Ocean Liner Exhibition Opens Tomorrow

Time to set sail! The exhibition opens tomorrow, Saturday February 27th, for Swann's March 4 two-part sale of The Bou Collection of Ocean Liner & Aviation Memorabilia and The Steamship Historical Society of America's Chase Collection of Ocean Liner Posters.

Click Here to View the Online Catalogue

Click Here to View the 3D Catalogues

Exhibition hours are: Sat. February 27: 10 - 4, Mon. March 1: 10 - 6, Tue. March 2: 10 - 6; and Wed. March 3: 10 - 6

For further information about the Bou Collection, please contact Gary Garland at (212) 254-4710, ext. 17, or ggarland@swanngalleries.com.

For more information about the Chase Collection, please contact Gwendolyn Rayner at (212) 254-4710, ext. 53, or grayner@swanngalleries.com.

ArtInfo and African-American Fine Art

Artinfo.com currently has two stories about Tuesday's African-American Fine Art sale at Swann. The first, Swann's African-American Art Auction Soars, calls Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, the sale's top lot, "a striking auction debut" by Malvin Gray Johnson.

The second, an interview with Nigel Freeman, the director of Swann's African-American Fine Art department, discusses "the future of the African-American Art at auction."




When asked his advice to 'first-timers' at auction, Freeman responds: "We tell them that at Swann, because of our track record now and because of the reputation we've had, anyone who's really in the market for obtaining works by these African-American artists is going to be able to find us and these works because of our presence in the market. We've introduced over 100 artists to the auction world and art market in just three years." Read the entire interview here.

Early American Jewish Books in Swann's March 18 Auction

JTA, the Jewish news service, ran an article on Swann's March 18 auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana, which includes several rare and important Jewish books.

These include a first edition of Esther Levy's 1871 Jewish Cookery Book and the very scarce Liber Psalmorum Hebraice from 1809, the first Hebrew version of the Bible printed in America.

Click here to read the JTA news story.

Blogging African Americana

Trina Michelle Robinson included an insightful post about today's auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana on her blog, The Passage Project, yesterday.

In her write up, Robinson highlighted slave owner Marcus Claudius Marcellus Hammond's family Bible, which includes handwritten records of his slaves' births, marriages and deaths (above).

And, a WWII-era poster with an image of Abraham Lincoln that reads "This World Cannot Exist Half Slave and Half Free. Buy War Bonds" (above).

World's Most Expensive Fly Swatter?

Among the top lots at Tuesday's auction of African-American Fine Art was a unique Fly Swatter created in 1992 by contemporary artist David Hammons, which sold for $66,000* to a person bidding by telephone. It was estimated at $5,000 to $7,000.

Measuring about 6 feet long, the object consists of a wooden pole with wire mesh stapled to the top; the artist signed and dated the pole in ink. The work had been a gift from the artist to Sara Penn of Gallery Knobkerry in TriBeCa, New York, who consigned it to the auction.

Nigel Freeman, Director of Swann Galleries’ African-American Fine Art department said, “While I can’t say for sure that this is the most expensive fly swatter ever sold at auction, I would describe the piece as the sleeper of our sale. It sold for 11 times the pre-sale estimate, and illustrates the strong interest in David Hammons’s work today.”

Another piece by Hammons, which was illustrated on the catalogue cover, one of his signature body prints, sold for $114,000.

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal write-up on the fly swatter.

African-American Fine Art Top 5

Yesterday's African-American Fine Art sale welcomed a full room of bidders and competition amongst phone bidders. The sale's top five lots:

Malvin Gray Johnson's Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, oil on canvas, 1928-29, realized $228,000.

David Hammons' Untitled (Body Print), pigment, ink and colored pencils on wove paper, 1977, sold for $114,000.

David Hammons' Untitled (Fly Swatter), 1992, sold for $66,000, well above its estimate of $5,000 to $7,000.

Midnight Carnaval, a watercolor, pen and ink on paper work by Norman Lewis, 1960, sold for $55,200.

Untitled (Standing Woman), Sargent Johnson's terra cotta sculpture sold for $52,800.

I AM A MAN Poster Big News in Memphis

WREG-TV in Memphis broadcast a segment last night about the I Am A Man poster featured in Thursday's auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana. Click here to watch the video.

