Norman Lewis, ‘Untitled (Abstraction in Orange),’ $437,000.
NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ October 6 sale of African American Art delivered $3.7 million, with auction debuts and records for artists in the top 15 lots of the auction.
Norman Lewis, ‘Untitled (Abstraction in Orange),’ estimated at $400,000-$600,000
NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ Thursday, October 6 sale of African American Art offers a selection of the best in the genre as the house marks its 15th year of dedicated auctions to work by African American and Black artists. The fall 2022 sale will present a survey of American art history with art by Black artists ranging from late 19th-century artist Henry Ossawa Tanner through the current era with Chakaia Booker. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Mequitta Ahuja, ‘Bramble,’ est. $30,000-$40,000
NEW YORK — On Thursday, March 31, Swann Galleries will hold its next sale of African American Art. The spring offering will feature many scarce and significant Modern, Post-war and Contemporary artworks, including 28 lots from a distinguished private collection. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
This circa-1961 Hughie Lee-Smith painting, ‘Rooftops,’ achieved $55,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2019. Image courtesy of Treadway and LiveAuctioneers.
NEW YORK — Isolation and solitude are pervasive themes in the paintings of Hughie Lee-Smith (1915-1999), an African American artist who often painted figures with their backs to the viewer or set them against desolate backdrops with foreboding skies. Grappling with existential and surrealist themes, Lee-Smith explored his place in society and the art world at a time when only white male artists were accepted as full professionals, able to choose their subject matter as they pleased, while Black artists were pushed to document the Black experience.
Hale Woodruff, ‘Carnival,’ sold for $665,000, a record for an abstract work by Woodruff
NEW YORK — “We are beyond thrilled with the results of the October 7 auction, which was a historic sale for Swann Galleries: our first auction to hammer over $4 million. Great excitement about our sale offerings resulted in auction record prices for eleven artists, including Belkis Ayon, Elizabeth Catlett and Howardena Pindell, and significant prices for many others, including Edward Bannister, Richmond Barthé and Hale Woodruff,” noted Nigel Freeman, director of African American Art at Swann Galleries. The sale totaled more than $5 million, including buyer’s premium.
Loretta Pettway Bennett, ‘DNA,’ est. $11,000-$13,000
NEW YORK – On Thursday, September 30, starting at 6 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will conduct a sale of Quilts, Gee’s Bend & Textiles with Shelly Zegart, an acclaimed quilt curator, expert and author. The 163-lot sale features many works by African American textile artists, among them the quilters of Gee’s Bend, a hamlet in Alabama known for its exquisite textiles. Also co-curating the sale is Clifford Wallach, an expert in tramp art, folk art, and Americana. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Bisa Butler, ‘Nandi and Natalie (Friends),’ which sold for $75,000
NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ spring offering of African American Art on April 22 was the second-highest-grossing sale in the 13-year history of the department, with its highest number of participants to date. “I am thrilled to see the continued growth in our African American art auctions with a tremendous sale. Three hundred and ninety eight registered bidders — not counting those on other platforms — competed for eight hours to bid on 220 lots. We set 13 artist records and saw high prices all around for many artists,” noted department director, Nigel Freeman. Internet live bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.
Richmond Barthe’s 1937 bronze, ‘African Boy Dancing,’ estimated at $150,000-$200,000
New York—Swann Galleries’s spring sale of African American Art will take place on April 22. The sale will present quality works spanning mediums and movements within the canon. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.