Market Report

What we’re hearing from galleries and auction houses across the country

A glimpse of a 2017 sale of African American art at Swann Auction Galleries.

Nigel Freeman
Vice President and Director, African-American Fine Art
Swann Auction Galleries

We have seen a growing demand for African American artists across many areas of collecting— American, modern, postwar and contemporary art—over the past four years. The market is rapidly expanding and attracting new collectors who collect either certain artists or over broad areas. We are also seeing a continued interest in acquiring African American art and diversifying in collections from museums and institutions.

Established masters like postwar abstract painters, such as Charles Alston, Beauford Delaney, Alma Thomas and Hale Woodruff, as well as women assemblage artists, Emma Amos, Howardena Pindell, Faith Ringgold and Betye Saar, are attracting considerable interest. We are also seeing new growth in our works on paper and prints sales as more collectors are looking to enter this market. We also continue to see very strong sales and record prices at auction for scarce Harlem Renaissance sculpture—in particular 1930s bronzes by Richmond Barthé and the iconic works of Augusta Savage.

We have not “discovered” these artists, as they have had museum exhibitions and are very sought after, but we were thrilled to establish an auction market with significant sales in the past years for Dindga McCannon, Winfred Rembert and Frank Wimberley. —

Swann Auction Galleries
104 E. 25th Street, New York, NY 10010
t: (212) 254-4710 www.swanngalleries.com