Still resonating with relevance, William Gropper’s incisive cartoons in defense of the WPA go on auction at New York’s Swann Galleries together with other works by celebrated WPA artists.
Swann Auction Galleries
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299 Funny, Insightful, and Creative Artists’ Books Head to Auction
Ed Ruscha, Louise Bourgeois, and David Hammons have all creatively forayed into the nebulous genre of “artists’ books” that are going up for auction at Swann Auction Galleries.
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Féral Benga, the Cabaret Dancer Who Redefined Black Masculinity
A double portrait of the dancer and Harlem Renaissance icon at Swann Galleries evokes his allure as an artist’s model and his indelible imprint on modernism.
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The Sensual, Surreal, and Queer PaJaMa Collective
The collective staged erotically charged photographs of themselves and those in their artistic circles.
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An Early 20th-Century Erotic Illustrator and Her Queer Vision of Beauty
Gerda Wegener’s works ranged from glamorous portraits of her partner to graphic illustrations of sex that celebrated women’s pleasure.
Posted inBooks
The Erotic Nostalgia of Lesbian Pulp Fiction
Published from the 1950s through 1970s, their covers are colorful, kitschy, and anachronistic.
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Queer Art and Historical Ephemera Up for Auction at Swann
Material from the 1800s through contemporary times includes art by Tom of Finland, Gerda Wegener, and JEB, as well as works of lesbian pulp fiction and more, all available on August 19.
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How Swann Galleries Set the Stage for the Modern African American Art Market
For the past 13 years, Swann has been the only major auction house with a department dedicated to African American art, setting auction records for artists such as Sam Gilliam, Faith Ringgold, and Charles White.
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For Decades, JEB Has Captured Liberatory Photographs of Lesbian Life
A portrait of Audre Lorde and an intimate embrace between a couple in 1979 are two of four photographs by Joan E. Biren.
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How Tessa Boffin, One of the Leading Lesbian Artists of the AIDS Crisis, Vanished From History
Boffin explained in a 1991 radio interview that she was trying to put lesbians back on the political agenda, but her risqué performances frequently drew criticism from inside the LGBTQ community.
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The Day When Harvey Milk Was Mayor
The first openly gay elected official in the nation had just one day in San Francisco’s mayoral office in 1978, but the meaning of that moment will echo for generations.
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Read Allen Ginsberg’s Annotations About the Early Years of the Gay Pride Parade
When the beat poet looked through Hank O’Neal’s photographs of the pride march, he took the chance to narrate history