Hughie Lee-Smith and Jacob Lawrence star at Swann’s African American Art sale April 4

Hughie Lee-Smith, Ball Player, estimated at $150,000-$250,000 at Swann.

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries‘ African American Art sale scheduled for Thursday, April 4 includes a standout selection of house favorites, including Hughie Lee-Smith and Jacob Lawrence, and features a special evening session to benefit the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. The catalog is now available for review and bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

The sale is led by a significant mid-career work by Hughie Lee-Smith (1915-1999),  Ball Player, a 1970 painting that epitomizes the artist’s evocative depictions of African American youth in desolate urban settings. Ball Player has been widely exhibited and was in the personal collection of the artist before being acquired by the current owners. It carries an estimate of $150,000-$250,000.

Kermit Oliver’s Hay Rolls, a 1983 acrylic on board estimated at $100,000-$150,000, is a key mid-career work by this important Texas artist.

The house is excited to bring to auction for the first time since 2008 a complete set of Jacob Lawrence’s masterwork in printmaking, The Legend of John Brown. With this 1977 portfolio, Lawrence translated his series of John Brown paintings into 22 stunning color screen prints. The portfolio comes to auction with an estimate of $100,000-$150,000.

Abstract art is represented by an example of the earliest such works by Norman Lewis with Tenement, an oil on board from 1947 that has an estimate of $120,000-$180,000.

Hughie Lee-Smith, Ball Player, estimated at $150,000-$250,000 at Swann.

Hughie Lee-Smith, Ball Player, estimated at $150,000-$250,000 at Swann.

Kermit Oliver, 'Hay Rolls,' estimated at $100,000-$150,000 at Swann.

Kermit Oliver, 'Hay Rolls,' estimated at $100,000-$150,000 at Swann.

Jacob Lawrence, 'The Legend of John Brown,' estimated at $100,000-$150,000 at Swann.

Jacob Lawrence, 'The Legend of John Brown,' estimated at $100,000-$150,000 at Swann.

Norman Lewis, 'Tenement,' estimated at $120,000-$180,000 at Swann.

Norman Lewis, 'Tenement,' estimated at $120,000-$180,000 at Swann.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Nigerian artist Jacob Lawrence and Mbari Club explored at Virginia exhibition

Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917–2000), ‘Market Scene,’ 1966. Gouache on paper. Chrysler Museum of Art, museum purchase 2018.22. © 2022 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917–2000), ‘Market Scene,’ 1966. Gouache on paper. Chrysler Museum of Art, museum purchase 2018.22. © 2022 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917–2000), ‘Market Scene,’ 1966. Gouache on paper. Chrysler Museum of Art, museum purchase 2018.22. © 2022 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

NORFOLK, Va. – Through January 8, 2023, the Chrysler Museum of Art is exhibiting Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club. It represents the debut museum presentation of Jacob Lawrence’s Nigeria series of paintings and drawings and also the first in-depth look at the international artists who were members of the renowned Mbari Artists and Writers Club, many of whom Lawrence met during an extended stay in Nigeria in 1964. These artists, including Lawrence, contributed to Black Orpheus, a radical arts and culture journal published in Nigeria between 1957 and 1975.

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Original print of U.S. Constitution at heart of Crystal Bridges show

 

John Dunlap and David Claypool, The Official First Edition of the Constitution, 1787, ink on paper, 16 1/8 by 10 1/8in. Private collection. Photography courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc.
John Dunlap and David Claypool, The Official First Edition of the Constitution, 1787, ink on paper, 16 1/8 by 10 1/8in. Private collection. Photography courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will open We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy, placing a rare, original print of the U.S. Constitution — there are just 11 known in the world — in conversation with works of art that provide diverse perspectives on the nation’s founding principles. Original prints of other founding and historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the proposed Bill of Rights and the Emancipation Proclamation will also be on view alongside works by influential historical and contemporary artists, including several works new to the Crystal Bridges collection by Shelley Niro, Roger Shimomura and Luis C. Garza. A new Mark Bradford work, in which he shall be, will debut in the exhibition. We the People: The Radical Notion of Democracy will be on view from July 2 to January 2, 2023.

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Chrysler Museum of Art receives $225K in grants for Jacob Lawrence show

Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917–2000), ‘Market Scene,’ 1966, Gouache on paper. Museum purchase, 2018.22 © Jacob Lawrence / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917–2000), ‘Market Scene,’ 1966, Gouache on paper. Museum purchase, 2018.22 © Jacob Lawrence / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Jacob Lawrence (American, 1917–2000), ‘Market Scene,’ 1966, gouache on paper. Museum purchase, 2018.22 © Jacob Lawrence / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Image provided by The Chrysler Museum of Art

NORFOLK, Va. – The Chrysler Museum of Art was awarded three grants totaling $225,000 from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Getty Foundation, and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. The funding will support the major exhibition Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence & the Mbari Club, co-curated by Kimberli Gant, Ph.D., the Chrysler Museum of Art’s McKinnon curator of modern & contemporary art, and Ndubuisi Ezeluomba, Ph.D., the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Francoise Billion Richardson curator of African art. The show will debut at the Chrysler Museum of Art in fall 2022 and then travel to the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Toledo Museum of Art in 2023.

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Picasso, Miro highlight Doyle New York Apr 20 Prints & Multiples sale

Joan Miro's ‘Barcelona VIII,’ estimated at $15,000-$20,000
Joan Miro's ‘Barcelona VIII,’ estimated at $15,000-$20,000
Joan Miro’s ‘Barcelona VIII,’ estimated at $15,000-$20,000

NEW YORK – More than 200 lots will tantalize bidders at Doyle New York‘s April 20 Prints & Multiples sale. The catalog includes artworks ranging from the 17th century to the 21st, and from works on paper to ceramics. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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MLK letter triumphs at Swann printed and manuscript sale

An early draft of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail sold for $185,000.
An early draft of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail sold for $185,000.
An early draft of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail sold for $185,000.

NEW YORK—Swann Galleries’s March 25 sale of Printed & Manuscript African Americana brought strong results that crossed all categories, with the sale totaling $1,075,786, and 88% of lots finding buyers. “This sale reflected an increased recognition of the importance of Black history, driven by the events of the last year. The material is getting into the hands of the passionate collectors and dedicated museums and archives who will help preserve this history for future generations,” noted Rick Stattler, the house’s vice president and specialist for the sale. Absentee and Internet live bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.

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