Among the sources that reporter Alex Coleman interviewed was Ruth Davis, President of the AFSCME Union, which represented the striking sanitation workers who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. Davis, who participated in the march, commented that interest in memorabilia like this poster shows that, "the Civil Rights movement is still alive."

African-American Fine Art, Tomorrow

Romare Bearden, Jamming at the Savoy, color etching and aquatint, 1981-82. Estimate: $8,000 to 12,000.

Remember to get your bids in for tomorrow's African-American Fine Art sale at Swann. The sale of 162 lots begins at 2:30pm. Just a few of the artists featured in the sale include Malvin Gray Johnson, Sargent Claude Johnson, Barkley L. Hendricks, David Hammons, Edward Bannister, Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence.

Art Deco Decadence: The S.S. Normandie

Last Friday, the South Street Seaport Museum opened an exhibition of DecoDence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the SS Normandie. The S.S. Normandie was the epitome of Art Deco-era style and sophistication—the largest, fastest and most glamorous of the so-called “floating palaces” of the early and mid-20th century. Normandie was an ocean-going ambassador of French culture, design and stylistic prowess.

The exhibition runs through January 2011 and features original interior works by the famous Deco artists that beautified her decks, showing visitors just why Normandie captured the imagination of the world before her tragic end in 1942. The displays also showcase original furnishings, rare passenger photographs, video footage, voyage logs, uniforms, fashion accessories, and commemorative items from Normandie’s maiden voyage.

Enthusiasts may also bid on Normandie memorabilia such as Lalique crystal stemware and silver table accessories at Swann's March 4 auction of the Christopher Bou Collection of Ocean Liner & Aviation Memorabilia.

MLK Highlight Becomes Memphis News Story

Monday's issue of Memphis newspaper The Commercial Appeal included an article about the I Am A Man poster in Swann's auction of Printed & Manuscript African Americana to be held on Thursday.

The poster, which was carried by striking Memphis sanitation workers in 1968 as they marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., is a valuable artifact today, and the Commercial Appeal article looks into the origins of the poster, as well as its rarity.

For more information on the poster, check out lot 210 in Thursday's sale.

Ice Skating Posters Highlighted in Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia Inquirer antiques columnist Karla Klein Albertson writes that, "Vintage posters constitute another important branch of ice-skating history," in her most recent column. "Images of early figure, speed, and hockey skating turn up regularly in the February poster auctions at New York's Swann Galleries."

Click here to read the full article, and check out the lovely poster images from Swann's February 4 auction in the story's online slideshow.

Ink Spots in the Times

Archive of material related to the Ink Spots. Estimate $2,500 to $3,500.

A large archive of material related to the Ink Spots, a doo-wop singing group started in the 1930s, that is up for auction on Thursday, February 25th in Swann's Printed & Manuscript African Americana auction, was written up today by Eve Kahn in her Antiques column in The New York Times. The archive includes correspondence, promotional pieces, fliers, original printed music, photographs (including ones signed by Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey), and a reel recording with four of their songs.

More than 1,000 pieces that belonged to the group's guitarist Charlie Fuqua illuminate the life of the group, as they encountered success and the turbulence of life on the road.

African-American Fine Art Reception & Book Signing

Nigel Freeman, Director of Swann's African-American Fine Art Department, and Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, author of a new book on artist Hughie Lee-Smith.

Swann was pleased to co-host with Brooklyn Museum an evening honoring Dr. Leslie King-Hammond and her new book Hughie Lee-Smith. The evening also marked the opening of the preview for Swann's February 23 auction of African-American Fine Art.

Dr. King-Hammond spoke to the large crowd about her extensive research of Hughie Lee-Smith's life and career, and the process of writing the book that took her three years to complete. Then she signed copies of the book printed this year by Pomegranate Communications.

I Came. I Saw. I Carnivaled!

Dwight Clark Shepler, Dartmouth Carnival. 1936, and this year's poster, Brenton Rayner.

