Swann’s African-American Art sale was a record for the category and the auction house. The volume of bidding caused the sale to run twice as long as the usual event at Swann. The top lots, a Norman Lewis painting that sold for three times the high estimate and a Beauford Delaney work that made twice the high estimate, were not the only works to significantly out-perform. Sam Gilliam’s untitled bevelled work continued his market run with a $233k sale that was nearly four times the high estimate.

There were twelve artists’ records set during the sale as Swann continues to develop a category that they pioneered.

Sale total: $4,509,540

Estimates for the sale as a whole: $2,036,500-$3,070,000
160 lots offered, 134 sold (84% sell-through rate by lot)

All prices include Buyer’s Premium.

Top lots
45† Norman Lewis, Untitled, oil on canvas, 1956. $725,000 C
33* Beauford Delaney, Untitled (Village Street Scene), oil on canvas, 1948. $557,000 I
50* Charles White, O Freedom, charcoal with crayon & wash on board, 1956. $509,000 D
55 Jacob Lawrence, 19. Tension on the High Seas, tempera on board, 1956. $413,000 C
77* Hale Woodruff, Primordial Landscape, oil on canvas, 1967. $245,000 C
93 Sam Gilliam, Untitled, acrylic on beveled canvas, 1972. $233,000 C
28† Elizabeth Catlett, Head of a Woman (Woman), oil on canvas, 1942-22. $209,000 I
25* William H. Johnson, Jitterbugs III, color screenprint and pochoir, circa 1941. $118,750 C
24 Johnson, Jitterbugs II, color screenprint and pochoir, circa 1941. $112,500 C
133* Ed Clark, Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 1890. $93,750 C
88* Vincent D. Smith, Attrition, oil and sand on canvas, 1972. $67,500 C
118 Romare Bearden, Obeah Woman with her Daughter (La Sorcière avec sa fille), watercolor, circa 1984. $60,000 C
1 Charles Ethan Porter, Sunflowers, oil on canvas, circa 1880s. $50,000 C
149 Frank Bowling, Man Overboard, acrylic and acrylic gel on stitched canvas, 2000. $50,000 I
40 Hughie Lee-Smith, The Bouquet, oil on board, 1949. $50,000 I
37* Robert Neal, Rearguard, oil on canvas, 1950. $45,000 D
7 Aaron Douglas, Emperor Jones, set of four woodcuts, 1926. $40,000 I
74 Jack Whitten, Untitled, oil on canvas, 1967. $37,500 C
132 Clark, Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 1990. $37,500 C
155* Richard Mayhew, Cherry Hill, oil on canvas, 2004. $32,500 C

Key: * = Artist Record; † = Second-highest price for artist at auction; C = Collector; D = Dealer; I = Institution

Swann held its African American art sale earlier this month. The top lot was this Norman Lewis painting bringing in more than half a million dollars. That’s a substantial new record for the artist. Below is the top ten lots of the sale. (The annotations identify Collectors, Dealers and Institutions as buyers.)

1. Norman Lewis, Untitled (1957) $581,000 C
2. Elizabeth Catlett, Head (1947) $173,000 I
3. Charles White, Hope Imprisoned (1946) $62,500 D
4. Alvin D. Loving, Jr., Karin and Janie Talking, (1976) $56,250 C
5. Charles White, Untitled (Head of a Man), (circa 1967-68) $55,000 D
6. Frank Bowling, Karters Choice (1972) $50,000 C
7. Howardena Pindell, Untitled #56 (2010) $43,750 C
8. Sargent Claude Johnson, Dancer (circa 1938-40) $37,500 I
9. Mavis Pusey, Nuvae (circa 1968) $33,750 C
10. Romare Bearden, Christ Healing the Sick (1945) $32,500 C

Sale total: $1,735,690 ~ Hammer estimates: $1,504,000 – $2,263,000; Hammer total: $1,405,100; 149 lots offered; 111 sold (74% sell-through)

This chart of the last five years of African American art sales shows the bumpy progress the category is making under Swann’s leadership: