NEW YORK, NY.- Contemporary Art is at Swann Galleries Thursday, June 5. The sale will feature a strong selection of works by influential artists from the twentieth and twenty-first century, including an impressive selection of Pop Art prints by Andy Warhol and works by celebrated contemporary Black artists.
Keith Haring leads the auction with Andy Mouse, color screenprint, 1986, at $150,000 to $200,000. For Andy Mouse, Haring paid homage to his fried, Andy Warhol, and to Walt Disney by superimposing Warhols face over Mickey Mouses body. In combining the two, Haring creates the ultimate commercialized icon. Also on offer by Haring is a poster for the 1984 exhibition, Keith Haring: Into 1984/Tony Shafrai Gallery ($800-1,200).
A strong selection of prints by Andy Warhol are among the highlights of the Pop Art section, including Warhols African Elephant, 1983 ($80,000-120,000), Consommé (Beef), 1968 ($30,000-50,000), The New Spirit (Donald Duck), 1985 ($50,000-80,000), and Sarah Bernhardt, 1980 ($25,000-35,000).
Additional Pop Art high spots include Jim Dines L.A. Watercolor, a set of eight watercolors on paper, 1981 ($50,000-70,000), Robert Indianas Love, a set of four color screenprints, 1972 ($15,000-25,000), and Roy Lichtensteins Reflections on Expressionist Painting, color screenprint, 1990 ($15,000-25,000).
Following the previous success of the houses offering of contemporary Black artists, this sale will also feature works by Richard Mayhew, Frank Wimberley, Cassi Namoda, Hughie Lee-Smith, and Vanessa German. Notable lots include Lee-Smiths Interlude, oil on canvas, 1991 ($70,000-100,000), an excellent example of the artists late series of paintings depicting musicians and actors in a staged environment; Mayhews Prelude, oil on canvas, 1993-94 ($40,000-60,000); Wimberleys Of Course, acrylic on canvas, 2011 ($20,000-30,000); and Namodas Man of My Dreams, acrylic on canvas, 2017 ($10,000-15,000). Works by Emma Amos, Carrie Mae Weems and Sir Frank Bowling, OBE RA also feature.
Late twentieth century works feature Robert Longos Untitled (Eric), charcoal, graphite and ink, 1994 ($60,000-90,000); Sean Scullys Seven Mirrors, portfolio with complete text and seven color aquatints with spitbite and sugarlift, 1997 ($10,000-15,000); and Frank Stellas Epitaph to Beuys, relief-etching on TGL handmade paper, 1991 ($7,000-10,000).
Twenty-first century highlights include an important unique color screenprint by Shepard Fairey. Faireys Voting Rights are Human Rights, 2019 ($75,000-100,000). The print is result the of a collaboration between the artist and photographer Steve Schapiro who documented the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Fairey installed a mural of the subject in Downtown Milwaukee in 2020, part of a national tour in coinciding with the 2020 election season. Further works include El Anatsuis Paper and Gold, color inkjet print with hand-cut edges, printed and hand-sculpted aluminum collage and copper wire, 2017 ($10,000-15,000); and Richard Hambletons Shadow Head Portrait, acrylic on paper, 2003 ($10,000-15,000).
Exhibition hours are 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, and Monday, June 2, through Wednesday, June 4. Bidding is available through online platforms, absentee, the phone, and live in-person. Live online bidding platforms will be the Swann Galleries App, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers.