Serving up the highest price was this 1968 edition of “Black Bean” from Andy Warhol’s (American 1928-1987) “Campbell’s Soup I” portfolio. The color screenprint on smooth wove paper measured 35-1/8 by 23-1/8 inches and was bid to $57,500 ($20/50,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
NEW YORK CITY — Contemporary art was the theme of Swann Auction Galleries’ November 26 sale. Featuring works by Pop Art icons and newer and lesser-known artists, the sale comprised 154 lots and realized $1,067,020 in total. The sale was the first in this category since Nigel Freeman took over as Swann’s head of fine art. In a post-sale release, Freeman shared, “High prices for excellent examples of Pop art prints by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein led our Contemporary Art auction. Strong sales for a diverse group of work by contemporary Black artists, in particular Richard Mayhew, Emma Amos, Thaddeus Mosley and Vanessa German, signaled the growing breadth of this category.”
Leading the sale at $57,500 was Andy Warhol’s “Black Bean.” The color screenprint of a can of Campbell’s Black Bean Soup came from the artist’s “Campbell’s Soup I” portfolio, which was based on his painting series from 1962. This print, published by Warhol’s company Factory Additions and printed by Salvatore Silkscreen Co., Inc., in 1968, was signed in ballpoint pen and numbered “132/250” with a rubber stamp on the reverse.
Achieving a record for the print, Warhol’s 1980 “Golda Meir” was bid to $45,000 — more than three times its high estimate. This edition was one of five printer’s proofs done in addition to the 200 printed and was signed and numbered “PP 4/5” in pencil to the lower right. The portrait depicted former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and was from Warhol’s series titled “Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century.”
Depicting former Israeli Prime Minster Golda Meir, this color screenprint on Lenox Museum Board by Andy Warhol (American 1928-1987), 1980, 40 by 32 inches, was from his “Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century” portfolio; it sold for $45,000 ($8/12,000).
According to the auction catalog, “The portfolio was the result of his first collaboration with Ronald Feldman Fine Arts. Warhol took source photographs of ten preeminent Jewish politicians, intellectuals and artists, whom he referred to as ‘Jewish Geniuses.’ They differ from his earlier subjects as they were not contemporary pop culture icons.”
Another significant result was that of “Ridge” by Richard Mayhew. The $55,000 achieved for this gouache and pastel painting was a record for a Mayhew work on paper. The circa 2005 painting was from a private collection in New York and was signed to the lower left and titled to the reverse in pencil.
An acrylic painted wood prototype for Richard Artschwager’s “Pregunta II” closed at $50,000. The question mark, which was in two parts, was painted in black, white and gray and each piece was signed and dated to the reverse in felt-tip pen. The auction catalog included details about the work as it related to the “Complete Multiples” exhibition at Brooke Alexander Editions in New York City, saying that the punctuation pieces in the exhibition “inflect objects and spaces the way written punctuation inflects the objects and spaces of written language.”
“Atmospheric Exploration” by Mildred Thompson (American, 1936-2003), 2002, oil stick on vinyl, 37¾ by 27 inches, brought $40,000 ($40/60,000).
Settling at $40,000 was Mildred Thompson’s 2002 “Atmospheric Exploration.” This composition, done in oil stick on vinyl, is made up of flecks of color, seemingly in motion, depicting the scientific phenomena. Explained in the catalog noted, “‘Atmospheric Exploration’ is a continuation of Thompson’s application of scientific phenomena, mathematics and physics to abstraction…Through forms and colors that convey velocity, density, energy and dynamism, Thompson depicted her personal interpretation of scientific phenomenon and systems — or as she described, ‘what goes on beneath the earth and things of the atmosphere.’”
Coming from a series of works celebrating the life and legacy of civil rights activist John Lewis, Benny Andrews’ “Funeral Procession” was bid to $40,000. The 2006 oil with fabric and paper collage was signed, titled, dated and labeled with the series name and belonged to a private collector in Maryland.
Two glazed terracotta vases by Simone Leigh were offered, with both of them selling for $37,500. Both vessels, crafted circa 1990s, were acquired by a private Philadelphia collector directly from the artist in 2020. Of different forms, both had the same basic body shape and deep brown color, though one had a narrow neck and the other did not.
Achieving the same price was a color offset lithograph of Roy Lichtenstein’s “Crying Girl.” The 1963 print, signed in pencil to the lower right margin, was printed by Colorcraft, New York City, and published by Leo Castelli Gallery, New York City.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, www.swanngalleries.com or 212-254-4710.
