Vincent DaCosta Smith Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Vincent DaCosta Smith Art Value Price Guide

Dec. 02, 2023
Vincent DaCosta Smith, 1919-2004, First Day of School
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Vincent DaCosta Smith 1919-2004 First Day of School 1965 (printed 1994) etching and aquatint 8 x 10 inches (image) 19-7/8 x 16-1/8 inch (sheet) edition of 40 Printed by Vincent D. Smith; printed by Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop; published by G.W. Einstein Company , Inc. Provenance: private collection, Detroit, MI.
Black Art Auction
Dec. 02, 2023
Vincent DaCosta Smith, 1919-2004, Dispossess
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Vincent DaCosta Smith 1919-2004 Dispossess 1966 (printed 1994) etching and aquatint 8-13/16 x 10 inches (image) 19-7/8 x 16-1/8 inches (sheet) signed, titled, dated and numbered 25/40 Printed by Vincent D. Smith; printed by Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop; published by G.W. Einstein Company , Inc. Provenance: private collection, Detroit, MI.
Black Art Auction
Dec. 02, 2023
Vincent DaCosta Smith, 1919-2004, Amnesty
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Vincent DaCosta Smith 1919-2004 Amnesty 1971 etching on wove paper 7 x 8-3/4 inches (image) 13 x 13-3/4 inches (sheet) signed, titled, dated with AP Printed by Vincent D. Smith; printed by Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop; published by G.W. Einstein Company , Inc. Provenance: private collection, Detroit, MI.
Black Art Auction
Oct. 14, 2023
Vincent D. Smith, American 1929-2003, Ethiopian Women
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Vincent D. Smith American, 1929-2003 Ethiopian Women c. 1974 lithograph on BFK Rives paper 16 x 21 inches (image) 22 x 30 inches (sheet) signed, titled, AP This work is based on Smith's 1974 pastel and collage, Ethiopian Women Wearing Traditional Shamma
Black Art Auction
Nov. 19, 2022
Vincent Smith, 1929-2003, The Black Theater
Est: $600 - $800
Vincent Smith 1929-2003 The Black Theater 1972 etching 6 x 8-3/4 inches (image, full margins) signed, dated, titled, with artist's proof
Black Art Auction
Nov. 19, 2022
Vincent Smith, 1929-2003, Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar (Ethiopia)
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Vincent Smith 1929-2003 Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar (Ethiopia) 1975 colored etching 14-3/4 x 22 inches, full margins signed and titled, with AP
Black Art Auction
Sep. 22, 2022
VINCENT SMITH (New York, 1929-2003), “A Moment Supreme”, 1972., Etching with aquatint, 8.75” x 10.75”. Unframed.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
VINCENT SMITH New York, 1929-2003 "A Moment Supreme", 1972. Printed at Bob Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop, New York. Signed, dated, titled and inscribed "AP" in pencil lower margin. An artist's proof, aside from the edition of 35.
Eldred's
Apr. 03, 2022
Vincent D. Smith'13 Months of Sunshine'Mixed Media
Est: $400 - $600
Vincent D. Smith (America,1929-2003) mixed media landscape on paper entitled '13 Months of Sunshine'. Label en verso reads 'Vincent D. Smith Title - 13 Months of Sunshine Med - Mixed Media Size 25.5" x 27.75" Art measures 17.5" x 18" Excellent condition.
Neely Auction
Feb. 20, 2022
Vincent D. Smith 'The Nile' Mixed Media
Est: $400 - $600
Vincent D. Smith (America,1929-2003) mixed media landscape on paper entitled 'The Nile'. Label en verso reads 'Vincent D. Smith Title - The Nile Med - Mixed Media Size 25" x 27" Art measures 17.25" x 17.25" Excellent condition.
Neely Auction
Feb. 20, 2022
Vincent D. Smith'The Celestial Heavens'Mixed Media
Est: $400 - $600
Vincent D. Smith (America,1929-2003) mixed media skyscape on paper entitled 'The Celestial Heavens'. Label en verso reads 'Vincent D. Smith Title - The Celestial Heavens Med - Mixed Media Size 25" x 27.5" Art measures 17" x 18" Excellent condition.
