Topping the sale at $15,000 was this Andy Warhol letterpress poster by Murray Poster Printing Co (NYC) for The Velvet Underground and Nico. It sold to a private collector ($3/4,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Swann Galleries
NEW YORK CITY — Fringe came into full focus on February 8 when Swann Galleries offered 174 lots of posters, records, photographs, fine art, autographs, books and ephemera that was, in short, the material culture of Punk, Rock, Psych, Hip Hop and Jazz, to name just some of the movements. With more than 75 percent of the lots finding new homes, the auction achieved a total of $217,830.
“Swann is excited to be able to bring this eclectic, unexpected and seldom-encountered selection of material to market. In many ways, we are offering a living history in this auction. Subcultural relics and societal items from within (or not so much longer ago than) our own lifetimes — a timeframe underserved by the auction community. Our thanks to Boo Hooray Gallery, who helped co-curate this collection of ephemeral fragments and inspirational stepping stones,” noted house president, Nicholas D. Lowry in the preface to the catalog.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) could be considered Swann’s man of the hour, with 10 lots, including the sale’s top lot, a rare letterpress poster produced by Murray Poster Printing Co in New York City in 1966. The poster advertised the Velvet Underground, which was the house band at 23 St Marks Place, and the German singer, Nico. According to Swann’s catalog, Warhol managed The Velvet Underground from 1965 to 1967, during which time the band performed as part of his “Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia ‘events.’” It sold to a private collector for $15,000, nearly four times its high estimate.
A lot of 12 albums produced by Andy Warhol — The Velvet Underground and Nico is the band’s first album, recorded the previous year when they were touring with Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable tour. Warhol’s cover, with a removable sticker over a banana, was geared as a selling point, turning the album into a work of art. The lot appealed to bidders, who took it to $11,250, the third highest price of the sale ($7/10,000).
Two other lots of Warhol’s art for The Velvet Underground and Nico were also in the sale: a group of 12 albums spun to $11,250, while an autographed early pressing Gatefold album that retained its original banana sticker brought $7,000.
Achieving a second-place finish at $12,500 was both the American (1959) and French (1958) first editions of Robert Frank’s The Americans. The books were published by Barney Rosset, who the catalog describes as “provocative…[who brought] the avant-garde and counterculture to Americans’ attention.” Adding to the lot’s desirability was Robert Frank’s autograph and inscription to Rosset, as well as an accompanying letter by Rosset’s wife to the seller, confirming its provenance. It was one of two works by Frank in the sale.
Christoper Wool’s (b 1955) “My House III,” a 2000 color screenprint on matte custom art paper that was signed, dated and numbered 67/100, traded hands at $8,750.
Bringing an above-estimate $6,750 was “Gee Whiz” by Robert Crumb (b 1943), a pen and ink on paper drawing of a naked woman that was unsigned and dated to circa 1960. The catalog noted the sketch appeared to be an early and more subdued version of Crumb’s “ideal woman.”
Jamel Shabazz, “Flying High, Brownsville, Brooklyn,” 1982 C-print printed in 2022, 15¼ by 19¼ inches, mounted on foam core, signed, dated and noted in ink on the mount, verso. It sold for $5,750 ($1/1,500).
“Flying High, Brownsville, Brooklyn,” a C-print by Jamel Shabazz (b 1960) flew to $5,750, nearly four times its high estimate. A late 1980s C-print by Shabazz, “Back in the Days,” realized $4,250. According to the catalog essay, Shabazz is best known for his posed street photographs of urban-styled young Black people in New York City.
An artist’s book in the form of an exhibition catalog by Yoko Ono, that was comprised largely of 138 postcards of various New York City locations, was an interactive piece that memorialized a show that never happened. The 12-by-12-inch piece made an above-estimate $3,000.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For more information, www.swanngalleries.com or 212-254-4710.
