Richmond Barthé Sculpture was Top Lot at Swann African-American Art Auction, ‘Feral Benga’ Sold for Record-Setting $629K
THE LATEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN FINE ART SALE at Swann Auction Galleries was five-and-a-half hours. There were 187 lots and the high point came early on when Lot 10, a cast bronze sculpture by Richmond Barthé (1901-1989) sold for more than half a million dollars. “Feral Benga” garnered sustained interest and was bid up to about...
Auction Results: Swann’s First Sale Since COVID-19 Shutdown Features Printed & Manuscript African Americana and Art-Related Ephemera
PROTESTING POOR WORKING CONDITIONS, Memphis sanitation workers walked off their jobs in February 1968. More than 1,300 black men went on strike. Carrying signs that declared “I Am A Man,” they demanded recognition of their union, better wages, and improved safety standards. Two months later, Martin Luther King Jr., went to Memphis to support...
In Wake of COVID-19, Artists are Uniting to Support the Museum of the African Diaspora San Francisco With an Online Benefit Auction
AN IMPORTANT PLATFORM for artists of African descent, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco is facing a funding shortfall and possible interruption of operations in the wake of the COVID-19 virus. To help raise funds, the museum is launching its first-ever benefit auction with Artsy. Artists, galleries, and collectors from...
Forthcoming Swann Sale Features Selections by Artists Associated With Los Angeles, Including 5 Paintings by Ernie Barnes
LOS ANGELES was a site of inspiration and productivity for a number of artists represented in the forthcoming African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. (Originally planned for April 2, the auction was postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for June 4, the sale is online only.) The sale features lots...
Works by Alma Thomas, Charles White, and Beauford Delaney Among Highlights at Christie’s Contemporary Sale
SPRING IS A RECURRING THEME in the abstract paintings of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. Her rhythmic compositions were inspired by the rustling leaves on the Holly Tree outside the bay window in the front room of her home. Thomas also visited the National Arboretum to “get impressions,” as...
Record-Setting Painting by Noah Davis and Abstract Canvas by Ed Clark Top Phillips New Now Contemporary Art Auction
A CAPTIVATING AND MYSTERIOUS SCENE painted by Noah Davis (1983-2015) attracted a whirlwind of bids yesterday. “In Search of Gallerius Maximumianus” (2009) far exceeded expectations ($60,000-$80,000) and sold for $400,000, fees included. The price was five times the high estimate and established a new artist record. Set March 4 at Phillips New Now sale,...
Bonhams Los Angeles is Auctioning the Estate of Diahann Carroll, Including Sculptures by Artis Lane and Ed Dwight
AFTER HEARING HER SING HIS SONGS on national television, composer Irving Berlin (1888-1989) sent a note to Diahann Carroll. Typewritten on his personal letterhead, it was dated Feb. 7, 1968. Berlin wrote: “Dear Diahann Carroll, The way you sang those songs last night on the Tonight Show made me feel awfully good. With my...
Los Angeles Art Dealer Steve Turner is Auctioning Off His Extensive Collection of African Americana
“Mitchell’s Point, Looking Down the Columbia” (1887) by Grafton Tyler Brown A MIDWEST AUCTION HOUSE is selling more than 300 items of African Americana from the collection of art dealer Steve Turner. In addition to operating a contemporary art gallery in Los Angeles, Turner has been collecting rare objects documenting African American history since...
Swann Auctions Johnson Publishing Art Collection, Yielding Countless Records and Closing Final Chapter of Iconic Company
THE CHICAGO PUBLIC ART PROGRAM commissioned a seven-panel series of historic images by Carrie Mae Weems nearly 25 years ago. Composed of framed chromogenic prints and sandblasted text on glass, the untitled work was made in 1996-97 in an edition of three. The first set went to the Bee Branch of the Chicago Public...
Auction Results: Jordan Casteel’s Portrait of Her ‘Mom’ Sold for Nearly $667K, Setting New World Record for Artist
IN LONDON, when the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale got underway on Feb. 12, the first lot was a serene, painterly portrait of a black woman. “Mom” (2013) by Jordan Casteel, is a portrait of Lauren Young Casteel, the artist’s mother. Expected to yield 180,000-250,000 British Pounds, the painting sold for twice the...
Amoako Boafo is Latest Young Black Artist to Make Major Auction Debut
A RECENT PAINTING by Amoako Boafo portrays a woman with gray hair gathered on top of her head in a loose Afro puff. She’s lounging on a pool float, wearing a white one-piece bathing suit covered with a leafy lemon print. Her lips are red and a pair of sunglasses shields her eyes from...
Paintings by 20th Century Giants Alma Thomas, Norman Lewis, and Charles White Smashed Auction Records at Evening Sales in New York
THREE GIANTS of 20th century American art were represented in the evening auctions of contemporary art at Sotheby’s and Christie’s for the first time in November. The auction houses offer only a few dozen works in their evening auctions and the coveted slots are reserved for premier works by important artists. Significant works by...
Kerry James Marshall’s ‘Past Times’ Painting Was Among Stars at Lavish 50th Birthday Party of Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs
BEFORE HE TURNED 50, Grammy award-winning music producer, entertainment mogul, and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs bought the most expensive painting by a living African American artist at auction. Earlier this month, Combs threw himself a huge 50th birthday bash and the painting, “Past Times” (1997) by Kerry James Marshall, served as a backdrop for...
Kerry James Marshall Painting Goes For Nearly $18.5 Million at Sotheby’s, Second-Highest Price at Auction for a Work by a Living African American Artist
AN IMAGE OF BLACK LOVE by Kerry James Marshall was highly sought this week. Nearly six-feet tall, “Vignette 19” (2014) depicts three couples captured in a park-like vignette framed with strokes of pink and a glittery heart. Offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction on Nov. 14 in New York, the painting was expected...
