Nov. 17 | Lot 20A: BEAUFORD DELANEY (1901-1979), “The Sage Black,” 1967 (oil on canvas, 35 ½ x 33 inches / 90.2 x 83.8 cm.). | Estimate $500,000-$700,000
BUILDING A COLLECTION of African American art for nearly half a century, Robert and Faye Davidson of Pasadena, Calif., acquired works by undisputed masters of the 20th century: Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, and Beauford Delaney.
The Davidsons are important collectors and patrons who have served on boards, loaned works to museums, and helped sponsor exhibitions. Most notably, last year Robert Davidson became the first African American chair of the board of commissioners at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in Washington, D.C.
This week, the Davidsons are selling key works from their collection at Christie’s New York. Seven works are hitting the auction block across two sales. Paintings by White and Delaney are among the premium works featured in the 20th Century Evening Sale on Nov. 17. The remaining works by Bearden, Lawrence, Betye Saar, Sam Gilliam, and a drawing by White, are included in the Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale on Nov. 20.
The museum-quality offerings include works of particular significance to each artist’s practice. Nearly all of the works for sale were acquired in the mid-1990s. Works by Saar and Gilliam were acquired directly from the artists. Among the works up for auction, Jacob Lawrence’s “The Carpenters” (1946) is the most recent work to enter the Davidson collection. The work was purchased from Sotheby’s New York at the American Art sale on May 21, 2019. The sold price was $980,000 fees included. In the current sale, “The Carpenters” carries an estimate of $700,000-$1 million.
Last year, Robert Davidson became the first African American chair of the board of commissioners at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Nov. 20 | Lot 516: JACOB LAWRENCE (1917-2000), “The Carpenters,” 1946 (gouache, watercolor and graphite on paper, 19 ½ x 25 ½ inches / 49.5 x 64.8 cm). | Executed in 1946. | Estimate $700,000-$1 million
Known for his narrative images, Lawrence was celebrated for his modern style, methodic use of color, and rigorous attention to line shape, and form. He illustrated the experiences of African Americans in Harlem and documented historic figures and important events in multi-panel series. He also depicted African Americans on the job, doing skilled work. Lawrence pictured a barbershop, a watchmaker, tool man, seamstress, ironers, steelworkers, builders, cabinetmakers and, in the present work, carpenters. Christie’s lot essay introduces “The Carpenters” and provides some context about the work:
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In December 1945, Jacob Lawrence returned from his service in World War II and embarked on what have become known as his Work Paintings, approximately a dozen vibrant compositions highlighting Black workers in various trades, from shoemakers and steelworkers to seamstresses and watchmakers. Two of these paintings were focused on construction—Cabinet Makers (1946, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden) and the present work, The Carpenters—and therefore also notably mark the beginning of Lawrence’s famed, career-long Builders series, anticipating his 1947 tempera The Builders in the collection of The White House. At the intersection of these two important themes, The Carpenters is not only a compelling example of Lawrence’s unique modernist compositions but also celebrates the hope for opportunity through collaborative hard work at this pivotal moment in American history, and specifically for Black America.
Delaney’s frequent portrait subject was his dear friend James Baldwin (1924-1987). The artist’s portrayals of the profound writer are highly sought. From the Davidson collection, “The Sage Black” (1967) is an outstanding example of Delaney’s Baldwin portraits. Showcasing his facility with figuration and abstraction, the striking painting features a radiant red background, which is enlivened by the artist’s signature gestural strokes in a spectrum of colors that also animate the figure. Delaney zeroes in on Baldwin, his visage taking up nearly the entire canvas, inviting the viewer to engage intimately beyond his direct gaze and tap into his mind and spirit. The portrait was exhibited in “Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris” (2004-06), which was presented at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Nov. 17 | Lot 39A: CHARLES WHITE (1918-1979), “Preacher (Reverend Man),” 1940 (tempera on paperboard, 29 ¾ x 21 ¾ inches / 75.6 x 55.2 cm). | Estimate $1.2 million-$1.8 mllion
The lots by White are bookends, produced near the start of the artist’s career and shortly before he died. White was a master draftsman known for his realist drawings evincing the dignity and humanity of his subjects. Paintings by White are relatively rare. “Preacher (Reverend Man)” (1940) was featured in “Charles White: A Retrospective” (2018-19), the artist’s landmark touring exhibition presented at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. White portrayed members of the clergy on multiple occasions. His present subject is a preacher, a figure generally viewed as an important leader in the Black community, a guiding light generation after generation in the face of subjugation, racism and injustice, as well as progress, opportunity, and triumph. White made the painting in 1940, early in his career, when he was just 21-years old.
“Study for ‘Mary McLeod Bethune’ Mural” (1977) is a preparatory drawing for White’s last major work. In 1956, Chicago-born White moved from New York to Los Angeles, where he taught at the Otis Art Institute. Two decades later, in 1977, the City of Los Angeles commissioned the artist to create a mural for the Los Angeles public library named for Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), an influential educator who founded the National Council of Negro Women. His concept for the mural centered education, learning, music, and family, themes represented by a trio of figures positioned around Bethune, who presides over the scene.
