"American Art" Auction at the Swann Gallery

On Thursday, my class, "New York and the Visual Arts'" at Pace University went to the Swann Gallery's "American Art" auction on east 25th street. I have never been to an art auction in my life, so this experience was eye-opening. As we walked into the galley room, we saw several pieces being auctioned on the walls. 

During the auction, the auctioneer showed a piece which started at a certain price. Each bidder had a stick with their identifying number attached. When the auctioneer announced a price the art piece was going for, if the bidder wanted to buy it, he or she would raise their stick.  As long as multiple bidders offered to buy a piece for the auctioned price, the auctioneer would keep increasing the value. At the end of the auction for each piece, each work of art went to the highest bidder. 

Before going to this art auction at the Swann Gallery, I thought the pricing of art was more objective, possibly based on paints and materials. However, I learned that the pricing of art is subjective. Works of art are quantified by the artist who made it and simply, how much voyeurs want the piece.

I found it interesting and confusing how the works of art were priced. For instance, Abraham Walkowitz's "Skyscrapers," a blurry watercolor of the skyscrapers in New York, was $2,000. About fifteen years later, Guy C. Wiggins made a clearer painting, with oil on canvas, "Fifth Avenue Storm," which was $30,000. There is no exact science for the reason people buy a piece of art. It is a subjective practice. What people like today may become a fad tomorrow.

 

While I was browsing through the to-be auctioned works at the Swann Gallery, a few pieces caught my attention. One of those pieces was Frank W. Benson's painting, "Seascape" which was auctioned for $4,000. "Seascape" is watercolor of the sea. Benson uses white, light blues and greens to create the color of the sea, giving the painting a calming effect. Just by looking at this painting, one can imagine themselves with their feet in the sand looking out at the sea, listening to the soothing waves Benson adds white for the sea foam which lies atop the water. He paints the rocks of the sea brown. If you look closely, you can see that the rocks aren't simply just brown, but also purple, blue, and white. The rocks blend with the colors of the sea. Even if I did not see this piece in an art auction, I would have been drawn to it because of my propensity towards water. Additionally, the fact that the piece was estimated to be between $8,000 and $12,000 demonstrates the subjectivity of art.

Photo Credits: www.publicdelivery.org

  Graffiti is an example where works of art are determined differently than artworks inside formal art institutions.  Voyeurs will either look at graffiti as beautiful street art or an act of defacement. Keith Haring, for instance, a renowned street artist, was arrested several times by the New York police in the 1980s. However, he was also commissioned to do public art installations. Therefore, it is impossible to be objective when looking at and assessing the value of an art piece.

If you want to look at beautiful works of art, purchase them, or both, I suggest you attend an art auction.