June 7, 2022Jennifer De CandiaIllustration Art Collecting the Stage: Stephen Sondheim Read more about Collecting the Stage: Stephen Sondheim In our 80 years as a company, Swann has always been an auction house dedicated to niche markets with specialists who are experts in their respective fields, but often our…
Read more about Illustration Art: June 9, 2022 Auction Highlights May 17, 2022 Illustration Art Illustration Art: June 9, 2022 Auction Highlights The Spring Illustration sale features a rich selection of children’s picture book art from the late Emily and Sam Bush. Also included are theater set and costume design, advertising art,…
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 Artist Profile: Georges Lepape December 13, 2021 Illustration Art Artist Profile: Georges Lepape Georges Lepape: Patriotism & Sentimentality in World War I Era Women’s Magazines World War I invaded every aspect of public life, including illustrated magazines of the period. While some women’s…
Read more about Upcoming Highlights: Illustration Art—December 16, 2021 November 30, 2021 Illustration Art Upcoming Highlights: Illustration Art—December 16, 2021 Related Reading: Examining Edward Gorey’s Market Get Notifications for Auction Day
Read more about Artist Profile: Tom of Finland August 13, 2021 LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Artist Profile: Tom of Finland Tom of Finland, perhaps the most iconic creator of erotic gay art, understood his role as a liberator. His images of men unleashing their deepest fantasies have provided an outlet for…
Read more about Let’s Get Physical: Telltale Marks and Restoration Tips for Illustration Art Collectors June 21, 2021 Illustration Art Let’s Get Physical: Telltale Marks and Restoration Tips for Illustration Art Collectors Whether a seasoned collector or a newbie to the world of original illustrations, you may have several questions about why things look as they do, which of them to fix, and which…
Read more about Illustration Art: June 24, 2021 Auction Highlights June 2, 2021 Illustration Art Illustration Art: June 24, 2021 Auction Highlights Further Reading: Examining Edward Gorey’s Market Early Women Cartoonists of The New Yorker What You Need to Know on Auction Day This auction will be held live and conducted remotely.…
Read more about Examining Edward Gorey’s Market May 3, 2021 Illustration Art Examining Edward Gorey’s Market Edward Gorey is having a moment. Gorey has had many of these over the years—he was the quintessential multifaceted artist/illustrator/author who remains many things to many people: a master of…
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 Early Women Cartoonists of The New Yorker March 18, 2021 Illustration Art Early Women Cartoonists of The New Yorker The New Yorker debuted in 1925 amid the country’s post-World War I economic boom and on the heels of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to…
Read more about ‘Saturday Evening Post’ Covers Pop in Swann Winter 2021 Illustration Art Sale February 2, 2021 Illustration Art ‘Saturday Evening Post’ Covers Pop in Swann Winter 2021 Illustration Art Sale Swann Galleries opened the winter/spring 2021 season with a robust sale of Illustration Art. The auction saw record prices for several works, as well as auction debuts from artists. Original…
Read more about Illustrator Profile: Arthur Burdett Frost January 25, 2021 Illustration Art Illustrator Profile: Arthur Burdett Frost During the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, Authur Burdett Frost created thousands of illustrations for esteemed periodicals such as Harper’s Weekly, Scribner’s and Life, as well as hundreds of oils and watercolors. His drawings,…
Read more about An Interview with Dick McDonough — Collector & Connoisseur of Golf Illustrations January 12, 2021 Illustration Art An Interview with Dick McDonough — Collector & Connoisseur of Golf Illustrations Swann’s January 28, 2021 auction of Illustration Art features 63 works of art (Lots 217 to 280) that are golf-themed, including original illustrations and rare printed posters and graphics from…
Read more about Illustration Art: Winter 2021 Highlights January 4, 2021 Illustration Art Illustration Art: Winter 2021 Highlights This sale brightens up January with a collection of golf illustrations formed by the avid collector and esteemed author on the subject, Dick McDonough. Many of the famous illustrators represented here were fans of the sport, including James Montgomery Flagg, Arthur B. Frost, Lealand Gustavson, John Held, Jr., and Arthur Sarnoff.
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 Beloved Children’s Book Illustrators November 30, 2020 Illustration Art Beloved Children’s Book Illustrators Original artwork from children’s literature continue to make up a large portion of our Illustration Art sales. The enduring appeal of this collecting category is in part due to the…
Read more about Illustration Art: Collecting the Stage September 10, 2020 Illustration Art Illustration Art: Collecting the Stage “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is…
Read more about Artist Profile: Antonio Lopez August 12, 2020 Illustration Art Artist Profile: Antonio Lopez Antonio Lopez, the bold and blazingly talented fashion illustrator, designer, and stylist of the 1960s-80s was a true iconoclast. He broke racial and sexual barriers decades before it was considered…
Read more about N.C. Wyeth’s ‘The Black Arrow’ at Auction July 16 July 10, 2020 Illustration Art N.C. Wyeth’s ‘The Black Arrow’ at Auction July 16 Our July 16, 2020 sale of Illustration Art features an iconic work by N.C. Wyeth—one of the most popular illustrators of all time—with impeccable provenance. The Black Arrow, A Tale…
Read more about Al Hirschfeld Caricatures & Theater Portraits July 8, 2020 Illustration Art Al Hirschfeld Caricatures & Theater Portraits “The importance and legacy of Al Hirschfeld’s theater portraits lie in that Hirschfeld gave us nearly a century’s eyewitness record of a very elusive art form,” notes specialist, Christine von…
Read more about Pen, Pencil & a Bottle of Ink: Al Hirschfeld Seen Through Six Drawings July 6, 2020 Illustration Art Pen, Pencil & a Bottle of Ink: Al Hirschfeld Seen Through Six Drawings Swann Director of Illustration Art, Christine von der Linn, joined special guest David Leopold, author of the best-selling The Hirschfeld Century and the Creative Director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation,…
Read more about Illustration Art: Upcoming Highlights At Auction July 16, 2020 June 23, 2020 Illustration Art Illustration Art: Upcoming Highlights At Auction July 16, 2020 This wide-ranging sale is led by an iconic work by N.C. Wyeth, and followed by illustrations by Hilary Knight, Leslie Ragan, Howard Pyle, Edward Gorey, Erté, and others.
Read more about Swann in Profile: Laura Polucha April 23, 2020 Illustration Art Swann in Profile: Laura Polucha Laura Polucha joined our illustration art department as a cataloguer in the summer of 2019. Here she shares with us what brought her into the auction world, what she can’t…
Read more about Illustrator Profile: William Pène du Bois April 9, 2020 Illustration Art Illustrator Profile: William Pène du Bois William Pène du Bois’ whimsical illustrations and beloved cast of characters made serious themes accessible and engaging for children. The American author and illustrator is among a select few who…
Read more about Before O. Henry: William Sydney Porter’s First Professional Commission March 2, 2020 Printed & Manuscript Americana Before O. Henry: William Sydney Porter’s First Professional Commission William Sydney Porter, best known to posterity as the author O. Henry, was raised in North Carolina and moved west to Texas as a young man in 1882. After a stint on a sheep ranch, he settled in Austin, TX, where he worked various odd jobs while exploring his interest in writing and drawing. Our winter-spring 2020 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana on March 10 is set to offer O. Henry’s first professional commission. Here, Rick Stattler, the house’s Americana specialist, tells the story of the mining memoir that never came to be.
Read more about The Rise of Illustration Art in the Public Eye February 21, 2020 Illustration Art The Rise of Illustration Art in the Public Eye Swann Galleries’ Illustration Art Director Christine von der Linn weighs in on the burgeoning category: Illustration art has the ability to reach people in a way that many genres do…
Read more about 2010-19: The Decade in Review January 13, 2020 Swann 2010-19: The Decade in Review The 2010s brought Swann a number of notable moments including memorable sales, the establishment of two new departments, and the celebration of the 75th anniversary of our first sale. Here we take a look at some of favorite highlights from the last ten years.
Read more about Auction Record for Ilonka Karasz in Fall 2019 Illustration Art Sale December 12, 2019 Illustration Art Auction Record for Ilonka Karasz in Fall 2019 Illustration Art Sale Swann Galleries’ sale of Illustration Art on Tuesday, December 10 featured an array of original works, from well-known characters of children’s literature to striking New Yorker covers and theater designs. The auction was a success, with seven of the top 20 lots ultimately acquired by institutions.
Read more about Collecting the Works of Women Illustrators December 3, 2019 Illustration Art Collecting the Works of Women Illustrators Our fall 2019 sale of Illustration Art on December 10 features a superb selection of artwork by women, whose contribution to the field is only just beginning to receive the recognition it deserves. Here Laura Polucha, the cataloguer for our Illustration Art department, touches on the highlights from the offering including story illustrations, advertisements and cartoons.
Read more about The Hot Bid Interviews Christine von der Linn for our December 10 Sale of Illustration Art December 2, 2019 Illustration Art The Hot Bid Interviews Christine von der Linn for our December 10 Sale of Illustration Art Sheila Gibson Stoodley, author of The Hot Bid, spoke with our Illustration Art Directors, Christine von der Linn about a special 1973 Charles Addams cartoon published in The New Yorker at auction December 10 in our Illustration Art sale.