Neely Auction
Feb. 20, 2022
Vincent D. Smith 'Blue Nocturne' Pastel Drawing
Est: $400 - $600
Vincent D. Smith (America,1929-2003) pastel landscape on paper entitled 'Blue Nocturne'. Label en verso reads 'Vincent D. Smith Title - Blue Nocturne Med - Pastel Size 28" x 32.5" Frame measures 33.5" x 29" Excellent condition.
Neely Auction
Feb. 20, 2022
Vincent Smith (USA 1929-2003) Gouache on Paper
Est: $600 - $800
Vincent Smith (USA, 1929-2003) gouache on paper "Hausa Men In Nigeria" depicts two men and signed bottom right. Excellent condition. Art measures 17" x 14" frame measures 25" x 20.5".
Neely Auction
Feb. 20, 2022
Vincent Smith (USA 1929-2003) Watercolor on Paper
Est: $600 - $800
Vincent D. Smith (USA,1929-2003) watercolor on paper "Women of Accra" depicts 3 women collecting their harvest. Signed bottom right. Excellent condition. Art measures 18.5" x 13" frame measures 18.5" x 24.5".
Neely Auction
Jan. 29, 2022
Vincent Smith. "Jonkonnu Festival," enhanced lithograph
Est: $400 - $600
Vincent DaCosta Smith (American, 1929-2003). "Jonkonnu Festival" lithograph, enhanced with superimposed images by Samella Sanders Lewis (American, b. 1924) collaboration completed at the Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, PA, sheet size: 22 x 29 3/4 in., unframed.
Alex Cooper
Oct. 13, 2021
Vincent D. Smith, Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Vincent D. Smith Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar 1975 etching sheet: 22.125 h × 29.875 w in (56 × 76 cm) image: 14.625 h × 22.25 w in (37 × 57 cm) Signed, titled and inscribed to lower edge 'AP Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar Vincent'. This work is an artist's proof. condition: Work is in good overall condition. Sheet is lightly toned to edges and minor creases within margins. Few scuffs predominately to upper right edge. Image presents well with a strong impression. Unframed.
Rago Arts and Auction Center
Oct. 13, 2021
Vincent D. Smith, Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar; Benin Ancestral Shrine; Somali Women in Harar; Through Masac Country (four works)
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Vincent D. Smith Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar; Benin Ancestral Shrine; Somali Women in Harar; Through Masac Country (four works) 1975-1979 lithograph in colors 22.25 h × 30 w in (57 × 76 cm) Signed, titled and numbered to lower edge of each work 'AP Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar Vincent', 'AP Benin Ancestral Shrine Vincent', 'AP Somali Women in Harar Vincent' and 'AP Through Masac Country Vincent'. These works are artist's proofs from the edition of unknown size. condition: Works are in good overall condition and lightly toned throughout. Minor creases and tears predominately along edges of most sheets, largest measuring 5 inches to upper left edge of Somali Women in Harar. Small areas of soiling to margins of most sheets. Images present well with vibrant colors. Unframed.
Rago Arts and Auction Center
Oct. 13, 2021
Vincent D. Smith, Ethiopian Women
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Vincent D. Smith Ethiopian Women c. 1974 lithograph on BFK Rives sheet: 22 h × 29.5 w in (56 × 75 cm) image: 16 h × 20.5 w in (41 × 52 cm) Signed and titled to lower edge 'AP Ethiopian Women Vincent'. This work is an artist' proof based on Smith's 1974 pastel and collage, Ethiopian Women Wearing Traditional Shamma. condition: Work is in good overall condition. Minor creases and faint areas of soiling throughout margins. Pinpoints of discoloration most notably along edges. Image presents well. Unframed.
Rago Arts and Auction Center
Jul. 17, 2021
Vincent Smith, 1929-2004, Mississippi Incident
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Vincent Smith 1929-2004 Mississippi Incident etching 9 x 8 inches signed, titled and inscribed AP
Black Art Auction
Apr. 22, 2021
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) The Couple.
