Ladies first: Swann auction focuses on women authors, artists and leaders, June 1

Alice Baber, ‘Untitled,’ estimated at $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers
Alice Baber, ‘Untitled,’ estimated at $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers
Alice Baber, ‘Untitled,’ estimated at $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ Focus on Women auction is scheduled for Thursday, June 1. The sale pulls together an eclectic selection of material representing women’s contributions to art, life and society. From Louisa May Alcott to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Catherine the Great to Susan B. Anthony, and Jane Austen to Amelia Earhart, the works of many famous women are included, but the sale wouldn’t fulfill its brief without emphasizing the everyday lives of women and their unsung accomplishments and triumphs. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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In the picture: Swann presents Fine Photographs sale April 27

Willi Ruge, ‘Photo of Myself at the Moment of my Jump,’ estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Willi Ruge, ‘Photo of Myself at the Moment of my Jump,’ estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Willi Ruge, ‘Photo of Myself at the Moment of my Jump,’ estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries will present A Singular History of Photography: 100 Works from the Stephen White Collection in the spring Fine Photographs auction on Thursday, April 27. This dynamic offering tells the history of the medium through White’s distinct perspective; one honed through decades in the business collecting and selling, and as many years living with, studying and loving photographs. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Swann marks strongest Printed & Manuscript African Americana sale to date

First and only issue of the Harlem Renaissance-era literary magazine ‘Fire!!,’ $32,500
First and only issue of the Harlem Renaissance-era literary magazine ‘Fire!!,’ $32,500
First and only issue of the Harlem Renaissance-era literary magazine ‘Fire!!,’ $32,500

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ annual Printed & Manuscript African Americana auction on March 30 was, by a wide margin, the most successful in its 28-year history. The event set records, with $1,377,463 in total sales and an even 94% sell-through rate. Eight lots hit the $50,000 mark — after only 14 lots hit that mark in the previous 27 years combined. It was the third-largest sale in the long history of the house’s book department, behind only two noted single-owner sales, the Epstein sale of 1992 and the Ford sale of 2012.

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Joyful Ernie Barnes painting headlines Swann sale, April 6

Ernie Barnes, ‘Daddy,’ estimated at $250,000-$350,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Ernie Barnes, ‘Daddy,’ estimated at $250,000-$350,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Ernie Barnes, ‘Daddy,’ estimated at $250,000-$350,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

NEW YORK — Swann Auction Galleries‘ spring offering of African American Art will take place on Thursday, April 6, featuring a broad range of scarce and significant art from the Harlem Renaissance to the Post-War and Contemporary periods. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Swann sets focus on the African American experience with Mar. 30 auction

Archive of photographs, negatives and slides taken or developed by famed jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, estimated at $10,000-$15,000

Archive of photographs, negatives and slides taken or developed by famed jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, estimated at $10,000-$15,000

NEW YORK — The Thursday, March 30 auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana at Swann Galleries will feature 300 lots dedicated to the African American experience in North America. The sale includes material documenting the dark days of slavery and the Civil War through the modern era with ephemera related to the Civil Rights movement, artists, performances and concerts and Black-owned businesses. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Perfect timing: Man Ray metronome ticks confidently at Swann, Mar. 23

Man Ray, ‘Do Not Destroy (Object Indestructible, 1923-1975),’ estimated at $50,000-$80,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Man Ray, ‘Do Not Destroy (Object Indestructible, 1923-1975),’ estimated at $50,000-$80,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Man Ray, ‘Do Not Destroy (Object Indestructible, 1923-1975),’ estimated at $50,000-$80,000. Image courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ auction of 19th & 20th Century Art: Featuring Dada & Surrealism will take place Thursday, March 23. The sale will feature a selection of 150 lots devoted to modern artists who embraced the enduring movements alongside offerings by stalwarts of the two centuries such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, Sonia Delaunay and Pablo Picasso. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Virginia Woolf first edition in dust jacket may exceed $25K at Swann, March 2

First edition of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ in its unrestored dust jacket, estimated at $15,000-$20,000
First edition of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ in its unrestored dust jacket, estimated at $15,000-$20,000
First edition of Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ in its unrestored dust jacket, estimated at $15,000-$20,000

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries will hold a Fine Books & Autographs sale on Thursday, March 2. The auction will feature autographs from political figures, pop culture icons, artists and authors, and will include first editions of key 19th- and 20th-century literary works. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Centuries-old books bring visual pleasure at Swann, Oct. 13

Book of Hours with illuminated miniatures, circa 1480-1510, estimated at $20,000-$30,000
Book of Hours with illuminated miniatures, circa 1480-1510, estimated at $20,000-$30,000
Book of Hours with illuminated miniatures, estimated at $20,000-$30,000

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ Thursday, October 13 Early Printed Books sale will include works from the Early Modern and Enlightenment period, starting with the Manny Coleman collection, as well as publications on economics, science, medicine and travel and will feature part two of the collection of Ken Rapoport. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Norman Lewis abstract could achieve $600K at Swann, Oct. 6

Norman Lewis, ‘Untitled (Abstraction in Orange),’ estimated at $400,000-$600,000
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.

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Swann secures exceptional material for LGBTQ+ sale, Aug. 18

Oscar Wilde, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’ signed deluxe first edition rebound in 2019 by Robert Wu, est. $25,000-$35,000
Oscar Wilde, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’ signed deluxe first edition rebound in 2019 by Robert Wu, est. $25,000-$35,000

Oscar Wilde, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’ signed deluxe first edition from 1891, rebound in modern red full Morocco leather in 2019 by Robert Wu, est. $25,000-$35,000

NEW YORK — Swann Galleries’ LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History sale will be held Thursday, August 18. In its fourth iteration and entering its fifth year, the sale continues to deliver exceptional works by LGBTQ+ artists, creatives and activists. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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