Lot 26: REGGIE BURROWS HODGES, “Swimming in Compton: Look Ma’,” 2019 (acrylic and pastel on canvas, 55 1/4 x 62 1/4 in. (140.3 x 158.1 cm). | Estimate $400,000-$600,000. SOLD for $541,800 fees included
A MIXED-MEDIA WORK by Firelei Báez inspired by colonial strictures regulating how Black women appeared in public. An important study by Alma Thomas (1891-1978) that covered a recent exhibition catalog. An Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) painting of three sultry singers, belting it out on stage around a single microphone.
Several compelling works by Black artists were included in the Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale at Phillips New York on Nov. 19. The auction presented 33 lots and 31 sold. Two paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), Untitled (1982) and “Exercise” (1984), were among the top 10 lots. The sale total was $67,307,850.
In addition to the lots by Baez, Thomas, Barnes, and Basquiat, a painting by Reggie Burrows Hodges was offered, a lush backyard pool scene set in Compton, alongside works on paper by Kerry James Marshall and Julie Mehretu. A large-scale abstract painting by British artist Jadé Fadojutimi, expected to sell in the $1 million range, went unsold. The auction featured a juvenile Triceratops skeleton and one new record was set. The record breaker was “Daughter of Revolutions” (2014) by Báez.
Lot 4: ALMA THOMAS, Untitled, circa 1968 (acrylic on cut and stapled paper, 18 1/2 x 34 1/4 inches / 47 x 87 cm). | Estimate $250,000-$350,000. SOLD for $477,300 fees included
Thomas is known for her radiant abstract paintings. Her work is inspired by the beauty of nature and space and characterized by rhythmic patterns and exuberant color, attributes found her Untitled (circa 1968) study.
The work covers the catalog for “Alma Thomas: Everything is Beautiful” (2021-22), a major traveling exhibition presenting more than 100 works. The show and catalog, in particular, explored the full spectrum of her creativity and lesser-known aspects of her life and work, including her interests in fashion, gardening, and marionettes; her Georgia roots, ties to Howard University, and church connections; and her international exposure, commitment to teaching, and what conservators have discovered about her techniques and methods.
Fittingly, the cover design was beautiful, featuring the horizontal study, a succession of “Alma Stripes” in a spectrum colors across multiple sheets of paper held together with staples. The work spanned the front and back covers of the catalog.
Born in Columbus, Ga., Thomas called Washington, D.C., home for most of her life. Her Untitled study was estimated at $250,000-$350,000 and sold for $477,300. The result is the highest price achieved at auction for a work on paper by the artist.
Lot 29: ERNIE BARNES, “Singn’ Sistahs,” 1979 (acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 inches / 91.4 x 61 cm). | Estimate $300,00-$500,000. SOLD for $451,500 fees included
North Carolina-born Barnes lived and worked in Los Angeles for most of his artistic career. He spent more than four decades capturing athletes in action and scenes of Black life. He is known for his elongated figures and studied depictions of the body. “Singin’ Sistahs” (1979) incorporates these signatures and focuses on one of his key themes: music.
Barnes dresses his subjects in slinky red dresses and white heels against an emerald green stage curtain. The vertical painting is a tight composition emphasizing that the three performers are one entity, a soulful trio modeled after popular 1960s and 70s girl groups, such as Diana Ross and the Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas. Barnes’s attention to detail—the contours of his subjects’s faces and the color and style of their hair—suggest they are veteran performers.
In 1981, “Singin’ Sistahs” was acquired directly from the artist by Richard Balsbaugh and remained in the collection of the radio executive until it came to auction. Barnes and Balsbaugh met through a mutual friend, according to Phillips. In 1979, Balsbaugh commissioned the artist to create a mural for his inaugural Kiss 108 concert in Massachusetts, an event that continues today.
Two years later, Barnes felt “Singin’ Sistahs” was well-suited for Balsbaugh, who “recalls an immediate connection with the work,” according to Phillips. Over the years, the painting hung in Balsbaugh’s offices and homes. “Singin’ Sistahs” was estimated at $300,000-$500,000 and sold for $451,500.
Lot 3: FIRELEI BÁEZ, “Daughter of Revolutions,” 2014 (gouache, acrylic polymer, ink and cotton on paper and canvas, 114 1/8 x 101 7/8 in. (289.9 x 258.8 cm). | Estimate $300,000-$500,000. SOLD for $645,000 fees included. “RECORD”
Born in the Dominican Republic, Báez is based in New York. Her practice explores historical memory and mythical realms, the power and strength of women, and the legacies of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. A recurring subject is the Ciguapa, a trickster figure from Dominican folklore.
“Daughter of Revolutions” features the head of a woman who gazes directly at the viewer from beneath a massive, verdant headdress composed of flora and organic patterns in a palette of tropical blues and greens. The work was made for the Prospect.3 Biennial: Notes for Now in New Orleans (2014-15).
Báez was inspired by efforts to control Black women’s appearances during the Spanish Colonial period in Louisiana. The Tignon Laws required free women of African descent to cover their hair in public. As Phillips lot essay notes, the 1786 decree was designed to “enforce racial hierarchy and suppress social mobility,” In response, women leaned into the dictate, donning voluminous and elaborately embellished head wraps.
The work was the third lot, up for bid early in the 5 p.m. EST auction. Estimated at $300,000-$500,000, “Daughter of Revolutions” sold for $645,000, achieving a new record that was short-lived. Another work by Báez came up later that evening at Christie’s New York and bested the new high mark.
During Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale Featuring Works from the Edlis | Neeson Collection at 7 p.m. EST, Lot 19B, “Untitled (Colonization in America, Visual History Wall Map, Prepared by Civic Education Service)” (2021) hammered at $875,000. With fees, Báez’s work surpassed $1 million at auction for the first time, reaching a new auction record of $1,111,250,
The previous artist record was achieved in 2024 when “Josephine Judas GOAT (it does not disturb me to accept that there are places where my identity is obscure to me, and the fact that it amazes you does not mean I relinquish it)” (2017) by Báez sold for $567,000 at Christie’s New York. CT
* ALL SOLD PRICES include auction house premium fees, unless otherwise noted
READ MORE about Alma Thomas’s Untitled study (circa 1968) on Culture Type
Lot 5: KERRY JAMES MARSHALL, “Study for Vignette 14,” 2008 (acrylic and watercolor on paper, 30 1/4 x 22 1/2 inches / 76.8 x 57.2 cm). | Estimate $300,000-$500,000. SOLD for $387,000
Lot 19: JADÉ FADOJUTIMI, Untitled, 2022 (acrylic, oil and oil pastel on canvas, 118 1/8 x 196 7/8 inches / 300 x 500 cm). | Estimated $800,000-$1.2 million. UNSOLD
BOOKSHELF
The auction features Alma Thomas’s Untitled (1968) study, which graces the cover of the exhibition catalog, “Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful.” “Firelei Baez” was published in anticipation of the artist’s recent traveling exhibition organized by ICA Boston. “Firelei Báez: Trust Memory over History” was published last year. Two children’s books explore the life and work of Ernie Barnes: “Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery” and “Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes.” Published earlier this year, “Reggie Burrows Hodges: The Reckoning” examines a new series of paintings “centered around the motif of reflective surfaces. “Kerry James Marshall: The Histories” accompanies the Chicago artist’s current exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
