Major Artworks by Romare Bearden, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Amy Sherald, Stanley Whitney, Jacob Lawrence & More Highlighted at ‘Evening’ Auctions in New York
IN NEW YORK, MAJOR AUCTION HOUSES lined up a variety of significant works by critically recognized Black artists for their modern and contemporary art Evening Auctions, with estimates ranging from the high six figures to multiple millions. Several lots carried estimates that if reached would result in new artist records at auction. The premium...
Princeton Professor Imani Perry is Selling ‘Welfare Queen’ by Amy Sherald: ‘It Was the First Significant Piece of Art I Ever Owned’
AN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES PROFESSOR, Imani Perry is selling a portrait by Amy Sherald, that depicts a Black woman looking regal, poised, and dignified. The subject is wearing a jeweled crown, pearl necklace, and an elegant, navy blue gown with white opera-length gloves and a violet sash á la a beauty queen. Her red...
Auction Results: Reggie Burrows Hodges Makes Meteoric Debut in London, Paintings by 3 Young Black Artists Set New Records, Plus Chris Ofili’s ‘Triple Beam Dreamer’ Sold
THREE YOUNG BLACK ARTISTS set new auction records at the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale at Phillips London. Rocketing far beyond their estimates, paintings by Jadé Fadojutimi, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, and Serge Attukwei Clottey, sold for about 10 times expectations set by the auction house. Marking his auction debut, a figurative painting by...
Auction Record: Pool Painting by British Artist Hurvin Anderson Sells for More Than $10 Million in London, Fourth Most Expensive Artwork by Living Black Artist
A LARGE-SCALE SWIMMING POOL PAINTING by Hurvin Anderson set a new artist record in London. “Audition” (1998) sold for more than $10 million ($10,138,261 / 7,369,000 British Pounds) at Christie’s 20th / 21st Century Evening Sale on Oct. 15. Bidding soared far beyond expectations, reaching nearly five times the high estimate ($1,375,798-$2,063,698 / 1,000,000-1,500,000...
4 Quilts by Late Northern California Artist Rosie Lee Tompkins Enter Auction Market, Receive Enthusiastic Response
ABSTRACT, INVENTIVE, AND IMPROVISATIONAL, quilts by Rosie Lee Tompkins (1936-2006) are extraordinary works of contemporary art. Tompkins was invested in color, shape, and form; worked with velvet, faux fur, and shimmery fabrics; and despite her singular aesthetic, frequently incorporated traditional quilt patterns into her work, adapting them to her own creative and irregular interpretations....
Auction Record: 3 Ernie Barnes Paintings Exceed $100K for First Time, Plus Bob Thompson and ‘White Male For Sale’
THREE 1970s PAINTINGS by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) sold for more than $100,000 each on Oct. 1, marking the first time a work by Barnes sold for more than six figures at auction. Two of the paintings sold for nearly $300,000 each. The results were more than three times the artist’s previous record and set...
Heritage Auctions Staging Single-Owner Sale of Nearly 100 Works by African American Artists, Including Sargent Johnson, James Lesesne Wells, and Elizabeth Catlett
UPDATE (10/29/21): This auction has been postponed. Culture Type received the following statement from Heritage Auctions: “Concerns involving the provenance of a handful of lots in ‘The Soul of a Nation: Black Art from a Distinguished Collector’ were recently presented to Heritage Auctions. Out of an abundance of caution, the sale scheduled for Nov....
Two Dozen Lots Featured in Swann African American Art Auction Will Benefit Brandwine Workshop and Archives in Philadelphia
THE FORTHCOMING AFRICAN AMERICAN ART sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York features a selection of rare prints and a few paintings benefitting the Brandywine Workshop and Archives (BWA), the printmaking institution in Philadelphia. A handful of works were consigned directly by the artists. Most are sourced from the collection of BWA and...
Auction Record: ‘Miss Lovie’s Shack’ by Beverly Buchanan Reaches $20K at Rago Sale, Plus Marble Busts by Kehinde Wiley
PAINTED RED and constructed of wood and foam core “Miss Lovie’s Shack” (1989) by Beverly Buchanan (1940–2015) set a new auction record for the artist reaching $20,000, including fees. The result far-exceeded the estimate, which was $3,000-$5,000. The sculpture sold at Rago auction house in Lambertville, N.J., where it was featured in the Post-War...
Works by Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, and Jacob Lawrence From Estate of African American Collector Dr. Sarah Gray Will Be Auctioned at Bonhams Print & Multiples Sale
“Juba” (1965) by Charles White THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS selected Isabel Wilkerson’s “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Greatest Migration” for its campus book project during the 2012-13 academic year. In conjunction with the campus-wide reading, Nelson Gallery at UC Davis presented “Migration: Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett,” further...
British Painter Jadé Fadojutimi Nearly Doubles Auction Record at Phillips Hong Kong, Sale Also Features Major Fire Hose Work by Theaster Gates
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, paintings by emerging Black contemporary artists have been popular and garnered record-setting prices at major auction houses in New York and London. Increasingly, their work is also attracting high bids in Asian markets, both from Asian collectors and international buyers looking to purchase at auctions held whereever works that...
Auction Record: Gospel and R&B Icon Mavis Staples Sold Ernie Barnes Painting for $75K at Hindman in Chicago
A FIGURATIVE PAINTER with a singular style, Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) had a reverence for Black women. They were a popular subject for the artist who depicted them possessed with dignity, passion, and joy. Barnes made paintings of Black women playing sports, DJing, dancing, attending church, showing strength in the face of adversity, and socializing...
Evening Rhapsody: Norman Lewis Painting Owned by Playwright Lynn Nottage Sells for Near-Record $1.7 Million at Sotheby’s
TO THE EAR, the title “Evening Rhapsody” (1955) sounds like a jazz tune. To the eye, it is clear the work is in fact a painting by Norman Lewis (1909-1979), the Abstract Expressionist who was deeply influenced by jazz. Muted tones of golden yellow, grass green, and brick red mingle with one another in...
Paintings by 4 Black Female Artists Set Auction Records at Christie’s Evening Sale: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Nina Chanel Abney, Mickalene Thomas, Jordan Casteel
PAINTINGS BY 10 OF THE MOST HIGHLY REGARDED Black contemporary artists active today were featured in Christie’s inaugural 21st Century Evening Sale in New York. Six set new artist records, including four figurative works by women artists. Nina Chanel Abney‘s powerful 2015 painting of two Black cops arresting a white man sold for $990,000....
Lucas Museum Acquires Robert Colescott’s ‘George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware’ Painting for Record-Smashing $15.3 Million From Sotheby’s Auction
A PROFOUND AND PROVOCATIVE parody of American history painting by Robert Colescott (1925-2009) was acquired yesterday by the forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. “George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware: Page from an American History Textbook” (1975) sold for a record-breaking $15.3 million at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New...
Phillips Contemporary Evening Auction Opened With Works by Joy Labinjo, Lina Iris Viktor, and Toyin Ojih Odutola, Painting by Tunji Adeniyi-Jones Set New Record
PHILLIPS MOST RECENT 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale was front loaded with works by Black artists—six of the first seven lots. Five of the artists were Black women. An untitled painting by rising artist Joy Labinjo, a charming narrative self-portrait with her mother, was Lot 1, opening the auction. A figurative painting...
New Auction Records For Joy Labinjo, Jammie Holmes and Aboudia at Christie’s London, Self Portrait by Amoako Boafo Also Exceeds Expectations
RECENT SALES AT CHRISTIE’S LONDON resulted in new auction records for British-Nigerian artist Joy Labinjo and Dallas, Texas-based Jammie Holmes, two up-and-coming artists garnering increasing attention after receiving institutional recognition. Aboudia, who splits his time between his native Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and Brooklyn, N.Y., also set a new high mark. Labinjo’s “No Wahala” (2019)...
Auction Records: Paintings Derrick Adams and Jammie Holmes Establish New Benchmarks at Christie’s, Works by Titus Kaphar and Henry Taylor Also Sold
CHRISTIE’S HOSTED A LIVE Post-War to Present auction this week, setting four artist records for Derrick Adams, Elaine de Kooning, Jammie Holmes, and Lucas Samaras. Two figurative paintings set new benchmarks for Adams and Holmes. The second lot in the auction, “Figure in the Urban Landscape 31” (2019) by Adams doubled expectations. The two-figure...
Eclipsing $4 Million, Barkley L. Hendricks Painting ‘Mr. Johnson (Sammy From Miami)’ Sets New Auction Record at Sotheby’s
A RECORD BREAKER opened the Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale conducted by Sotheby’s New York last week. The first lot was a 1972 portrait by Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017). His subject in “Mr. Johnson (Sammy From Miami)” wears a football jersey and a red visor atop a vertically impressive afro. He’s holding...
Auction Record: Betye Saar’s Mixed-Media Meditation on Black Education Sells for Nearly $82,000 at Sotheby’s
AN ASSEMBLAGE WORK by Betye Saar set a new artist record at auction recently. “ABCD Education” (2001) sold for $81,900 at an online sale hosted by Sotheby’s. The result was nearly three times the high estimate ($20,000-$30,000) setting a new benchmark. Saar’s work can be read as a meditation on Black education that comments...
