Strengthening the Market
Swann Auction Galleries’april 2 sale of African American art builds on past success
Swann Auction Galleries’ April 2 sale of African American art builds on past success
Twice yearly Swann Auction Galleries hosts its Africanamerican Fine Art sale with approximately 150 to 180 lots hitting the market.there is always a range of artwork available, from the late 19th century through modern masters, with the majority of the pieces being postwar and contemporary.“as far as this auction goes, we have some exciting pieces,” says Nigel Freeman, director of African American art at the auction house.“there’s a group of artists we’ve done well with that we continue to get more of their consignments so we’re building on their past successes.”
Just over a year ago, the auction house sold a Jacob Lawrence painting for a stellar price, and he continues to be one of their top artists. In this sale is the artist’s Cutting Lots #51, a 1942 painting expected to sell between $250,000 and $350,000.“It’s a very interesting subject and very scarce work by this modern African American artist,” Freeman says.“his works on paper from the 1940s and 1950s are some of the defining moments of African American art.”
Lawrence would often work in series, but this piece—depicting men cutting lots and done in his typical flat and solid colors—comes from a grouping he never quite finished.“in 1942 he decided to do a series of works on the history of African Americans in the countryside, the rural environment. He went tovirginia with his wife, and he started doing paintings there. He didn’t like being in the countryside or the South, so he stopped the series,” Freeman explains.“so there’s a few of these works, with only about half a dozen known and most are in museum collections.”
There are other important figurative works in the sale including John T. Biggers’ Women, Ghana (est. $120/180,000).“He had a UNESCO grant to travel and study in Africa in the late 1950s, and he did a series of drawings from that trip,” says Freeman. “When he came back he did paintings. These are really scarce, big oils on
Masonite board.we’ve been fortunate enough to have had some.the last major one we had was from Dr. Maya Angelou, when we sold art from her estate in the fall of 2015. So they don’t come up to auction very often…
It’s exciting to have another of these paintings.”
A contemporary piece in the sale is
a 1965 collage by David Hammons.the untitled work, which depicts two raised clenched fists with shackles, is a powerful image that comes from the collection of his 1964 Los Angeles City College roommate. According to Freeman, it is the earliest known work by the artist to arrive at auction, and it has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000.
Elizabeth Catlett, who was a printmaker and sculptor, is most recognized for her wooden sculptures of women, with Untitled (Standing Woman), 1975, being characteristic of her midcareer work.
The piece, estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, has the abstract qualities and stylization that she perfected in the wood she used.along with Catlett’s piece the sale has a strong selection of modern and contemporary sculptures including an early head by San Francisco modernist Sargent Johnson, a work by Harlem Renaissance era sculptor Richmond Barthé from 1929 and a terra-cotta vessel by contemporary artist Simone Leigh.