a record for the image. 2021 highlights for the vintage posters department included a two-day sale event offering works from the Letterform Archive alongside Graphic Design in May; and the top-grossing Rare & Important Travel Posters sale for the house on November. Records & Results: Vintage Posters — Winter 2021 Records & Results: Rare & Important Travel Posters — Fall 2021 Left: Michael Rudolf Wening, Siam / Beautiful Bangkok / The Jewel City of Asia, circa 1920s. Sold for $16,250, a record for the poster.Center: Tadanori Yokoo, The City and Design / The Wonders of Life on Earth, 1966. Sold for $10,625, a record for the poster.Right: Earl Horter, Grand Central Terminal / The Gateway to A Continent, 1927. Sold for $7,500, a record for the poster. Consign with Swann. Share Facebook Twitter December 22, 2021Author: Kelsie JankowskiCategory: Swann Tags: African American Art Art Press and Illustrated Books artist books autographs Bisa Butler Book of Mormon Books & Manuscripts contemporary art David Hockney Dawoud Bey Dorothea Lange Dr. Martin Luther King Earl Horter Early Printed Books Ed Ruscha Edmund Dulac Ernest Hemingway Fine Books & Autographs Focus on Women Francis Picabia Frederick Douglass Frida Kahlo Graphic Design H.A. Volodimer Howardena Pindell illustration art Incunabula Jane Russell John James Audubon John Vachon John Wesley Juana Inés de la Cruz LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+ Art LGBTQ+ History Lucienne Bloch Manuscripts Maps & Atlasees Martin Chambi Master Drawings Michael Rudolf Wening MLK Modern & Post-War Art Nikola Tesla Old Master through Modern Prints Photographs & Photobooks Pride Printed & Manuscript African Americana Printed & Manuscript Americana Prints & Drawings Rare & Important Travel Posters Records & Results Tadanori Yokoo The Artists of the WPA The Virginia Zabriskie Collection travel posters Vincent van Gogh Vintage Posters wolf kahn Year in Review Previous Artists of the WPA & the Dawn of a New American Identity Next Fine Photographs: Celebrating 70 Years of Photographs at Swann Recommended Posts The Social Document: Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother’ Photographs & Photobooks April 1, 2020 Vintage Posters: August 3, 2023 Auction Highlights Vintage Posters June 27, 2023 The First Accounts of Captain Cook’s Fateful Voyage Books & Manuscripts October 16, 2017