July 10, 2018Swann NewsVintage Posters The Hot Bid Interviews Nicho on Cassandre’s “Best Way” Read more about The Hot Bid Interviews Nicho on Cassandre’s “Best Way” Sheila Gibson Stoodley, author of The Hot Bid, interviewed our President & Principal Auctioneer Nicholas D. Lowry about the most expensive travel poster ever sold. Sheila’s blog, The Hot Bid showcases… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Swann Summer Reading List 2018 June 28, 2018 Swann Swann Summer Reading List 2018 Our Summer Reading List is back for 2018! Here’s what some of us are cracking into in the off-season. Nicholas D. Lowry, President & Principal Auctioneer Noah Charney… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Records & Results: Rare & Important Travel Posters October 30, 2017 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Rare & Important Travel Posters Our annual auctions of Rare & Important Travel Posters are destinations in and of themselves. On October 26, we offered more spectacular examples that embodied a century’s worth of technological development.… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Swann Summer Reading List 2017 July 13, 2017 Swann Swann Summer Reading List 2017 We spoke to specialists at Swann about their extracurricular activities. Unsurprisingly, their interests are generally aligned with their specialty! We asked them to talk about what they’re reading, and compiled… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Records & Results: Vintage Posters March 19, 2017 Vintage Posters Records & Results: Vintage Posters On Thursday, March 16, Swann Galleries offered Vintage Posters, featuring dynamic selections of graphic art from the end of the nineteenth century through the middle of the twentieth century. The… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Specialist Selections: Nicholas Lowry’s Favorite American Ski Posters January 25, 2016 Vintage Posters Specialist Selections: Nicholas Lowry’s Favorite American Ski Posters As a skier (in all fairness I was an avid skier in my youth and now fondly recall those carefree winter excursions, as I sit behind my desk with my… Share Facebook Twitter
May 28, 2015 Events Ladislav Sutnar’s Visual Design in Action–a Book, a Kickstarter and Talk by Nicholas D. Lowry Ladislav Sutnar, III Delnicka Olympiada [Third Workers Olympiad], poster, 1934. Inspiration-driven publisher Designers & Books is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund a facsimile edition of Visual Design in Action, the iconic… Share Facebook Twitter
December 2, 2014 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 Travel Posters from the Julius Paul Collection. Read on for his notes on the sale.… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Warm Weather Specialists: What Our Experts Are Up to in Summer 2014 August 19, 2014 Swann Warm Weather Specialists: What Our Experts Are Up to in Summer 2014 Our auction rooms may be dark until September, but that doesn’t mean our specialists aren’t busy these days. In addition to combing through consignments and cataloguing lots for our Fall… Share Facebook Twitter
August 8, 2014 Vintage Posters WWI&II, Grand Prix and Tennis Images Led Swann’s Top August Posters Auction of All Time Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau advertisement for JOB rolling papers was the top lot in our August 6 auction Coming on the heels of tremendous media coverage (see: The Telegraph,… Share Facebook Twitter
July 22, 2014 Vintage Posters Buffalo Bill Cody: Scout & Showman Swann Galleries’ August 6 auction of Vintage Posters features a trio of posters promoting Buffalo Bill, which date from 1888 to 1908. Lot 267: P. Frenzeny’s portrait of the Wild… Share Facebook Twitter
July 11, 2014 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 Posters auction we have the original: a 1939 Keep Calm and Carry On poster. When… Share Facebook Twitter
February 25, 2014 Vintage Posters Alphonse Mucha’s Decorative Panels The name Alphonse Mucha is synonymous with extravagant Art Nouveau depictions of beautiful women. And, while he is known for his posters advertising the talents of actresses such as Sarah… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about The Art of Self Promotion: Posters for Lithography February 21, 2014 Vintage Posters The Art of Self Promotion: Posters for Lithography In Belle Epoch France, posters were used to advertise everything from goods and services to exhibitions and magazines. The result was an all-out poster craze, with collectors putting aside images… Share Facebook Twitter
November 19, 2013 Vintage Posters Two Major Restituted Poster Collections Come to Auction Eve Kahn’s recent New York Times piece: “Posters Lost to Nazis are Recovered, and Up for Sale” explored the similarities and differences between two recently restituted major poster collections, the Hans Sachs… Share Facebook Twitter
Read more about Julius Paul’s Restituted Collection at Auction November 4, 2013 Vintage Posters Julius Paul’s Restituted Collection at Auction On December 18, Swann Galleries will offer works from the restituted Julius Paul Collection of Posters, an outstanding collection of scarce images in remarkable condition–the likes of which are rarely… Share Facebook Twitter
May 8, 2013 Events Swann Loves Madison Square Park Todd Weyman poses with Orly Genger’s art installation in Madison Square Park One of the great things about working at Swann Galleries is its proximity to Madison Square Park, a… Share Facebook Twitter
