Early Pop Print by Lichtenstein Leads Contemporary Art at Swann

New York—Swann Galleries will offer a sale of Contemporary Art on Thursday, June 25 with a standout selection of paintings and works on paper from notable Abstract Expressionists, Pop Artists, street artists of the 1980s, alongside contemporary multiples. 

Leading the sale is Roy Lichtenstein’s celebrated color-screenprint Reverie, 1965—one of the artist’s first pop prints, expected to sell for $100,000 to $150,000. Additional Pop Art features by Robert Indiana’s The American Dream, a 1997 portfolio with complete text and 30 color screenprints ($10,000-15,000); James Rosenquist’s Horse Blinders (East), color lithograph and screenprint with pressure-sensitive bright silver foil, 1972 ($4,000-6,000); and one Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s soup can color screenprints, Consommé (Beef), 1968 ($20,000-30,000). 

A stellar group of works by Abstract Expressionist artists of the New York school includes a run of prints and drawings by Louise Nevelson from the ex-collection of Albert Argentieri, who often photographed Nevelson’s works. Highlights from the offering include Circus Wagon, aquatint and etching, circa 1955 ($3,000-5,000), and Two Seated Women, pen and ink, 1930s ($4,000-6,000). Further notable works feature Willem de Kooning’s 1980 color lithograph Figures in Landscape #6 ($12,000-18,000); Helen Frankenthaler’s vibrant 2005 color screenprint Southern Exposure ($8,000-12,000); Joan Mitchell’s 1972 color aquatint Sunflower VI ($4,000-6,000); Jackson Pollock’s bronze sculpture of a head, modeled circa 1930-33, cast in 1963 ($15,000-20,000); and Robert Motherwell’s 1989 color lithograph Wave ($15,000-20,000). 

Further notable works in abstraction include Richard Diebenkorn’s 1986 color aquatint Folsom Street Variation III (Primaries) ($25,000-35,000); Sam Gilliam’s 1990 color screenprint For Xavier ($4,000-6,000); and Julie Mehretu’s 2013 color lithograph Untitled (Pulse) ($4,000-6,000).

Works from the British school of artists include Barbara Hepworth’s Clinic #3, a 1947 pencil on cardstock sketch of a doctor and patient scene ($70,000-100,000); Lucian Freud’s Head and Shoulders, etching, 1982 ($10,000-15,000); David Hockney’s 2019 eight-color inkjet print from an iPad drawing Spring (No. 778, 17th April, 2011-2019) of a view looking outside a window ($8,000-12,000); and Damien Hirst’s Manganese Chloride, color woodcut, 2011 ($2,000-3,000). 

Paintings by Richard Hambleton make up some of the top lots in the sale. Known for painting hundreds of the figure silhouettes around New York in the 1980s, he later transformed this motif to canvas and works on paper, broadening his reach. Acrylic on canvas works include Rodeo, 2003 ($50,000-80,000) and Shadow Head, 2007 ($20,000-30,000), and Shadowman, a 1994 acrylic on paper ($10,000-15,000) also features. 

Other works by postwar and contemporary icons include Richard Anuszkiewicz’s Masked Triad, oil on three-dimensional wood construction, 1993 ($30,000-50,000); George Condo’s Jazz Edge, acrylic on canvas, 1999 ($30,000-50,000); and Jeff Koons’s Balloon Monkey (Blue), porcelain with chromatic coating, 2017 ($12,000-18,000).

While current restrictions will not allow for in-person examination of the material, Swann Galleries staff will prepare condition reports and provide additional photographs of material on request. Advance order bids can be placed directly with the specialist for the sale or on Swann’s website, and limited, pre-arranged phone bidding will be available. Live online bidding platforms available will be the Swann Galleries App, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers. The complete catalogue and bidding information is available at www.swanngalleries.com and on the Swann Galleries App.

Additional highlights can be found here.

Captions:

Lot 232: Roy Lichtenstein, Reverie, color screenprint, 1965. Estimate $100,000 to $150,000.

Lot 50: Helen Frankenthaler, Southern Exposure, color screenprint, 2005. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

Lot 314: Barbara Hepworth, Clinic #3, pencil on cardstock, 1947. Estimate $70,000 to $100,000.

Auction date: Thursday, June 25, at 10:30 am

Specialist: Todd Weyman • [email protected] • 212-254-4710 x 32

Communications Director: Alexandra Nelson • [email protected] • 212-254-4710 x 19

Public Relations Associate: Kelsie Jankowski • [email protected] • 212-254-4710 x 23

Social media: @swanngalleries

#   #   #

PRINTED CATALOGUE & ADDL. DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Swann Auction Galleries is a third-generation family business as well as the world’s largest auction house for works on paper. In the last 75 years, Swann has repeatedly revolutionized the trade with such innovations as the first U.S. auction dedicated to photographs and the world’s only department of African-American Fine Art. More than 30 auctions and previews are held annually in Swann Galleries’ two-floor exhibition space in Midtown Manhattan, and online worldwide. Visit swanngalleries.com for more information.