Four captivating examples of the artist’s photographs, taken between 1973 and 1984, will be auctioned in August as part of Swann’s fourth annual LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture, and History sale.
Swann Auction Galleries
“One Day This Kid” Project Commemorates the 30th Anniversary of David Wojnarowicz’s Death
PPOW Gallery and the David Wojnarowicz Foundation launched an interactive project dedicated to the artist’s iconic photo-text collage.
William Gropper’s Incisive Cartoons in Defense of the New Deal Look Familiar Today
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.
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.
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.
The Sensual, Surreal, and Queer PaJaMa Collective
The collective staged erotically charged photographs of themselves and those in their artistic circles.
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.
The Erotic Nostalgia of Lesbian Pulp Fiction
Published from the 1950s through 1970s, their covers are colorful, kitschy, and anachronistic.
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.
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.
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.
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.