Achieving $25,000, the sale-high price, was “The Flatiron – Evening,” from Camera Work XIV by Edward Steichen (1879-1973), 1904; three-color halftone print, 1906, 12 by 8½ inches ($10/15,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
NEW YORK CITY — Marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of New York, Swann Auction Galleries conducted its New York Sale, presenting 231 lots, primarily of posters and photographs, honoring the city that never sleeps. According to Swann communications manager, Kelsie Jankowski, the sale had “a 70 percent sell-through rate by lot, totaling $457,977. Top lots were sold to collectors, dealers and institutions alike, with buyers participating in the room, through the Swann App and phones, as well as through advanced left bids.”
Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann president and the specialist for the sale, added, “Reviving the New York sale after a 23-year hiatus on the eve of New York City’s 400th birthday was a company-wide labor of love for the city in which we all reside. For our efforts, we were awarded an exhibition that was better attended than most of our other auctions and an auction that saw many satisfying results and served to validate that we are not alone in being in awe of this magnificent metropolis. Photographs, posters, maps, books, prints and artwork all performed well and the bidding was active and exciting.”
A 1904 photograph of the Flatiron Building finished as the top lot of the day. The image, Edward Steichen’s “The Flatiron – Evening,” from Camera Work XIV, was bid to $25,000. Printed in 1906, the dark, misty green image was a three-color halftone print, double mounted to Japan tissue and the original page mount. As described in the catalog, “Upon completion in 1902 [the Flatiron Building] was one of the tallest buildings in the city and its magnificence has been beautifully recorded by Steichen in this evocative photograph in 1904. With its atmospheric yet modernist aura, the photograph captures the interplay between the tree branches in the foreground, the carioles on the rainy streets and the newly built Flatiron that we can distinguish in the background at dusk. … ‘The Flatiron – Evening’ is not only a strong testimony of modern New York but also a subtle chromatic study of twilight with its undoubtedly Japanese influence.”
“Rainy Day, Queens” by Martin Lewis (1881-1962), 1931, drypoint, 10-5/8 by 11-7/8 inches, brought $21,250 ($15/20,000).
Martin Lewis’ “Rainy Day, Queens,” a 1931 drypoint print of pedestrians and cars traveling along the city street, was bid just above its estimate to $21,250. With full margins, this print was one edition of 70 and was signed to the lower right.
Printed in the 1980s, Berenice Abbott’s 1932 “New York at Night” went out for $18,750. The silver print image was marked with Abbott’s block-lettered signature in pencil to the bottom right as well as her “Abbot, Maine” stamp on the reverse.
“Dolores wants a Taxi, New York” by William Klein was taken for Vogue magazine in 1958. With provenance to William Klein, Paris, and two private collections in New York, the 2021 chromogenic print, number 14 of 30, sold for $12,500. Another photograph by Klein, this one titled “Atomic Sky,” featuring the New York City skyline under moonlight, sold for $10,625. This silver print of the 1955 photo was printed later and featured Klein’s signature, title and negative date in ink on the reverse of the mount.
The highest-achieving painting in the sale was Noel Mahaffey’s “Times Square.” The oil on canvas work, done in 1980, was initialed to the lower right and sold for $11,250. Bearing a label from OK Harris, New York, the busy city piece also had provenance to a private Pennsylvania collection.
“Times Square” by Noel Mahaffey (b 1944), 1980, oil on canvas, 36¼ by 42¼ inches, was bid to $11,250 ($4/6,000).
The selection of posters was led by Harley Wood’s 1952 travel poster for the Pennsylvania Railroad advertising the message “New York / Go By Train.” The offset lithograph poster depicted a man and woman at the top of the Empire State Building, overlooking the city below. The catalog described this poster as “one of the rarest and most spectacular of the mid century New York travel posters,” and noted that “the image was also used on the cover of train timetables.” Landing within its estimate range, the ticket was punched for $10,625.
Another successful poster, achieving the same price, was “New York Central Building / At the Gateway to a Continent” by Chesley Bonestell. This circa 1929 lithograph poster was published by the Long Island City-based Latham Litho. & Ptg. Co., and featured Bonestell’s “mesmerizing and dramatic nighttime view down Park Avenue of the New York Central Building, a modern ziggurat, in all its glory,” per the auction catalog.
An archive of more than 140 photographs documenting various scenes of activity at Ellis Island from the 1890s to 1940s sold for $10,000. The collection comprised images from various photographers including Augustus F. Sherman (1866-1925), The Brown Bros. (active 1900s-40s), Perry A. Glick (active 1910s-20s), Edwin Levick (1868-1929), Underwood & Underwood (active 1880s-1940s) and several unknown photographers. With two albumen prints and 140 silver prints, the archive came from the collection of Edith S. Oshin, then by descent to the consignors.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.swanngalleries.com or 212-254-4710.
