Crowd-pleaser
The return of Swann Auction Galleries’ popular African-american Fine Art sale brings fresh works from prominent black artists to the market
This October marks the return of Swann Auction Galleries’ African-american Fine Art sale, which promises a robust offering of works from figurative artists like Henry Ossawa Tanner, Elizabeth Catlett, Sargent Johnson and Allan Rohan Crite. a staple sale for the Newyork City-based auction house, Swann has seen significant growth in this category
in the last few years.
“Last year was our largest year
[in this market] to date in terms of sale and value,” says Nigel Freeman, Swann’s director of African American art. He adds that the auction house’s last three consecutive sales have been their largest.
With approximately 180 pieces in the auction, the October 8 rendition of the African-american Fine Art sale is anticipated to follow suit. Among the standouts is a work by Tanner that depicts the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt, At the Gates (Flight into Egypt), estimated at $100,000 to $150,000.
“It’s a great example of the holy land,” says Freeman. “he did a lot of nocturnal paintings, which were really beautiful. It’s a great painting that is very scarce to have won.”
Another scarce work, Johnson’s Head of a Negro Boy (est. $80/120,000) is a prime example of the artist’s modernist sculpture from the 1930s. “he really elevated this subject to a high art form,” comments Freeman.
Crite’s most significant painting to come to Swann to date, Play at Dark (est. $75/100,000)—acquired from descendants of the artist—is a shining example of the work that will be available at the auction.
Among the other highlights is Catlett’s sumptuous sculpture Seated Woman (est. $100/150,000), from 1962. Made of carved mahogany, it is the earliest example of wood sculpture to come to the African-american Fine Art
sale. also a first for the auction is a monumental acrylic on canvas from 1972 by Kenneth Young. Estimated at $80,000 to $120,000 and spanning nearly 10 feet wide, it is the largest of Young’s work to be featured by the auction house.
“It’s a big showstopper,” says Freeman.
A work by Hale Woodruff, which has not been shown publicly for 50 years, will see the light of day at the sale.the 1966 oil on canvas (est. $75/100,000) is a classic example of the artist’s depiction of landscape and natural phenomena within the idiom of abstract expressionism.
Rounding out the sale is a strong selection of contemporary works from Emma Amos, Carrie Mae Weems, Robert Colescott, Kerry James Marshall and Sedrick Huckaby.
“The fun thing about our African American art auctions is that there is something for a lot of different collectors. It’s a range of material—photography, sculpture, works on paper,” Freeman reflects. “And I think this is a sale that has strength in all of the different categories.”