Read more about 2019 Spring Season in Review July 1, 2019 Swann 2019 Spring Season in Review A season of firsts. The 2019 spring auction season at Swann Galleries delivered an impressive range of sales, rife with auction premiers and record prices. We started our season off…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art June 12, 2019 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art Theater Portraits & Set Designs Lead Illustration Art Miriam Troop makes a stellar auction debut at $40k Our Illustration Art sale on June 4 saw a bustling auction room with…
Read more about Cataloguing History: Why We Hold Specialized Auctions June 10, 2019 Auctions 101 Cataloguing History: Why We Hold Specialized Auctions Auctions offer a moment where the sometimes-incalculable significance of an object is quantified. The price is reached through collaboration: specialists, consignors, the market, and finally, bidders convene in the room,…
Read more about Spring 2019: Illustration Art March 29, 2019 Illustration Art Spring 2019: Illustration Art At Auction June 4, 2019 Exhibition Opens May 30 – June 4 The exhibition is free to attend and open to the public. We welcome special and educational groups with…
Read more about 2018: Year in Review December 21, 2018 Swann 2018: Year in Review A year of records, debuts and rediscovered works. As we reflect on 2018, we look back at an excellent year of auctions. In April we held our highest-grossing African-American Fine Art…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art December 10, 2018 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art Illustration Art Sale at Swann Sets Six Records Al Hirschfeld’s Marx Brothers Tops Auction at $26k Our auction of Illustration Art on December 6 saw a bustling auction room…
Read more about 2017-18 Year in Review June 25, 2018 Swann 2017-18 Year in Review The 2017-18 auction season at Swann Galleries was replete with record prices and rediscovered paintings, offering works created as early as the fifteenth century and as recently as last year.…
Read more about The Many Illustrious Circles of Pavel Tchelitchew June 8, 2018 American Art The Many Illustrious Circles of Pavel Tchelitchew Multi-talented artists can appear in multiple departments at Swann. Our June 14 auction of American Art will feature highlights by Pavel Tchelitchew, whose work also appears in our auctions of Illustration…
Read more about Interview with Rick Meyerowitz: “A Literate, Civilized & Mature Fellow” May 25, 2018 Illustration Art Interview with Rick Meyerowitz: “A Literate, Civilized & Mature Fellow” Artist and illustrator Rick Meyerowitz was kind enough to talk to us in advance of our June 5 sale of Illustration Art, which will include highlights from his personal collection,…
Read more about A Look Inside the Catalogue: Illustration Art March 13, 2018 Illustration Art A Look Inside the Catalogue: Illustration Art At Auction June 5 A look inside the highly-anticipated catalogue for our upcoming Illustration Art auction. Complete Catalogue Comic Strips Comics that defined the twentieth century include Peanuts strips by…
Read more about Records & Results: Illustration Art December 19, 2017 Illustration Art Records & Results: Illustration Art The grand finale of our 2017 roster was a successful auction of Illustration Art on December 14. Highlights of the sale ranged from large-scale oil paintings to sentimental children’s characters…
Read more about Ingeborg Willy & the Making of Snow White December 7, 2017 Illustration Art Ingeborg Willy & the Making of Snow White A scrapbook, presumably kept by an inker at Walt Disney Studios, reveals much about the production of Snow White. The album is a highlight in our December 14 auction of Illustration…
Read more about Records & Results: Spring 2017 June 16, 2017 Swann Records & Results: Spring 2017 The spring 2017 season at Swann Galleries marked the 75th anniversary of our first auction. On March 27, 1942, Benjamin Swann held an auction dedicated to rare and antiquarian books.…
Read more about Aubrey Beardsley & Le Morte d’Arthur September 28, 2016 Illustration Art Aubrey Beardsley & Le Morte d’Arthur On September 29, 2016, five rare pen-and-ink illustrations for Aubrey Beardsley’s first published work, Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, 1893-94, are coming to auction. The two-year publishing project was…
Read more about 75 years of Madeline September 4, 2014 Illustration Art 75 years of Madeline In honor of the 75th anniversary of everyone’s favorite French schoolgirl, our Art Books specialist Christine von der Linn submitted this post. This Saturday, September 6, 2014, marks the 75th…
Read more about The Glory of Gorey: Swann to Offer the Sam Speigel Collection February 11, 2014 Illustration Art 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 ephemera as part of our Art, Press & Illustrated Books sale.…
Read more about Of Provenance & Peter Rabbit January 22, 2014 Illustration Art Of Provenance & Peter Rabbit Christine von der Linn, Swann’s Art & Illustrated Books expert, shares some insight into this week’s 20th Century Illustration auction: One of the challenges of putting together a sale of…
Read more about Man-Cave-iana: The Birth of the Drool January 14, 2014 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 not-so-colorful descriptives for this type of material: Pulp, Pin-Ups, Nudies and Calendar…
Read more about Charles Schultz’ Peanuts in Illustration Sale January 13, 2014 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 Charlie Brown and his irrepressible beagle Snoopy. Schulz, a dog lover, even coined…