Selma Hortense Burke Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Selma Hortense Burke Art Value Price Guide

Mar. 15, 2025
6Selma Burke, 1900-1995, untitled, Family
Est: $10,000 - $20,000
6Selma Burke 1900-1995 untitled, Family 1960 carved alabaster 12 x 11 x 16 inches unsigned, guaranteed; accompanied by a notarized statement from the owner confirming the purchase of this work from the artist. Provenance: the collection of Ellen Livingston, Boynton Beach, FL. Mrs. Livingston and her husband traveled with their friends, Doris and Paul Greenburg, to New Hope, Pennsylvania in 1961 to the home of Selma Burke. The Greenburgs knew the artist. Burke was living in her studio behind the house and renting the house to long-term residents for extra income. In conversation, the artist told Livingston she knew a young family who had a disabled child, and were facing many challenges. She showed them this sculpture of the mother and father holding the child, but with a cloud hanging over them, because the parents were very worried. The Livingstons agreed to pay $350 for the piece, on time, and when the payments were completed, they could return and Burke would sign it. Although the couple paid off the artwork within the year, they failed to make it back to New Hope to get it signed. https://issuu.com/msmodular72/docs/120_selma_burke_pages
Black Art Auction
Sep. 14, 2024
Selma Hortense Burke, 1900-1995, Gossiping Gourds
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Selma Hortense Burke 1900-1995 Gossiping Gourds 1983 color lithograph 22-3/4 x 20 inches (image), full margins signed, titled, dated and numbered 34/50
Black Art Auction
Jun. 04, 2022
Selma Hortense Burke, 1900-1995, untitled, Fish
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
Selma Hortense Burke 1900-1995 untitled, Fish c. 1950 plaster with painted bronze patina (unique) 6-1/2 x 17 inches signed mounted on a contemporary wooden base
Black Art Auction
Mar. 12, 2022
Selma Hortense Burke, 1900-1995, Red Torso
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Selma Hortense Burke 1900-1995 Red Torso 1935 carved African marble 22 x 6 x 7 inches (sculpture) 4-1/2 x 10 x 10 inches (base) 26-1/2 inches (total height) black laminated base (wood core) signed, letter from the artist accompanies the lot discussing it's creation Exhibited: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Brooklyn Museum of Art, MacMillan Gallery (NYC) Provenance: the artist to Dr. John Young, 1987, thence by descent to Mr. Patric Ellholm.
Black Art Auction
Dec. 04, 2021
Selma Hortense Burke, 1900-1995, Resting Child
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
Selma Hortense Burke 1900-1995 Resting Child 1970 carved black marble 16 inches high identified on bottom with two labels from her estate, with an inventory #16, which is listed in a corresponding document, "Dr. Selma Burke Retrospective 1900-1995". Exhibited: Austin Museum of Art, Nov 17, 1996-Jan 5, 1997. Slide of installation view, picturing the work accompanies the lot. Provenance: Michelyn Galleries, New Britain, PA to Dr. John Young (3/6/01) thence by descent to Patric Ellholm, Sweden. Dr Young was a friend of the artist and owned three major sculptures by her. Copy of original receipt and letter from Michelyn Galleries accompanies the lot.
Black Art Auction
Dec. 04, 2021
Selma Hortense Burke, 1900-1995, Embrace
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Selma Hortense Burke 1900-1995 Embrace 1971 carved black marble 21 inches high signed A copy of a photograph of the artist with Dr. Young and this sculpture accompany the lot; as does a polaroid taken by the artist, and with hand-written notes identifying the material. Provenance: the artist's estate to Dr. John Young (10/10/1999) thence by descent to Patric Ellholm, Sweden. Dr Young purchased the sculpture at a silent auction at the Brandywine Workshop to benefit the "Selma Burke Scholarship Fund". This work is also listed in the inventory of works in the Selma Burke Gallery. Copies of these receipts accompany the lot.
Black Art Auction
Jul. 17, 2021
Selma Burke, Female Torso
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Selma Burke Female Torso 1995 bronze with green patina 6.25 x 3 x 3 inches signed
Black Art Auction
Feb. 06, 2021
Selma Burke, 1900-1995, Butterfly
Est: $700 - $900
Selma Burke 1900-1995 Butterfly 1993 color lithograph 19-1/2 x 25-1/4 inches signed, dated, numbered 24 out of an edition of 100 Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, PA
Black Art Auction
Feb. 06, 2021
Selma Burke, 1900-1995, Reclining Figure
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Selma Burke 1900-1995 Reclining Figure 1950 bronze with dark brown patina 13 x 5 x 5-3/4 inches signed and dated Roman Bronze Works, NY Provenance: The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, Maryland Exhibited: Building on Tradition, The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, Hampton University Museum, October 12, 2013-December 7, 2013. Literature: International Review of African American Art, vol. 24, 3B, Hampton University Museum, VA, p. 16.
