Malvin Gray Johnson’s “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” 1928-29
Image: Swann, New York

Artinfo.com
Published: February 24, 2010

Earlier this month, the biggest auction houses proved they were back on their game, posting strong numbers in London. Now their smaller brethren are proving that they can notch up sales too. Swann’s auction of African-American fine art took home a healthy $1.24 million total with buyer’s premium yesterday, just barely shy of its $1.3–1.9 million estimate. Of the 162 works on offer, 118 found buyers, netting the auctioneer a respectable 73 percent sold-rate by lot.

Malvin Gray Johnson, a member of the Harlem Renaissance, had a striking auction debut, as a collector paid $228,000 for his Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, 1928-29, which depicts a group of people pointing out at a dark, cloud-filled landscape. Swann declared it the artist’s “best known work,” and the bidder seemed to agree.

The somewhat peculiar premise of the auction led to an unusual mixture of artists, ranging across different time periods and styles. Jacob Lawrence’s circa 1941-42 gouache on board, Untitled (Two Card Players), went for $42,600, followed later by a choice David Hammons print from 1977, Untitled (Body Print), which earned a sporty $114,000, beating its $80,000–100,000 estimate with the addition of the buyer’s premium. It was the second most expensive lot of the evening.