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.
Tag: Swann Auction Galleries
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inArt
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.
Posted inArt
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.
Posted inArt
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
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Telling Queer Stories: The Challenges of Unearthing a History
Join Hrag Vartanian in conversation with Cathy Renna & Eduardo Ayala Fuentes at Swann Galleries on Monday, June 17 from 6 to 8 pm.
Posted inPodcast
Decolonizing the Color of Queerness
Artist Cristina Pitter helps us open Pride Month with a paean from her performance piece, Decolonizing the Color of Queerness
Posted inNews
Jacob Lawrence Painting Missing for Half a Century Goes to Auction
A historical scene from the Chesapeake-Leopard affair (the 1807 incident that led to the War of 1812), the painting is headed for auction on April 5.
Posted inArt
The Earliest Known Printed Illustrations of the Greek Constellations
A rare first edition of the Poeticon Astronomicon, printed in Germany in 1492, is headed to auction at Swann.
Posted inArt
A 19th-Century Illustrated Guide to Bizarre British Games, Including Hot Cockles and Hoodman’s Blind
In 1801, British writer and engraver Joseph Strutt published a compendium of bizarre medieval pastimes.
Posted inArt
A 1792 Mexican Novel Shows Early Day of the Dead Iconography
Engravings by Francisco Agüera Bustamante in The Astounding Life of Death show the bony figure in a variety of roles, from a baby to a king.
Posted inNews
Crowdfunding Campaign Aims to Bring Rare Photo of Harriet Tubman Home
A previously unrecorded photograph of the trailblazing abolitionist is going to auction later this month, and the Harriet Tubman Home historic site hopes to be the top bidder.