While Ivy League schools are known for their rigorous academics and Harry Potter-esque dining halls, Dartmouth has a quality that sets it apart from its competition—its rural setting in snowy New Hampshire. This idyllic setting provides a respite from academia, in particular with its nearly 100-year-old Winter Carnival. The Dartmouth, the college's daily newspaper, says that, while many traditions surrounding the festival have come and gone, one tried and true component of the celebration is the poster. The article also quotes Gwendolyn Rayner of Swann's poster department. Read more...

"Winter carnival posters—which have varied tremendously in artistic style but typically feature iconic images of skiers, ice skaters and other gleeful students—are coveted collectors items today."

Swann has the record price for a vintage Dartmouth Winter Carnival Poster. Realized in 2008, the 1938 poster sold for $7,800. The February 4, 2010 auction came just shy of that record, as the 1936 poster designed by Dwight Clark Shepler realized $7,200.

This year's winning designer has posters in his blood. Brenton Rayner, Dartmouth '10, is the brother of Gwendolyn Rayner.

Freud Sets Record

Despite blizzards around the country, yesterday's Signed Historical Photographs from the Jerome Schochet Collection found many bidders. Marco Tomaschett, Swann Autographs specialist, notes that "no photograph signed by Sigmund Freud has sold for more—with or without premium—at public auction" than this large signed photograph from 1925. It realized $21,600 with premium.

TV Land Salutes AfriCOBRA

TV Land has produced a series of videos about the AfriCOBRA arts movement of the 1960s to run during Black History Month. Click on the image below to watch an introductory piece on The Art and Artists of AfriCOBRA.



You can find many works of art by AfriCOBRA artists in Swann's past and upcoming sales of African-American Fine Art. For more information on AfriCOBRA, visit http://africobra.tumblr.com.

Fictional Posters for the Modern Day

The dawn of radio, followed by television and now the Internet, made printed advertisements secondary to the infinitely more powerful digital broadcast media.

Oversize posters, with their attention grabbing designs and graphic appeal, were once a key component of any successful ad campaign, but that just isn't so today.

So, it was with great (albeit tongue-in-cheek) interest that Nicholas Lowry, director of Swann's poster department, came across this fictional advertising campaign online. Other poster lovers are sure to adore the design sensibilities of these minimal Star Wars galaxy posters too. They're out of this world.

The Original 007

Ian Fleming, Moonraker, signed and inscribed, 1955. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000.

Who's your favorite Bond? Whether it's Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, or "the Blonde Bond," Daniel Craig, all owe their starring roles to Ian Fleming, the man who created 007.

The Otto Penzler Collection of British Espionage and Thriller Fiction, at auction Thursday, April 8th, features several rare first editions of Fleming's secret agent. Bond websites are already in on the secret, as commanderbond.net includes mentions of signed and inscribed copies of Moonraker and Casino Royale in Penzler's collection. And for those in suspense, other featured writers include John Le Carré, Graham Greene, Dennis Wheatley and Eric Ambler, to name a few. The rest remain undercover for now.

Senator Chuck Allen III Scholarship Fund Lots in Feb 23rd Sale

Didier William, Leslie Smith III and Khalif Kelly (photo courtesy of Charzette Torrence)

Six contemporary artists—Mark Thomas Gibson, Erica Mapp, Didier William, Leslie Smith III, Ernest Jolly and Khalif Kelly—have each donated a work of art to benefit the Senator Chuck Allen III Scholarship Fund. For the second year in a row, Swann's final lots in its African-American Fine Art sale on February 23rd will benefit the fund, established to remember Allen's public service and parish activism in Harlem and New Haven. The fund will aid high school minority students in NY, NJ and CT who demonstrate financial need and wish to study public or urban studies, law, accounting or management.

Khalif Kelly, Lil' Michael Assuming Zombie Form, oil on canvas, 2009. Estimate: $3,000 to 5,000.

Dreams Deferred

An unusually large signed photograph of Sigmund Freud makes its way to the auction block on Thursday, February 11th in the Signed Historical Photographs from the Jerome Shochet Collection sale. Freud stares directly into the camera without his signature dark, round glasses, as if he is psychoanalyzing you, the viewer. His large signature is scrawled across the bottom, as is the date, 1925, placing the photograph towards the end of his distinguished career.