Black Art Auction
Feb. 06, 2021
Selma Burke, 1900-1995, Fish
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Selma Burke 1900-1995 Fish c. 1950 plaster with painted bronze patina 6-1/2 x 17 inches signed A custom-made dark colored wooden base will accompany this work.
Black Art Auction
Jun. 04, 2020
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Despair.
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Despair. Carved green marble, 1970. Approximately 337x368x210 mm; 13 1/4x14 1/2x8 1/4 inches. With the artist's signature and date at the base, right edge. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; private collection, Pennsylvania; thence by descent, private collection, Sweden. An earlier version, in Pennsylvania tarvertine, entitled Sadness,dated 1951, is in the Selma Burke collection of the Spelman College of Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia and was included in the he exhibition Augusta Savage: Renaissance Woman, curated by Jeffreen M. Hayes, at the Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State University, University Park, PA, August 24 - December 8, 2019.
Swann Auction Galleries
May. 16, 2020
Selma Burke, 1900 - 1995, Reclining Nude, Bronze with dark brown patina, 13 x 5 x 5-3/4 inches
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Selma Burke 1900 - 1995 Reclining Nude Bronze with dark brown patina 1950 Signed and dated Roman Bronze Works NY Provenance: The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, MD Exhibited: Building on Tradition, The Collection of Dr. Dianne Whitfield-Locke and Dr. Carnell Locke, Hampton University Museum, October 12, 2013-December 7, 2013. Literature: International Review of African American Art, vol. 24, 3B, Hampton University Museum, VA, p. 16. 13 x 5 x 5-3/4 inches
Black Art Auction
Oct. 19, 2019
Selma Hortense Burke. "Butterfly"
Est: $300 - $500
(American, 1900-1995). Lithograph in colors, 1993, ed. 46/100, pencil signed and dated "Selma Burke" lr, identifying information on verso, 19 1/4 x 25 1/8 in., unframed
Alex Cooper
Oct. 08, 2019
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Sadness.
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Sadness. Carved green marble, 1970. Approximately 337x368x210 mm; 13 1/4x14 1/2x8 1/4 inches. With the artist's signature and date at the base, right edge. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; private collection, Pennsylvania; thence by descent, private collection, Sweden. An earlier version, dated 1951, is in the Selma Burke collection of the Spelman College in Pennsylvania tarvertine of Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia and is included int he exhibition Augusta Savage: Renaissance Woman, curated by Jeffreen M. Hayes, presently at the Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State University, University Park. Selma Burke was one of the most distinguished African-American sculptors of the 20th Century. She worked figuratively in brass, stone and wood, especially nudes and historical figures - including, her most famous accomplishment, the portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the dime. In the early 1930s, Burke studied sculpture in New York at the Art Students League and Sarah Lawrence College before a Boehler Foundation Fellowship in 1936 allowed her to travel to Europe and study with such artists as Maillol and Matisse. Upon her return to New York, she worked in the WPA teaching at the Harlem Art Center while continuing her studies at Columbia University, completing the masters program with the help of a Julius Rosenwald Award in 1941. In 1943, she won an international competition to design a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt - the completed bronze plaque was installed in the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, DC in 1945. This is the same profile that now appears on the dime though the initials belong to the coin engraver, John Sinnock. From 1940 through the late 1970s, she taught art and sculpture at Livingston, Swarthmore, and Haverford Colleges. In 1940, she also founded the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in New York City, and, in 1968, the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hayes p. 117.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 30, 2019
Selma Hortense Burke (American, PA, NC, 1900 - 1995)
Est: $1,500 - $3,000
Selma Hortense Burke (American, PA, NC, 1900 - 1995) "Fish", plaster sculpture with bronze patina
Gratz Gallery
Mar. 17, 2019
Selma Hortense Burke (American, PA, NC, 1900 - 1995)
Est: $1,500 - $3,000
Selma Hortense Burke (American, PA, NC, 1900 - 1995) "Fish", plaster sculpture with bronze patina
Gratz Gallery
Oct. 04, 2018
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Untitled (Peace).
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Untitled (Peace). Cast bronze with a dark brown patina, mounted on a black marble base, circa 1970. Approximately 457x229x229 mm; 18x9x9 inches (not including the base). Edition of 2, casting circa 1980s. Incised signature and numbered 1/2 at rear lower edge. Provenance: Hal Katzen Gallery, New York; private collection, New York (1996).