Nov. 20 | Lot 519: CHARLES WHITE (1918-1979), “Study for ‘Mary McLeod Bethune’ Mural,” 1977 (graphite on paper, 26 ½ x 34 ½ inches / 67.3 x 87.6 cm). | Estimate $150,000-$250,000
White worked on the mural for nine months, making various studies, including small-scale preparatory drawings of entire compositions, and the large-scale ink and charcoal studies of the individual figures. (The large studies of individual figures were exhibited at David Zwirner gallery in New York in 2019.) The final mural was painted on canvas and installed in January 1978. White died the following year.
Bearden was recognized for exploring African American life through his distinguished collage practice. Born in North Carolina, Bearden was a toddler when he moved to New York City with his family in 1914, at the start of the Great Migration. He invoked the symbolism of the train—and its references to migration, segregation, cultural shifts, and opportunity—in many works, including “Train Whistle Blues: II” (1964).
The Davidsons purchased “Train Whistle Blues: II” at Sotheby’s New York at the Contemporary Art sale on Nov. 20, 1996. The hammer price was $31,000 (unable to determine any associated fees), twice the estimate of $10,000-$15,000. Two decades later, the collectors are likely to receive an exponential return. In the current auction, the estimate for “Train Whistle Blues: II” is $200,000-$300,000.
Nov. 20 | Lot 517: ROMARE BEARDEN (1911-1988), “Train Whistle Blues: II,” 1964 (acrylic, graphite and printed paper collage on board, 11 x 14 3⁄8 inches / 27.9 x 36.5 cm). | Estimate $200,000-$300,000
Works from the Davidson collection may set new artist records. Only four works by White have hammered at $1 million or more at auction, large-scale works, two paintings and two drawings. Those auctions occurred between 2019 and 2021. The artist’s record at auction was set by “Ye Shall Inherit the Earth” (1953) at Sotheby’s New York in 2019, selling for $1,760,000 (hammer price $1,450,000), more than twice the estimate of $500,000-$700,000. The charcoal on illustration board depicts a mother holding her son close in a protective manner. Both “Ye Shall Inherit the Earth” and “Preacher (Reverend Man)” were featured in the artist’s recent landmark traveling retrospective. The estimate for “Preacher (Reverend Man),” the present work, is $1.2 million to $1.8 million, within range of White’s record.
The estimate for “The Sage Black” ($500,000-$700,000) is nearing the ballpark of the current auction record for Delaney, which was set by another painting of Baldwin three years ago. “James Baldwin” (1966) is three-quarter, seated portrait of the writer that sold at Christie’s London for $1,144,967 / £ 1,026,000 (hammer price $915,081 / £820,000) in 2022, a result that shattered the estimate ($200,871-$278,988 / £180,000-£250,000).
“My wife and I have been collecting for almost 50 years now… Someone could say, ‘Well, if you love these things as much as you do, why are you parting with them?’ Well, I have philosophy. We don’t own anything, we are custodians, these works existed before we had them, and they will exist afterwards.” — Robert Davidson
Nov. 20 | Lot 518: BETYE SAAR (B. 1926), “Secrets of Spring,” 1989 (mixed media assemblage, 23 x 17 ¾ x 2 1⁄8 inches / 58.4 x 43.9 x 5.3 cm). | Estimate $100,000-$150,000
In addition to his role at the Smithsonian (SAAM), Robert Davidson’s board affiliations include The Huntington, Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens Board of Governors (San Marino, Calif.); chairman emeritus of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena; and chairman emeritus of his alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. Davidson is the retired chairman, CEO, and founder of Surface Protection Industries, a Los Angeles-based manufacturing company he started in 1978.
“My wife and I have been collecting for almost 50 years now… Someone could say, ‘Well, if you love these things as much as you do, why are you parting with them?” Davidson told Christie’s. “Well, I have philosophy. We don’t own anything, we are custodians, these works existed before we had them, and they will exist afterwards. When you have had the privilege of living with them and sharing them with family and friends you have to learn to release them, and let them continue to find their next homes.” CT
Nov. 20 | Lot 611: SAM GILLIAM (1933-2022), “Magic Mantle,” 1983 (acrylic and canvas collage on shaped canvas, 54 ½ x 67 ½ inches / 137.4 x 170.4 cm). | Estimate $60,000-$80,000
FIND MORE From the Pick-Hines Collection, JACOB LAWRENCE (1917-2000), “The Marble Players” (1949) is also featured in Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on Nov. 20. The painting carries an estimate of $2 million-$3 million
BOOKSHELF
A new publication accompanies “Jacob Lawrence: African American Modernist,” which is currently on view at Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, through Jan. 4, 2026. The catalog is currently available in the museum’s shop (not linkable online) and should be available more widely in the coming months. Other notable volumes dedicated to the artist include “Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series,” “Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club,” “Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle,” and “Jacob Lawrence: Lines of Influence.” “Charles White: A Retrospective” was published on the occasion of the artist’s recent traveling exhibition (2018-19). The Drawing Center produced “In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,” a fully illustrated publication to accompany its recent exhibition (read online). Also consider, “Speculative Light: The Arts of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin” and “Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door.” An updated version of “Amazing Grace: Life of Beauford Delaney” by David Leeming includes a new introduction by Hilton Als. The biography of the artist was first published in 1998.
