Crushing Decade-Old Auction Record, ‘The Businessmen’ by Jacob Lawrence Soars to $6.1 Million, Placing Him Among the Most Expensive African American Artists
BEST KNOWN FOR HIS HISTORY PAINTING—multi-panel series about Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and the Great Migration, among many others—artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) has made auction history. “The Businessmen,” a 1947 painting by Lawrence sold for more than $6.1 million (including fees) last night at Sotheby’s New York. The price far exceeded the estimate which...
‘Ancient Mentor I’ by Jack Whitten Reaches $2.2 Million, Establishing New Artist Record, More Than Twice His Previous Auction High Mark
Detail of “Ancient Mentor I” (1985) by Jack Whitten A SPECTACULAR PAINTING by Jack Whitten (1939-2018) established a new artist record yesterday evening. “Ancient Mentor I” (1985) sold for $2,235,000 (including fees) at Sotheby’s New York. The new benchmark shattered Whitten’s previous auction high, which was set by “The Ghost of Joseph Beuys” one...
Nearing $1 Million, Henry Taylor’s ‘I’ll Put a Spell on You’ Sets New Artist Record
AUCTION PRICES for paintings by Henry Taylor have reached a new realm. This evening, “I’ll Put a Spell on You” (2004) set a new benchmark at Sotheby’s New York. Bids flew past the estimate and the artist’s existing record. Amid the flurry, auctioneer Oliver Barker said “A lot of Henry Taylor collectors here.” After...
Record Breakers? Paintings by Jack Whitten, Sam Gilliam, Barkley L. Hendricks, and Other African American Artists Priced to Set New Auction Highs This Week
Sotheby’s is auctioning “Ancient Mentor I” (1985) by Jack Whitten on Nov. 14 in New York. | Video by Sotheby’s WORKS BY SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR, expensive, and critically recognized African American artists are featured in this week’s auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips in New York. Several lots will arrive at the...
Art + Practice Co-Founder Eileen Harris Norton Gives Her Art-Filled Home a Refresh
Eileen Harris Norton at home with works by Alma Thomas and Kara Walker. OVER THE FIREPLACE, an Alma Thomas (1891-1978) painting shares the mantel with a small sculpture by Kara Walker. Elsewhere in the home a Kerry James Marshall work hangs adjacent to a Glenn Ligon neon that reads “negro sunshine.” The November issue...
Power 100: Artist Kerry James Marshall Ranked No. 2 Most Influential Person in Contemporary Art World
THE SECOND MOST POWERFUL person in the contemporary art world is Chicago painter Kerry James Marshall, according to Art Review magazine. The London-based publication issues an annual Power 100 list ranking the most influential figures in the contemporary art world. The list includes artists, curators, critics, collectors, and dealers, among others. Marshall is the top...
Sensational Rise of Artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby Now Includes ‘Mega-Gallery’ Representation With David Zwirner
DAVID ZWIRNER HAS ADDED Njideka Akunyili Crosby to its roster of more than 75 artists, including Kerry James Marshall, Stan Douglas, Chris Ofili, and the estate of Roy DeCarava. The gallery is representing Akunyili Crosby in New York and Hong Kong. She will continue to work with Victoria Miro in London and Venice. Arguably...
Georgia O’Keeffe Made 5 Portraits of Beauford Delaney, 1 is For Sale at Christie’s
EVENTUALLY HER SUBJECTS WERE flowers, bones, and the New Mexico landscape, the modern images for which she is best known. But over the course of her career, Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) also made a limited number of portraits. Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) was her most frequent sitter. She made five portraits of the artist—three charcoal drawings,...
Artist Lauren Halsey Joined David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles
Lauren Halsey Installation at MOCA Grand Avenue, Los Angeles DAVID KORDANSKY GALLERY announced its representation of artist Lauren Halsey yesterday, describing her as “one of the most important new voices to emerge from Los Angeles.” Earlier this year, Halsey presented a site-specific installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), participated in...
City of Chicago Pulls Kerry James Marshall Painting From Christie’s Auction After Public Outcry and Artist’s Objection to Sale
“Knowledge and Wonder” (1995) by Kerry James Marshall. CHRISTIE’S WON’T BE SELLING “Knowledge and Wonder” by Kerry James Marshall after all. The 1995 site-specific mural was commissioned by the City of Chicago for the Legler Branch Library, where it was on display for more than two decades. On Oct. 1, the auction house announced...
