NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries spring 2024 African American Art sale will take place on Thursday, April 4, with a standout selection of house favorites from Hughie Lee-Smith, Jacob Lawrence and more, and features a special evening session to benefit the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.

The sale is led by a significant, mid-career oil painting by the great Hughie Lee-Smith—his Ball Player, 1970, a powerful painting, that epitomizes the artist’s evocative depictions of African American youth in desolate urban settings. Ball Player has been widely exhibited and was in the personal collection of the artist before being acquired by the current owners. The work is expected at $150,000 to $250,000. Also on offer by Lee-Smith is Bather, oil on board, 1954 ($75,000-100,000), and Untitled (Study of a Woman in a Landscape), oil and pencil on canvas, 1991 ($30,000-40,000).

Lee-Smith’s figurative work is offered alongside Kermit Oliver’s Hay Rolls, acrylic on board, 1983 ($100,000-150,000), a significant mid-career by this important Texas artist. Further works of note include a vibrant scene of a carousel from 1953 by Philadelphia artist Paul F. Keene, Jr. ($30,000-40,000), Benny Andrews’s Time for Church, oil with painted canvas, lace collage and staples on canvas, 1999 ($50,000-75,000), and Charles L. Sallée Jr.’s Swingtime, oil on canvas, 1985 ($20,000-30,000).

The house is excited to bring to auction—for the first time since 2008—a complete set of Jacob Lawrence’s masterwork in printmaking, The Legend of John Brown. With this 1977 portfolio, Lawrence translated his series of John Brown paintings into 22 stunning color screenprints. The complete portfolio comes to auction at $100,000 to $150,000.

Abstraction is represented by an example of the earliest abstractions by Norman Lewis with Tenement, oil on board, 1947 ($120,000-180,000), as well as Howardena Pindell with Skowhegan Series: Lake Lillies for Karen, mixed-media, 1980-81 ($75,000-100,000), and Untitled (#72), mixed-media including punched graph papers, 1975 ($30,000-50,000). Also of note is Sam Gilliam’s 1967 acrylic, dye pigments and metallic powder work on canvas ($80,000-120,000), and Alvin D. Loving, Jr.’s Wild Goose Lake, acrylic on canvas, 1981 ($25,000-35,000).

Sculpture spans from the Harlem Renaissance to the contemporary, with works by Augusta Savage, Richmond Barthé, Simone Leigh, and Wangechi Mutu. Highlights include Savage’s Head of a Young Black Man, painted plaster, 1931-35 ($35,000-50,000), and Gamin, plaster painted gold, circa 1929 ($10,000-15,000); Barthé’s Black Majesty, bronze with a brown patina, 1969 ($50,000-75,000); two glazed terracotta vessels circa 1990s by Leigh ($50,000-75,000, apiece); and a striking pair of assemblage sculptures by Wangechi Mutu—Untitled (Bottle People Series), mixed media and glass sculptures, 1997 ($20,000-30,000).

The auction will close with a special evening session, Art for Life, featuring contemporary art to be sold to benefit the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. Registration and cocktails to take place at 5pm with the special auction to start at 6pm. The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, established in 1995 by Danny Simmons, Russell Simmons, and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons, aims to provide inner-city youth with access to the arts and exhibition opportunities for emerging and underrepresented artists, significantly impacting the landscape for artists of color and emerging talents. With support from a wide network, Rush Education programs annually serve 3,500 students, offering alternatives to high-risk behaviors and enhancing academic performance. Rush exhibits over 50 emerging artists yearly, attracting 12,000 visitors and providing career opportunities in the arts for young people. Operating galleries in Manhattan and Brooklyn, along with programs in five NYC public schools, Rush fosters artistic inspiration and education in underserved communities.

“Over the years, we’ve launched the careers of hundreds of artists, many of whom have gone on to have highly successful careers in the arts. Equally as important, or maybe even more so, are the thousands upon thousands of kids we’ve provided free art classes to. Everyone needs that first step up to get going, and thankfully, Rush has been there for that purpose,” noted Simmons on his foundation.

Donated works will feature such artists as Derrick Adams, with four new Parlay prints from his Mood Board series which are inspired by the American fashion designer Patrick Kelly ($4,000-5,000, apiece), Alexandria Smith’s Thick as Thieves, mixed media, 2014 ($8,000-12,000), Hank Willis Thomas’s The Chase Mastercard, digital c-print, 2019 ($10,000-15,000), and Carrie Mae Weems’s All the Boys, offset color lithograph, 2017 ($6,000-9,000).

The house will also host a Swann Salon Series on Thursday, March 28: a conversation with artist Renee Cox and professor and curator Halima Taha on their impactful roles and the legacy of the Rush Foundation in supporting emerging women artists.