Fantastic auction house in New York. Knowledgeable and friendly staff that can provide valuable information and background on the artworks. Better experience than at many of the big players. All pieces have always been professionally packed for shipment with multiple layers of cardboard and plenty of cushioning around them for secure and worry-free transport. Reasonable shipping prices. Highly recommended.

Never had an issue with their art. Been a customer for over a decade. Very rare and authentic works. Very recommended.

Absolutely not. No. Swann Galleries uses multiple platforms to receive bids, so there is no way to know about what bids are already in place for a given item. Imagine that the same item is being auctioned in five separate buildings--you might win the auction in your building, but you have no idea what went on in the other buildings. As you can imagine, this is great for Swann Galleries, but terrible for the buyer.

Before I start let me say that i have never purchased anything here. Yet I’m drawn to this gallery because of the law of attraction. One day very soon I will be able to bid on a picture or statute and this is the place I will come to.I love ‘black artists’ and their once a year auction of black artists is da bomb. Artists whom I never heard of are sold, pictures that depicts sorrow and joy, you name it.Ive never felt looked down here unlike the two big auction houses (one starts with C and the other S) who give you that once over that tallies the cost of your outfit and then dismisses you as a looker not a buyer.They also have a great impressionist auction . What I love is their catalogs and I often purchase one to cut out pictures to place on my vision board.One thing I can say is that this place is lovely. The staff are very knowledgeable as they should be and aware that just because you don’t have a Birken bag or Barneys clothes doesn’t mean you can’t be there.

This historic New York Auction house has an intriguing and good amount of interesting art and collectibles to sell. We consigned some museum posters and were favorably rewarded. The staff is caring and the sellers contract is easy to follow.

Over many years weve had a mutually beneficial relationship with Swann. Looking forward to more of the same in the days ahead.

While I frequently visit many New York City museums and other auction houses I was so pleasantly surprised how beautiful Swann Gallery truly is. Havent been here in many years. The volume and arrangement of prints and other art are just outstanding. The people working here also so knowledgeable and lovely. Theres no charge for admission and viewing of their art on days prior to the actual auctions are truly worth your time to visit and see there collection of art that is available for auction, to enjoy. The pleasant difference here is that it is just comfortable. Visitors can sit down, there are wonderful tables to view the art and chat with others who are also viewing the art. Very home like !! Its also only one block from the subway number 6 train and multiple other nearby Subway and bus lines. Definitely worth a visit. Go online and find out when theyre upcoming auctions are going to be held through their calendar. Thanks to the people at Swann Gallery

A wonderful experience with African American art of the highest caliber with Danny Simmons and Rebecca and Nigel on the panel speaking about the future of African American art in auction houses. I will visit again I will buy some art.

Its a great auction house for both buyers and sellers of historic documents. Ive used them for over 20 years to buy and sell autographs.

Full disclosure: I do tech work for Swann, but that is besides the fact that Swann is a cool place, full of good and knowledgeable people. Go to a Swann exhibition or auction sometime, or discuss consignment with them. Cheers.

Best auction house in NYC -- especially for photography.

Do not buy here if item must be shipped to you unless you are going follow up with a call telling them they must send your item to you.Really bad customer service. Over the years that I have done business with them several purchases have had delayed shipping, making it necessary to call and ask where package is. Latest purchase was made 12/5/17. My check payment in full including shipping cleared my bank 12/19/17, but as of 1/23/18 still nothing received. Called them, they said oh, its here sitting on a shelf - well send it today. I guess if I had never called they would have never sent it, maybe someone there would get to keep it, or maybe they would sell it again at another auction.