Freud, Sigmund. Large Photograph Signed and Inscribed, "Sigm. Freud / 1925," bust portrait by Halberstadt, approx 12x9 inches. Estimate: $8,000 to 12,000.

Philadelphia's African-American Artists

Harlem, Chicago, Detroit--various urban enclaves seem to boast a disproportionate number of famous artists and writers. Philadelphia is certainly no exception, with African-American artists from the early 20th century through today calling Philly home. The Philadelphia Inquirer picked up on the trend, with David Iams featuring Swann's Feb. 23 sale in today's paper, mentioning upcoming works by Barkley L. Hendricks, Charles Searles, Laura Wheeler Waring, Allan Freelon, Dox Thrash, Claude Clark and Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller.

Charles Searles, Indoctrination, acrylic on canvas, 1971 Estimate: $30,000 to 50,000.

Barkley L. Hendricks, Jackie Sha-La-La (Jackie Cameron), oil and acrylic on canvas, 1975. Estimate: $40,000 to 60,000.

While Barkley L. Hendricks and Charles Searles are each known for their bright and graphic paintings from the 1970s, the other Philadelphia artists honed their craft much earlier. Dox Thrash and Allan Freelon worked together in the late 1930s and 40s at Philadelphia's Pyramid Club. Clark was also a colleague of Thrash's, as they worked together in the Philadelphia Fine Print Workshop of the WPA from 1939-42. Waring's studio was not far away in Cheney, PA.

Autographs Sale in NYTimes Antiques Column

Adams, John Quincy. One of the Earliest Signed Presidential Portraits, circa 1825.
Estimate: $6,000 to 9,000.

The New York Times' Eve Kahn highlights Swann's upcoming sale of Signed Historical Photographs from the Jerome Shochet Collection in today's Antiques column. Quoting Shochet, a Korean War veteran, he describes his collecting practices over the past six decades as:

"I've bought pretty much whatever appealed to me, from just about every major auction house, bidding on the phone or the Internet. ... I'd go nuts with this. It gives me something to do, something to think about."

Autographed images include those of former presidents, Senate members, authors, musicians and other prominent historical figures. The preview opens tomorrow, Saturday the 6th, from 10am - 4pm, and continues Mon-Wed, 10am-6pm, as well as Thursday morning until noon. The 92 lots goes up for auction Thursday, February 11th, at 1:30pm.

Signed Lincoln Carte-de-Visite at Auction

Just in time for President's Day comes a signed carte-de-visite photograph of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. This featured item in the February 11th sale of Signed Historical Photographs from the Jerome Shochet Collection shows the president seated, with his legs crossed and holding a newspaper in one hand, eyeglasses in the other. Taken on August 9, 1863, the day after Robert E. Lee sent his letter of resignation to Confederate president Jefferson Davis (which Davis refused) after the South's resounding defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg, the President is depicted partaking in a typical Sunday morning activity. This photograph (estimate $40,000 to $60,000) is one of four images taken at the same second by Alexander Gardner, the famed Civil War photographer, who used a four-lens camera to photograph the president.


Abraham Lincoln, photograph signed "A. Lincoln," as President, carte-de-visite portrait by Gardner, 1863.

The Rise of Vintage Posters

Antiques expert Judith Miller writes in the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph of “Poster Art’s third great wave of popularity.” The first wave came with the birth of the art form in Paris in the late 19th century; the second in the psychedelic 1960s, when black-light posters on dorm room walls were as ubiquitous as bell-bottoms. Today, collectors will pay six figures for rare images.

Read the Telegraph story for more on how poster art has evolved as both a lithographic art and commercially viable advertising venue. There is also a handy checklist of what to look for when buying. And, if that piques your interest, check out Swann's upcoming Vintage Posters auction, in which all genres—from art nouveau to modernism—are represented, with an emphasis on skiing and other winter sports posters.

O What a Night it Was in New Orleans

Nicholas Lowry with event co-chair Rita Benson LaBlanc.

Swann president Nicholas Lowry was the auctioneer at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art's annual fundraiser on October 17. The evening of philanthropic fun was dubbed the O What a Night Gala and featured fine cuisine, live music and silent and live auctions.

Read more about this wonderful evening, considered to be the benefit party to attend in New Orleans, on the St. Charles Avenue magazine website.