Lot 51: SIR FRANK BOWLING, OBE RA (b. 1934), “Profile,” 2013 (acrylic on canvas with marouflage, 737 x 914 mm / 29 x 38 inches). | Estimate $50,000-$75,000
WORKS BY FRANK BOWLING, Norman Lewis, Alma Thomas, Beauford Delaney, Jack Whitten, and dozens more Black artists are for sale this week at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. Swann’s African American Art Department is hosting Abstract Beauty: The Collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim on Feb. 6. The 82-lot sale presents an array works from a single collection, including paintings by highly regarded artists working in abstraction over the past century.
The auction features works from the estate of Patricia Scipio-Brim (1947-2023), a New York lawyer who began collecting art in the 1980s. Over four decades, she acquired works in a range of styles and mediums. The auction includes abstract and figurative works across paintings, drawings, mixed-media, and photography produced over the past 130 years.
Hale Woodruff, Charles Alston, Bob Thompson, Lois Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Emma Amos, Ed Clark, Thornton Dial, James Little, McArthur Binion, and Kara Walker are among the artists represented in the sale. Photographs by Kamoinge Workshop members Anthony Barboza, Beuford Smith, and Gerald Cyrus are offered. Compelling works by lesser-known figures are also featured, including Ealy Mays, Louis B. Sloan, and Terry Boddie.
Scipio-Brim’s collection dates from the late 19th century to the modern, post-war, and contemporary eras. The earliest work in the auction is “Study for Christ Healing the Sick” (1899), a pencil drawing by Edward M. Bannister. Works by Gregory Coates, Nahúm Flores, Tyrone Geter, Tomashi Jackson, and Christie Neptune produced in 2019 and 2020, are the most recent. Estimates span from $1,000-$1,500 to $60,000-$90,000. More than 60 lots carry estimates starting at $8,000 or less.
Patricia Scipio-Brim acquired works directly from artists, made purchases from Black-owned galleries, and bought at auction from Swann, Sotheby’s, and Skinner Boston.
Lot 22: ALMA W. THOMAS (1891-1978), Untitled (From the Atmospheric Effect series), 1971 (acrylic and pencil on Arches, 381 x 584 mm / 15 x 23 inches). | Estimate: $60,000-$90,000). | Estimate $60,000-$90,000
SINGLE-OWNER SALES tell stories, revealing the interests and journey of the collector. Scipio-Brim acquired works directly from artists, made purchases from Black-owned galleries, and bought at auction from Swann, Sotheby’s, and Skinner Boston (now Bonham Skinner). Among the lots offered in Abstract Beauty, the provenance records provide more details.
Scipio-Brim purchased works directly from Romare Bearden, Frank Bowling, Gregory Coates, and Algernon Miller. She also bought two abstract paintings defined by bold dramatic strokes from Frank Wimberly. “Profile” (2013) and “Looking for Carmen” (2006), abstract paintings by Bowling, are among the most expensive lots in the auction, with estimates starting at $50,000 and $60,000, respectively. Born in British Guiana, Bowling is known for splitting his time between New York and London.
Another top lot in the sale is an untitled abstract painting by Alma Thomas, a 1971 work from her Atmospheric Effect series that was acquired from Bill Hodges Gallery in 2008. (The painting carries an estimate of $60,000-$90,000). Located in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, Bill Hodges Gallery was established by Billy E. Hodges in 1979. Scipio-Brim bought works from several other Black-owned galleries, including Peg Alston Fine Arts, Kenkeleba House, Spiral Gallery, Merton D. Simpson Gallery, and Dorsey’s Art Gallery, all in New York; Stella Jones Gallery in New Orleans, La.; and Galerie Intemporelle in Paris, France.
Scipio-Brim purchased two mixed media collages by James Denmark produced in the 1980s from Spiral Gallery, which was founded by James Powers (1940-2020) in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. A 1992 watercolor by Joe Overstreet was acquired from Kenkeleba House, the nonprofit gallery the artist co-founded in 1974. Works by Otto Neals and Ellsworth Ausby hail from Dorsey’s Gallery in Brooklyn. Stella Jones Gallery was the source for watercolors by Hughie-Lee Smith and Richard Mayhew and an etching by Barbara Chase-Riboud.