Why I will not be doing business with Swann AgainBefore I explain why I will not be doing business with Swann again, I would like to preface my remarks by saying that Swann puts out a beautiful catalog, has a fine selection of items in in their auctions, and in my experience properly describes them. I have no knowledge of how they treat their sellers. I write from the point of view of a buyer.My dissatisfaction with Swann comes from the excessively long time it takes them to process purchases, their general unresponsiveness to customer inquiries, and their misrepresentation of the status of shipping and handling purchases which have been paid for and are awaiting their action.Let me give a specific example. On April 6, 2017, I participated online in their African American Fine Art Auction and purchased item 177, a series of seven screenprints by Faith Ringgold. I was told to wait to pay until I received an invoice from them which included the buyers premium and their shipping charges. Swann does not accept credit cards so after I received their invoice by email on April 11, 2017, I mailed them a check on April 12 which they cashed and which cleared my account on April 18, 2017.I called Swann several times beginning on May 18, one month after my check cleared, to inquire about the status of the shipment of my art and was always given some excuse or told that it will go out today. My auction item was finally shipped to me on May 25, 2017 and I received it on May 31, 2017.The bottom line is that Swann did not ship my item until five weeks after they cashed my check. I did not receive my item until six weeks after they cashed my check. If you look at the time it took from the Auction on April 6, to waiting for them to send me an invoice, to receive my artwork, it took Swann 8 weeks after their auction for me to receive my item.And there was nothing I could do about it. If Swann accepted credit cards, then I would have had some recourse. The fact that they only accept checks and are already holding your money means that the buyer has very little influence.If I lived in NYC I would have no qualms about bidding in auctions with Swann as I could pay for and pick up my items directly. As an out-of-state customer, I find their process for shipping and handling unsatisfactory.Over the years I have made many purchases from auction houses and have experience dealing with the shipping and handling of my purchases. This is the most unsatisfactory experience I have ever had with an auction house. Based on my recent experience with Swann, I will not being doing business with them again.

Do yourself a favor and find another auction house to conduct business with. Swanns did an absolute lousy job in promoting my consignment online, which resulted in my lot that was conservatively estimated at 8 - 12K, being sold for 5K. After the sale, they gave the impression that they couldnt care less and wont respond to my emails. How would you like that to be you?

I trust this auction house. So many I dont as I have bought from a few dozen of them and have learned some expensive lessons, even after collecting art for 11 years. I bought quite a few Burliuk pieces there and also a collection of Laboureur drawings and signed and unsigned prints. Sylvie Francois was very helpful in finding the names of the prints as she must have taken many hours to peruse through his large catalog raisonne. Also, the gentleman who knows the art the best has been on the Antiques Road Show which indicates expertise and respect.

Very talented curators pull fascinating collections and create highly regarded auctions attended by the top collectors in the world.

No doubt the best and most reputable auction house in New York. Cant recommend more highly.

I write this to counteract the negative impression given by one of the earlier writers. Believing that you have something worth $8,000 and it sells (for only) $5,000 is not necessarily the auctioneers fault. Ive been an active art dealer since 1970. You learn things. You mention nothing about a reserve--the amount the item cannot be sold below. The consignor received an estimate from the auctioneer as to what they believe the work will sell for at that moment in time, not six months from then. Any number of forces can affect the market one way or the other: stock market has a major correction downward, the wrong party gets elected, banks fail, the Feds indict your auction house for fraudulent practices (Sothebys and Christies)You didnt say why you wanted to sell. Art is terribly ill liquid ie: its hard to sell, even for people in the business. If you told the auctioneer that you were highly motivated to get rid of this dog, thats what he did for you.One last rule. You go to auctions to buy, not to sell. Do your homework before you go to the auction house. Try to sit in the front row so the auctioneer can feel guilty if you are just off by one bid increment. Hes looking for a waiving pencil, a movement of your leg, setting the catalog on the floor or whatever that indicates to him that its now OK to sell at this lower price. When I used to be active, I spent $15,000+ in auction catalogs and web sites a year, just to keep on top of the market--and I still make mistakes. Its just the business.A final comment. When I first started attending Swanns auctions. It was a small, somewhat dirty operation where you often had to stand during the sales since there was not enough room for chairs for everyone. And only one toilet! Today they have expanded into three, maybe four floors including storage, Plenty of room to view the items. Fairly comfortable seating. And good lighting. Clean toilets. The owner is a recognized expert in several areas. If he is not the expert, the expert works for him somewhere on site. Hes on TV all the time since his opinions are sought after. He walks the floors and will talk to anyone. Yes, the other auction houses have experts too. The downside is that you often need to make an appointment. I still buy at the other houses, but Swann is my go-to auctioneer.

One of my favourite auctions Ive been to.

Great place to get works on paper terrific prices

Professional and kind

Buyer beware! Auction house lost 4 of my antique photographs and have no clue on where they are. The most horrible experience I have ever had with any auction establishment. HORRIBLE.