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) The Couple. Mixed media on paper, circa 1970. 610x457 mm; 24x18 inches. Signed in ink, lower right. Provenance: Sheldon Ross Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan; private collection (1970s); thence by descent, private collection.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jul. 11, 2020
Vincent Smith, 1929-2003, Untitled, watercolor on paper, 12.5 x 18.5 inches
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Vincent Smith 1929-2003 Untitled watercolor on paper 1968 signed and dated Smith's work can be found in many private and public collections such as The Art Institute of Chicago, MoMA New York, The National Museum of American Art in Washington D.C., The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Yale University, New Haven. 12.5 x 18.5 inches
Black Art Auction
Jun. 04, 2020
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Someone to Watch Over Me.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Someone to Watch Over Me. Oil monotype on black wove paper, 1989. 940x648 mm; 37x25 1/2 inches. Signed in oil, lower right. Provenance: G. R. N'Namdi Gallery, Birmingham, MI, with the label on the frame back; private collection, Michigan. This oil monotype by Smith is an excellent example of his colorful jazz imagery in his late career. Franklin Sirmans has noted the inherent affinity of the artist's subject to this medium: "The one-time-only applicaton of paint on a Plexiglas plate to create a monoprint is comparable to the improvisation that is essential to jazz. Each brush stroke is representative of the improvisatory method." These monotypes were made at Robert Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop, where the artist created almost all of his prints. In 1990, his jazz monotypes traveled nationally in the exhibition Riding on a Blue Note, which was underwritten by the Henry Street Settlement. In 1997, his monotypes were included in Seeing Jazz, which was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, and also traveled nationally. Monotypes were also featured in Smith's retrospective Dreams, Myths and Realities, organized by the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell in 2001. St. James p. 501.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 04, 2020
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) The Couple.
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) The Couple. Mixed media on paper, circa 1970. 610x457 mm; 24x18 inches. Signed in ink, lower right. Provenance: Sheldon Ross Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan; private collection (1970s); thence by descent, private collection.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 04, 2020
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Dawn.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Dawn. Oil and sand on masonite board, 1966. 762x610 mm; 30x24 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower right Provenance: private collection, New York; thence by descent, private collection, Connecticut. With a submssion label to the 1968 143rd Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, attached to the frame back, submitted by Larcada Gallery, New York. This colorful but poignant scene is an excellent example of an early painting by Vincent Smith. Smith began to add sand and then collage in his paintings in the late 1960s. Larcada Gallery began to represent Vincent Smith in 1967 with a solo exhibition - the first of five solo exhibitions Smith had with Larcada through the 1970s.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 08, 2019
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Untitled (Brownstone Stairs).
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Untitled (Brownstone Stairs). Oil and sand with collage on linen canvas, 1968. 864x711mm; 34x28 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower right. Provenance: Sheldon Ross Gallery, Birmingham, MI; Dr. Clarence P. Rogers, Detroit, MI; thence by descent to the current owner, private collection, Michigan (2006). This significant Vincent Smith canvas shows how this expressive artist powerfully depicted the urban struggles of African-Americans. It also shows his fascinating introduction of collage elements into his late 1960s paintings. Here Smith uses the windows and stairs of a brownstone facade to compose one of his nocturnal scenes, with densely painted surfaces and paper collaged figures in each window.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 08, 2019
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Down on the Farm.
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Down on the Farm. Etching on cream wove paper, 1968. 171x222 mm; 6 3/4x8 3/4 inches, full margins. First edition (of 2), before the edition of 40 printed in 1994. Signed, titled, and numbered 1/25 in pencil, lower margin. Scarce, early printing of this etching which was later included in the Vincent Smith portfolio Eight Etchings 1965-1966, 1994.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 08, 2019
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Untitled (Boys behind Bushes).
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Untitled (Boys behind Bushes). Oil with collage on linen canvas, 1967. 229x330 mm; 9x13 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower right. Provenance: private collection, New York; thence by descent, private collection, Connecticut. Vincent Smith experimented with collage in his paintings in the late 1960s. In 1967, he began his representation with Lacada Gallery and had a solo exhibition.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 08, 2019
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Street Scene (From Saturday Night in Harlem Series).