Scipio-Brim found “Circe” (2009) and “Dionysus” (2013), paintings by Elizabeth Colomba (b. 1976) at Galerie Intemporelle. The Black woman-owned gallery was founded by Lawrence Choko in 1982. A Harlem-based, French artist with roots in Martinique, Colomba centers the stories of Black women in her figurative scenes. She draws on her French Caribbean background and engages with art history, challenging its traditional notions of Western beauty.
Lot 69: ELIZABETH COLOMBA (b. 1976), “Circe,” 2009 (oil on cotton canvas, 609 x 508 mm / 24 x 20 inches). | Estimate $2,000-$3,000
SWANN ESTABLISHED its African American Art Department in 2006 (it was called African American “Fine” Art at the time) and held an inaugural sale on Feb. 6, 2007. The department has generally conducted two African American art sales per year.
Over the past two decades, a handful of single-owner sales have been added to the schedule. The Golden State Mutual Life African-American Art Collection on Oct. 4, 2007, was the department’s second auction. When it was founded in 1925, Golden State was the largest Black-owned insurance company in the Western United States. The company’s impressive collection included prized works by Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, David Hammons, John Biggers, and Beulah Woodard. More recently, African-American Art from the Johnson Publishing Company, an auction featuring works from the collection of the publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, was held Jan. 30, 2020.
In addition to these institutional sales, Swann has staged single-owner auctions focused on the collections of individuals. The 47-lot Richard Long Collection of African-American Art was featured in Swann’s African American Art auction on Oct. 9, 2014. The Art Collection of Maya Angelou (Feb. 15, 2015) featured 44 lots, including “Maya’s Quilt of Life” (1989) by Faith Ringgold, which set an auction record for the artist. This week Swann is presenting the collection of Scipio-Brim.
“I’ll never forget the joy on her face when I took her to Frank Wimberley’s house. She was so excited to meet him, and she ended up purchasing two incredible pieces, both of which are part of this show. Then there was Gregory Coates—Pat came with me to his studio twice and left with over ten pieces.” — Jennifer Stewart
BORN IN PORT OF SPAIN in Trinidad and Tobago, Patricia Scipio-Brim (left) immigrated to the United States in her mid-20s. She earned juris doctorate and master of laws degrees from New York University School of Law and worked in corporate law at a few firms, where she focused on tax matters. In the public sector, she was a supervising administrative law judge in the New York City Department of Finance and a real estate liaison for the Office of the Public Administrator for New York County.
In addition to being a collector, Scipio-Brim supported the Studio Museum in Harlem, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the performing arts, according to her obituary. She was particularly fond of Alvin Ailey American American Dance Theater, seasonly attending performances in New York and on international tours, an affinity reflected in her collecting. Among the work at auction is “Untitled (Costume Design for Alvin Ailey’s Revelations)” by Ves Harper (1930-2004). The circa 1958-59 gouache and ink work on paper is a fashion sketch-style depiction of a dancer in a flowing yellow dress.
Jennifer Stewart, an art collector, advisor, and friend of Scipio-Brim, wrote about the late collector on Swann’s website. Stewart said Scipio-Brim was a determined and decisive collector. She was known to show up the day before gallery openings to preview available works and enjoyed visiting artists at their studios. Stewart often accompanied the collector on the visits and described each one as “an adventure.”
“I’ll never forget the joy on her face when I took her to Frank Wimberley’s house. She was so excited to meet him, and she ended up purchasing two incredible pieces, both of which are part of this show. Then there was Gregory Coates—Pat came with me to his studio twice and left with over ten pieces.” Stewart wrote.
“At Camille Billops’ studio, she discovered treasures that became cherished parts of her collection. When we visited Frank Bowling’s studio, her discerning eye immediately gravitated toward several works. At Kenkeleba Gallery, it became a delightful tradition—Pat never left without finding a piece that spoke to her.”
