Fine Art Photographs Sale at Swann Galleries

Works by Gordon Park (1912-2006), Kara Walker (1969-), and Manuel Alvarez Bravo (1902-2002) sold at Swann Auction Galleries on Thursday, February 19, 2009.

Parks’s Untitled (children with doll) was estimated at $ 4,500-5,500 and sold for $ 4,800.

Untitled (children with doll) silver print, 1942; printed 1980s

Walker’s portfolio entitled “Testimony,” was estimated at $ 10,000-15,000 and sold for $ 8,500.

Portfolio entitled "Testimony." Photogravures, ed. 4/40, 2005

Bravo’s Espejo Negro [Black Mirror] was estimated at $ 4,000-6,000 and sold for $ 3,200.

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African-American Images at Charles Schwartz Ltd. Photography

At Charles Schwartz Ltd. Photography there are three featured exhibitions on African-American images: “19th Century African-American Carte-de-Visites from the Civil War Era,” “19th Century Photographs of African-Americans and/or by African-American Photographers,” and “African-American Photographer Henry Clay Anderson.”

Van der Zee Images Sold at Swann African-American Art Auction

The Tuesday, February 17th auction of African-American Art at Swann Galleries included three James Van der Zee silver gelatin prints. Many will be familiar with Van der Zee’s seminal work in Harlem during the interwar years (1920s-40s) and celebrity portrait photography produced in the 1980s. His work comes up for auction fairly often at Swann as well as other auction houses. Of the three shown below, the Alpha Phi Alpha image is the more widely circulated.

Shoe Store Salesman and Customer, silver gelatin print, c. 1925

Shoe Store Salesman and Customer was estimated to sell for $ 3,000-5,000 and sold for $ 2,800.

Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball Team, silver gelatin print, 1926

Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball Team was estimated to sell for $ 2,000-3,000 and sold for $ 2,000.

Undeclared War, mounted silver gelatin print, 1927

Undeclared War was estimated to sell for $ 2,000-3,000 and sold for $ 2,200.

African Americana Photographs at Swann Galleries

Swann Galleries Auction is holding their annual Printed and Manuscript African Americana auction sale on Thursday, February 26th at 10:30am and 2:30pm. Some noted photographic images are “The Scourged Back,” carte-de-visite photograph of Private Gordon ($4,000-6,000), Radical members of the South Carolina legislature (est. $1,200-1,800), and portrait photography of W.E.B. DuBois by Carl Van Vechten ($1,000-1,500).

W.E.B. DuBois - African American history scholar and intellectual

Radical members of the South Carolina legislature

"The Scourged Back"

Hello world!

Hi.  Testing feasibility of this blog content on photography and the African diaspora.  Plan to make the discussion a mix of art market information, collecting and preserving guides, trend alerts, exhibition announcements, and updates on scholarship.

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