March 19, 2013 Vintage Posters Lowry Family Collection of Czech Posters at the Dutch Poster Museum this Spring On Sunday, March 24, the Affichemuseum, or Poster museum, in Hoorn will open its doors for a special exhibition of Czech Posters From the Collection of the Lowry Family of… Share Facebook Twitter
July 26, 2012 Vintage Posters American Posters Abound in Swann’s August 1 Sale The selection of Vintage Posters in Swann’s upcoming August 1st sale represents a wide range of images from the late 19th-century through the 1980’s. Perhaps most notable is the huge… Share Facebook Twitter
May 16, 2012 Vintage Posters Top Lots: Modernist Posters Last Thursday’s sale of Modernist Posters achieved several auction records, both for individual posters and for designers, and saw strong results across the board. The day’s top lot, a poster… Share Facebook Twitter
May 11, 2012 19th & 20th Century Literature Remembering Maurice Sendak This week we said goodbye to beloved illustrator and author Maurice Sendak. He holds a special place in the hearts of our Swann family as told through an anecdote relating… Share Facebook Twitter
May 8, 2012 Vintage Posters The Avengers (and more!) in a Marvel-ous Modernist Poster With The Avengers earning over $200 million in its first three days, it’s hard to imagine that there is anyone who hasn’t fallen in love with those classic heroes. In… Share Facebook Twitter
May 7, 2012 Vintage Posters Among Modernist Posters – Typography Masterpieces Thursday’s sale of Modernist Posters features several examples of modernist typography from major innovators of the form, including Max Bill, Walter Dexel and Jan Tschichold, all associates of the Bauhaus. Versions… Share Facebook Twitter
February 9, 2012 Vintage Posters Top Lots: Vintage Posters Last week, we kicked off the auction season with a sale of Vintage Posters, with very strong results – in fact, it was our highest-grossing February poster sale to date.… Share Facebook Twitter
January 13, 2012 Vintage Posters Is this the world’s first ski poster? Ernest Haskell’s Truth / Xmas, New York, 1896. Skiing for sport began in the mid-nineteenth century in Northern Europe, although the activity as a means of transport and hunting dates… Share Facebook Twitter
December 16, 2011 Vintage Posters Top Lots: The Complete Poster Works of Roger Broders The December 15th sale was the first time the complete work of a single poster artist has come to auction. The Complete Poster Works of Roger Broders offered 100 lots… Share Facebook Twitter
November 14, 2011 Vintage Posters Friday’s Top Lots: Rare & Important Travel Posters Friday’s Rare & Important Travel Posters sale was a tremendous success, and a host of new and returning collectors came out in unexpected force to bid on the scarce… Share Facebook Twitter
November 10, 2011 Vintage Posters Going to Chicago: Posters for the Windy City Among the many advertisements for tempting domestic and exotic locations in Friday’s Rare & Important Travel Posters auction, is a particularly fine selection of images promoting Chicago. Ervine Metzl, Chicago,… Share Facebook Twitter
August 5, 2011 Vintage Posters May Belfort Tops Vintage Posters Auction The top lot in yesterday’s Vintage Posters auction was May Belfort, a depiction of the Irish performer who amused Toulouse-Lautrec with her singing act that went, “I’ve got a little… Share Facebook Twitter
August 1, 2011 Vintage Posters WWII Poster Montage in Captain America Sharp-eyed vintage poster enthusiasts are marveling over the closing title sequence of this summer’s blockbuster movie Captain America, The First Avenger, which hit theaters on July 22nd. The movie’s closing… Share Facebook Twitter
July 20, 2011 Vintage Posters Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril When it comes to vintage poster design, one of the first images people conjure is that of Jane Avril, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s famous cancan dancer, her stockinged leg exposed from… Share Facebook Twitter
May 6, 2011 Vintage Posters Top Lots: Modernist Posters Jean Dupas’s Bal des Étudiants was the highest priced lot in yesterday’s Modernist Posters auction. The work, which sold for $36,000, is the essence of French Art Deco. Dupas is known for his… Share Facebook Twitter
April 26, 2011 Vintage Posters Chinese Hygiene & Health Posters In the U.S., we are familiar with Mather Work Incentive posters that used short and witty phrases to motivate workers and increase productivity; and Character-Culture-Citizenship Guides, issued for use in American classrooms to encourage… Share Facebook Twitter
April 18, 2011 Vintage Posters Calvin Klein’s Controversial Ads: Then and Now A March 2011 CK ad campaign featuring Lara Stone may or may not have used the F-word. Last month, Calvin Klein was in the news (again) thanks to a controversial… Share Facebook Twitter
December 7, 2010 Vintage Posters The Sutro Baths: 1.7 Million Gallons of Water on a Poster The Sutro Baths were the brainchild of former San Francisco Mayor and businessman Adolph Sutro. Built near his famous Cliff House, the baths occupied a stunning location overlooking the Pacific… Share Facebook Twitter
May 21, 2009 Swann Swann President Nicholas D. Lowry on the Recession Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann President and Current President of the International Auctioneers consortium, recently shared his thoughts on the impact of the economic downturn on the auction business. The Cycle… Share Facebook Twitter