Swann Auction Galleries
May. 27, 2018
Selma Hortense Burke (American, PA, NC, 1900 - 1995)
Est: $1,500 - $3,000
Selma Hortense Burke (American, PA, NC, 1900 - 1995) "Fish", plaster sculpture with bronze patina
Gratz Gallery
Mar. 29, 2018
Selma Hortense Burke Signed Bronze Figure
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Selma Hortense Burke, U.S. (1900-1995) patinated bronze sculpture of standing nude female, c. 1930, signed on the base and marked Gorham Co Founders. Good condition. 12.75"H X 6.25"W. In house shipping continental U.S. $55 plus insurance. Examine all photos closely. Contact AAG for more detailed information if needed. AAG is not responsible for any errors or omissions to any lots. All sales are final and sold as is.
Abington Auction Gallery
Feb. 19, 2018
A Carved Stone Head, Possibly Selma Hortense Burke (1900 - 1995)
Est: $300 - $500
A head of an African American woman, unsigned.
Locati LLC
Jan. 01, 2016
Selma (Hortense) Burke serigraph on paper with a scrapbook
Est: $200 - $400
Selma (Hortense) Burke serigraph on paper with a scrapbook , "Gossiping Gourd", signed lower right and numbered lower left 9/50, sight size 28 1/2" x 22 1/2", frame size 29 1/4" x 23 1/4" (1983), with a scrapbook about Selma Hortense Burke, her life, her art and the honors she received.
Stephenson's Auction
Nov. 19, 2015
Selma Burke, (American, 1900-1995), Butterfly, 1993
Est: $200 - $400
Selma Burke (American, 1900-1995) Butterfly, 1993 lithograph edition 10/100, signed S. Burke and dated 19 1/4 x 25 1/8 inches.
Hindman
Oct. 03, 2015
Selma Burke Sculpture "Figures Embracing"
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
Figures Embracing
Concept Art Gallery
Jun. 24, 2015
Selma Burke, (American, 1900-1995), Butterfly 1993
Est: $400 - $600
Selma Burke (American, 1900-1995) Butterfly 1993 lithograph edition 10/100, signed S. Burke and dated 19 1/4 x 25 1/8 inches.
Hindman
Dec. 06, 2014
Selma Burke, (American, 1900-1995), Figures Embracing, 1975, wood, 18"h
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
Selma Burke (American, 1900-1995) Figures Embracing, 1975 wood signed and dated 18"h
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
Oct. 09, 2014
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) AND LOÏS MAILOU JONES (1905 - 1998) Two color offset lithographs.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) AND LOÏS MAILOU JONES (1905 - 1998) Two color offset lithographs. (BURKE) Butterfly, 1993. 495x648 mm; 19 1/2x25 1/2 inches (sheet). Signed, dated and numbered 16/100 in pencil, lower image * (JONES) Route de Civadier, 1994. 552x737 mm; 21 3/4x29 inches (sheet). Signed, titled, dated, and numbered 80/100 in pencil, lower image. Both printed and published by the Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia.
Swann Auction Galleries
Sep. 13, 2012
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Female Torso. Patinated Bronze.
Est: $600 - $900
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Female Torso. Patinated Bronze. Signed "Burke" on base. Mounted on a wooden plinth. h:6.25 w:2.50 in.
Alderfer Auction
Sep. 13, 2012
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Figural Relief Decorated Vessel. Bronze.
Est: $600 - $900
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Figural Relief Decorated Vessel. Bronze. Signed and dated "SB 42" near hand on side. h:9.50 w:6 in.
Alderfer Auction
Sep. 13, 2012
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Bust of a Female. Bonded Bronze on Plaster.
Est: $600 - $900
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Bust of a Female. Bonded Bronze on Plaster. Unsigned. h:18 w:11 in.
Alderfer Auction
Sep. 13, 2012
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Bust of a Gentleman. Bonded Bronze on Plaster.
Est: $600 - $900
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Bust of a Gentleman. Bonded Bronze on Plaster. Signed "S. Burke" near base. Mounted on a laminated wood base. h:16 w:14 in.
Alderfer Auction
Sep. 13, 2012
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Female Bust. Bonded Bronze on Plaster.
Est: $600 - $900
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Female Bust. Bonded Bronze on Plaster. Signed and dated "Selma Burke 1973" on back of collar. Mounted on a laminated wood base. h:17 w:10 in.
Alderfer Auction
Sep. 13, 2012
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Facial Sculpture. Bronze.
Est: $800 - $1,200
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Facial Sculpture. Bronze. Signed "Selma Burke" on base, mounted on marble plinth. h:12 w:7 in.
Alderfer Auction
Sep. 13, 2012
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bonded Bronze on Plaster.
Est: $800 - $1,200
Burke, Selma, 1900-1995, Pennsylvania, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bonded Bronze on Plaster. Sculpture depicts the Reverend Doctor ascending a staircase. Signed "Selma Burke" on the stair. h:37 w:13 d:16 in.