A piece in the auction inspired the title of the sale. “The Abstract Beauty of Earth” (1969) was produced by Leon Meeks (1940-2024). The latex and acrylic polymer on wood panel work was a recent addition to Scipio-Brim’s collection. She bought it from a Swann auction in 2020. The work was offered in the Johnson Publishing Company sale. The provenance has a great backstory. Johnson Publishing acquired the work directly from the artist’s studio at The Chemorphic Art Institute in New York. Meeks died in September in Gainesville, Fla., at the age of 84. According to his obituary, he studied at Pratt Institute, Mechanics Institute, and New York University and was once employed by Johnson Publishing. CT
IMAGE: Above left, Patricia Scipio-Brim. | Courtesy Swann Auction Galleries
FIND MORE about Swann’s Richard Long, Maya Angelou, and Johnson Publishing auctions on Culture Type
Lot 7: JACOB LAWRENCE (1917-2000), “A Negro Woman,” 1958 (ink on wove paper, 241 x 178 mm / 9½ x 7 inches). | Estimate: $8,000-$12,000
Lot 11: JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018), Untitled, 1964 (pastel on paper, 292 x 490 mm / 11½ x 19⅜ inches). | Estimate $15,000-$25,000
Lot 13: BOB THOMPSON (1937-1966), Untitled, 1963 (gouache and pastel on printed paper, 155 x 140 mm / 6⅛ x 5⅝ inches). | Estimate $7,000-$10,000
Lot 16: BEUFORD SMITH (b. 1941), “Man Child,” 1973 (silver gelatin print, 1973. 279×355 mm; 11×14 inches). | Estimate $2,000-$3,000
Lot 17: LEON MEEKS (1940-2024), “The Abstract Beauty of Earth,” 1969 (latex and acrylic polymer on wood panel, 610 x 610 mm / 24 x 24 inches, numbered 56/69). | Estimate $3,000-$5,000
Lot 19: CHARLES HENRY ALSTON (1907-1977), Untitled (Still Life), circa 1970 (watercolor, graphite and pastel on wove paper, 508 x 628 mm; 20 x 24¾ inches). | Estimate $4,000-$6,000
Lot 23: ROMARE BEARDEN (1911-1988), “Man Seated with Rooster,” 1970 (watercolor on wove paper, 762 x 565 mm / 30 x 22¼ inches). | Estimate $8,000-$12,000
Lot 25: LOÏS MAILOU JONES (1905-1998), Untitled (Rooster and Birds in Tree at Sunrise), 1978 (gouache on wove paper, 482 x 609 mm / 19 x 24 inches). | Estimate: $3,000-$5,000
Lot 32: JAMES DENMARK (b. 1936), “Seated Woman,” circa 1980s (collage of mixed media, various papers and fabrics on masonite board, 825 x 584 mm / 32½ x 23 inches. | Estimate $4,000-$6,000
Lot 43: LOUIS B. SLOAN (1932-2008), “Tree Line,” circa 1990s (oil on masonite board, 229 x 305 mm / 9 x 12 inches). | Estimate $1,000-$1,500
Lot 44: GERALD CYRUS (b. 1957), “Boy and Two Women, Gold Brick Inn, Harlem.,” 1994 (silver gelatin print, 304 x 457 mm / 12 x 18 inches), Dated and numbered 1/15, Printed February 3, 2020. | Estimate $1,000-$1,500
Lot 49: TERRY BODDIE (b. 1965), “Stars & Stripes II,” 2002 (mixed media on paper, 565 x 749 mm / 22¼ x 29½ inches). | Estimate $2,000-$3,000
Lot 61: FRANK W. WIMBERLEY (b. 1926), “Answer,” 2004 (acrylic on canvas, 914 x 863 mm / 36 x 34 inches). | Estimate $15,000-$25,000
Lot 64: MCARTHUR BINION (b. 1946), Untitled (House: Works Series), 2009 (oil paint stick, printed paper collage and graphite on Arches, 590 x 381 mm / 23¼ x 15 inches). | Estimate $8,000-$12,000
Lot 76: TOMASHI JACKSON (b. 1980), “Alteronce in Hannah,” 2014 (chromogenic print, 914 x 681 mm / 36 x 26⅞ inches), Edition 1 of 1, with 1 artist proof. | Estimate $6,000-$9,000
BOOKSHELF
Many volumes have been published about key artists represented in the collection of Patricia Scipio-Brim. “Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful” and “Procession: The Art of Norman Lewis” were published to document major museum retrospectives of the artists. At least six books have been published about the work of Frank Bowling since 2021.Two new books explore the life and work of Beauford Delaney. “Speculative Light: The Arts of Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin” includes contributions by 20 artists, scholars, and critics and “Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney,” the 1998 biography by David Leeming was re-published with a new introduction by Hilton Als. Accompanying a full retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, “Jack Whitten: The Messenger” is forthcoming in April.