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Street Scene (From Saturday Night in Harlem Series). Oil on linen canvas, 1954. 610x762 mm; 24x30 inches. Signed "Vincent" and dated in oil, lower right. Provenance: the artist, New York; Lacarda Gallery, New York; G. W. Einstein Company, Inc., New York; Alexandre Fine Art, New York, with the labels verso. This expressionist scene is an excellent example of Vincent Smith's nocturnal painting, and the first painting by the artist from his important early Saturday Night in Harlem Series to come to auction. With this series of work, Smith established his career in New York; he had only become a full time painter the year before after being inspired by a Cezanne exhibition he attended at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1955, the Brooklyn native had his first solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum Art School Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Blue Nile.
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Blue Nile. Oil and sand on linen canvas, circa 1975. 711x914 mm; 28x36 inches. Signed "Vincent" in oil, lower right. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; Dr. Kenneth B. Clark, New York; thence by descent, private collection. Psychologist Kenneth B. Clark and his wife and professional partner, Mamie Phipps Clark, pioneered the psychology of race identity in school-aged children through several important studies and experiments in the mid-20th century. His witness testimony was instrumental in the legal rulings of Brown vs. the Board of Education, ruling that racial segregation in education was unconstitutional. He was the first black president of the American Psychological Association, founder of several important child development and youth organizations in Harlem, and was active in the Civil Rights Movement.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2004) Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar.
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2004) Arthur Rimbaud's House in Harar. Color etching, 1975. 750x559 mm; 14 3/4x22 inches, full margins. Artist's proof, aside from an unknown edition. Signed, titled and inscribed "To Dr. Clark. the people's champ - " and "A/P" in pencil, lower margin. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; Dr. Kenneth B. Clark, New York; thence by descent, private collection. Smith's view of the house of Arthur Rimbaud, the French symbolist poet, who was a trader and gunrunner along the North African coast for the last 10 years of his short life, conveys both his Expressionist and literary interests. Another impression of this print is in the collection of David C. Driskell at the University of Maryland. Holland, p. 158.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Ethiopian Women.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Ethiopian Women. Lithograph on wove paper, circa 1974. 394x521 mm; 15 1/2x20 1/2 inches, full margins. Artist's proof, aside from an unknown edition. Signed, dated, titled and inscribed "A/P" and "To Ken + Mamie with love-" in pencil, lower margin. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; Dr. Kenneth B. Clark, New York; thence by descent, private collection. This print is based on Smith's 1974 pastel and collage, Ethiopian Women Wearing Traditional Shamma.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Home.
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Home. Color pastels on black wove paper, circa 1970. 762x660 mm; 30x26 inches. Signed in pastel, lower left.QL> Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; Dr. Kenneth B. Clark, New York; thence by descent, private collection.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Shadows in Harlem.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Shadows in Harlem. Etching on wove paper, 1965. 203x222 mm; 8x8 3/4 inches, full margins. Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 40. Signed, dated, titled and inscribed "AP" in pencil, lower margin.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 05, 2018
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Attrition.