Alderfer Auction
Dec. 04, 2011
Selma Hortense Burke (American, 1900-1995) "Mother
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
Selma Hortense Burke (American, 1900-1995) "Mother and Child," 1950, bronze sculpture, 14"w x 18"h, signed and dated, acquired by the current owner directly from the estate of the artist
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
May. 20, 2010
Selma Burke (1900-1995)
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Selma Burke (1900-1995) Mother and Two Children signed 'Selma Burke' (on the base) wood 60 in. (152.4 cm.) high
Christie's
Apr. 29, 2010
SELMA HORTENSE BURKE, American (1800-1995), Kneeling Nude, carved wood sculpture, signed and dated 1970, 29"H
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
SELMA HORTENSE BURKE American (1800-1995) Kneeling Nude carved wood sculpture, signed and dated 1970 29"H Provenance: Private collection, Doylestown, Pennsylvania (acquired directly from the artist, early 1970's); descended in the family to a private collection, Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Shannon's
Feb. 23, 2010
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Untitled (Head of Asadata Dafora).
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Untitled (Head of Asadata Dafora). Sandstone, with remnants of a tan plaster coating, circa 1935-40. Approximately 460x305x210 mm; 18x12x8 inches high. Provenance: private Pennsylvania collection. Asadata Dafora (1890 - 1965) was a drummer, singer, dancer, composer and choreographer from Sierra Leone. In 1929, he was one of the first musicians to introduce African drumming to the United States, and the first artist to successfully present African tribal performance in a Western style stage production. His first work, a musical drama called Kykunkor (Witch Woman), opened in 1934 to such critical and popular acclaim that it had to move to a larger theater to accommodate the audiences--it had a streak of 65 sold out performances. He also appeared as a drummer in Orson Welles's all-black 1936 production of Macbeth and co-authored a radio play with Orson Welles entitled Trangama-Fanga. In the mid 1930s, Selma Burke met Asadata Dafora through her second husband, the Jamaican-born poet and novelist Claude McKay. In 1935, the couple brought together the literary and artistic circles that persisted after the Harlem Renaissance, a group that included Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Ethel Waters and Jacob Lawrence. She received an art scholarship to Columbia University and $1,500 from the Julius Rosenwald Fund to study sculpting materials. She also won the Boehler Foundation Award in 1936, which allowed her to travel and study for a year in France, Germany and Austria in 1938 -- in Paris, she studied sculpture with Aristide Maillol. Upon returning to New York, her marriage to McKay ended, and she earned her M.F.A. in sculpture from Columbia University in 1941.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 19, 2008
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Light and Shadow.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
SELMA BURKE (1900 - 1995) Light and Shadow. Cast bronze with a gold patina, circe 1960-1963. Approximately 160 mm; 6 1/4 inches high. Provenance: ex-collection James A. Porter, thence by descent to Constance Porter-Uzelac. According to Ms. Porter-Uzelac, there is a cancelled check dated March 13, 1963, signed by James A. Porter and endorsed by Selma Burke on the back, in the James A. Porter archives. This check was likely the payment for this sculpture. Selma Burke was one of the most distinguished African-American sculptors of the 20th Century. She worked figuratively in brass, stone and wood, especially nudes and historical figures - including, her most famous accomplishment, the portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the dime. In the early 1930s, Burke studied sculpture in New York at the Art Students League and Sarah Lawrence College before a Boehler Foundation Fellowship in 1936 allowed her to travel to Europe and study with such artists as Maillol and Matisse. Upon her return to New York, she worked in the WPA teaching at the Harlem Art Center while continuing her studies at Columbia University, completing the masters program with the help of a Julius Rosenwald Award in 1941. In 1943, she won an international competition to design a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt - the completed bronze plaque was installed in the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, DC in 1945. This is the same profile that now appears on the dime though the initials belong to the coin engraver, John Sinnock. From 1940 through the late 1970s, she taught art and sculpture at Livingston, Swarthmore, and Haverford Colleges. In 1940, she also founded the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in New York City, and, in 1968, the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Swann Auction Galleries
May. 20, 2007
Selma Hortense Burke (American, 1900-1995) Black Nude Reclining, 1950; Bronze; Signed and dated "SeLMA burke / 50" with foundry mark "Roman Bronze Works, N.Y."; 6 1/4" high; Foundry: Roman Bronze Works, New York; Provenance: Burke Art Center,
Est: $1,200 - $1,800
Selma Hortense Burke (American, 1900-1995) Black Nude Reclining, 1950; Bronze; Signed and dated "SeLMA burke / 50" with foundry mark "Roman Bronze Works, N.Y."; 6 1/4" high; Foundry: Roman Bronze Works, New York; Provenance: Burke Art Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Rago Arts and Auction Center