Election 2018: Artists and Museums are Shining a Light on Democracy, Freedom, and the Importance of Voting
Trevor Paglen for For Freedoms NATIONWIDE THE ENERGY AND URGENCY surrounding the midterm elections is translating into record voter turnout. More than 31.5 million early and absentee votes have been been cast thus far. Days remain before Election Day and advanced balloting in 22 states and the District of Columbia has already exceeded total...
Sotheby’s Estimates ‘The Businessmen,’ a 1947 Painting by Jacob Lawrence, Will Sell for More than $1.5 Million
“The Businessmen” (1947) by Jacob Lawrence THE WHITE HOUSE ACQUISITION TRUST purchased “The Builders” by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) from Christie’s auction house on May 24, 2007. A few months later, First Lady Laura Bush had already incorporated the 1947 painting into her renovation of the Green Room, a formal sitting room on the State...
Latest News in African American Art: Ntozake Shange Has Died, Torkwase Dyson at Colby College, Dutch Pavilion at 2019 Venice Biennale & More
Artist Torkwase Dyson. | Photo by Gabe Souza The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS Nigeria is planning a new Benin Royal Museum to display historic bronze sculptures looted from Benin by British troops in 1897...
Art X Lagos: More Than an Art Fair, a Platform for Pan-African Creativity
ARMED WITH DEGREES IN LAW AND BUSINESS, Tokini Peterside is an entrepreneur dedicated to art. She founded Art X Lagos in 2016. Peterside considers the international art fair a pan-African “platform” for artists rather than a mere art fair, envisioning the brand as an opportunity to work across the spectrum of the art world....
Joyce J. Scott Employs the Beauty of Beads to Raise Issues Such as Violence and Racism: ‘My Best Voice is as an Artist’
IN THE HANDS of Joyce J. Scott, the possibilities of glass beads are endless. She uses beads to tell stories, raise challenging social and political issues, and celebrate her mother. A quilt artist, Elizabeth Talford Scott (1916-2011), taught her daughter to sew with beads when she was five years old. Scott’s early exposure was...
Nina Chanel Abney Debuts a New Series of Monumental Works at Pace Prints
WHETHER ITS THE BREAKING NEWS or a song she recently heard, Nina Chanel Abney is inspired by contemporary events and meaningful moments that often find their way into her work and may spontaneously define or change its direction. A new generation storyteller, Abney blends abstraction and figuration. Her images draw on the public discourse,...
Amid Rising Calls for Social Justice in America, the Clenched Fist is Appearing in Artwork and Museums
From left, “Bridge” by Glenn Kaino; Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos at the 1968 Summer Olympics. THE CLENCHED FIST, a symbol of Black Power and strength in the face of adversity, is showing up in museums. The historic gesture reflects the current moment in which many groups, frustrated with the political climate and...
The New York Times Recognizes the Greatness of Carrie Mae Weems
Carrie Mae Weems photographed by Mickalene Thomas for The New York Times WHAT DETERMINES GREATNESS? In her introductory note about how the six people featured in “T” magazine’s 2018 Greats issue were selected, Hanya Yanagihara, editor of the New York Times style publication, admits “there is no real metric for greatness.” The candidates could...
Robert Colescott at FIAC: An American Painter Reflects on Cultural Shift Witnessed in Late 1960s Paris
BLUM & POE GALLERY is presenting a selection of paintings and drawings made about a half a century ago by Robert Colescott (1925-2009) at this year’s FIAC fair, the International Fair of Contemporary Art at the Grand Palais in Paris (Oct. 18-21). The display is the artist’s first solo show in France and presents...
Artist Simone Leigh Wins Guggenheim’s 2018 Hugo Boss Prize
THE 2018 HUGO BOSS PRIZE has been awarded to Simone Leigh. Best known for her ceramic works, Leigh’s practice examines black female subjectivity, black feminist discourse, and the history of labor and resistance. Her selection was announced last night at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. The Hugo Boss Prize recognizes the...