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Attrition. Oil and sand on linen canvas, 1972. 1112x1219 mm; 44x48 inches. Signed "Vincent" in oil, lower right. Provenance: the artist, New York; Lacarda Gallery, New York; G. W. Einstein Company, Inc., New York; Alexandre Fine Art, New York, with the labels verso. Exhibited: Vincent Smith: Recent Works, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine, July 26 - September 1, 1974, with the label verso. This expressionist work is a significant canvas by the artist, and the first of his large, mid-career 1970s canvases to come to auction. Attrition demonstrates not only the artist's focus on the social and political issues of his urban landscapes, but includes a wonderful display of his painterly technique. Smith contrasts large passages of colorful accumulation of many small drops and dashes of paint and unforgiving lines with rough areas of darkness textured by sand. Smith paints politically and socially disenfranchised figures in silhouette or flattened against the picture plane. The figures often confront the viewer, and are pressed against or into their urban environment, the stark store fronts, tenement buildings and dark street corners of New York. Smith himself has stressed this relationship - "When I paint, I'm always aware of the composition because I've always felt that the tighter the composition, the more interesting the work," he told American Visions magazine in 1999.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 05, 2018
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Shadows in Harlem.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Shadows in Harlem. Etching on wove paper, 1965. 203x222 mm; 8x8 3/4 inches, full margins. Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 40. Signed, dated, titled and inscribed "AP" in pencil, lower margin.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 06, 2016
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Jonkonnu Festival.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
VINCENT SMITH (1929 - 2003) Jonkonnu Festival. Color offset lithograph, 1993. 515x760 mm; 21 1/2x 30 inches, full margins. Signed, titled, and numbered 20/70 in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Brandywine Workshop, PA.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jul. 10, 2016
Vincent Smith (American, 1929-2003) ''Jonkonnu Festival", 1996
Est: $200 - $300
Vincent Smith (American, 1929-2003) ''Jonkonnu Festival", 1996, color lithograph, from an edition of 70, numbered, titled and signed. Size: 21.5" x 29.75", 55 x 76 cm (sheet). Provenance: Bob Brand and Liz Werthan, Philadelphia.
Material Culture
Jun. 25, 2016
Vincent DaCosta Smith, "Benin Ancestral Shrine"
Est: $800 - $1,200
Vincent DaCosta Smith (American (New York), 1929-2003). "Benin Ancestral Shrine", hand colored etching on wove paper, artist's proof, numbered, titled, and signed in pencil to lower margin. Colorful simplistic print depicting two figures walking through a village landscape toward a hilltop mosque flanked by two crescent moons (one at apex and one setting), with a De Chirico-esque female nude sculpture to right of figures before a city wall haloed by a full tree, and an abstracted wall or hillside village to middle ground, the whole with a wash of gold, brown, orange, and green reminiscent of many of the country flags of Africa. Framed approximately 27.25" x 33.25". Sight approximately 15.75" x 22.75". Provenance: From the Private Collection of Dr. & Mrs. Calvin Wayne McLarin, Atlanta, Georgia.
Ahlers & Ogletree Inc.
Jun. 25, 2016
Vincent DaCosta Smith, "Somali Women", Etching
Est: $800 - $1,200
Vincent DaCosta Smith (American (New York), 1929-2003). "Somali Women in Harar"-circa 1979, hand colored etching on wove paper, artist's proof, inscribed, titled, and signed to lower margin. A simplistic and colorful etching depicting a group of African women clustered to center at front with one walking away holding a basket atop her head, to background a line of camels proceeds before a tall city wall overhung by a crescent moon, the whole with a wash of gold, brown, orange, and green reminiscent of many of the country flags of Africa. Framed approximately 27.75" x 33.75". Sight approximately 15" x 18". Provenance:Spectrum IV Grapgics, New Rochelle, New York; hereby acquired by the private collection of Dr. & Mrs. Calvin Wayne McLarin, Atlanta, Georgia.
Ahlers & Ogletree Inc.
Dec. 15, 2015
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Untitled (Fire and Street Riot).
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Untitled (Fire and Street Riot). Oil on masonite board, 1965. 1219x914 mm; 48x36 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower right recto. With a painting of a brick wall on the verso. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; the collection of Larry and Evelyn Neal, New York. Cultural critic and playwright Larry Neal (1937 - 1981) was a leading national figure in the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s and 70s. Born in Atlanta, Neal grew up in Philadelphia, earning a BA in English and history from Lincoln University. He also studied folklore as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. He moved to New York in 1964. Larry and Evelyn Rodgers, a chemist at Mount Sinai Hospital, married in 1965. Their Harlem brownstone became a center of artistic and intellectual discussion, playing host to Baraka, Ishmael Reed, Henry Dumas, Sonia Sanchez, and other prominent Black Arts Movement artists in the early 1970s. Neal wrote essays about the Black Arts Movement, served as arts editor for the journal Liberator and with Amiri Baraka, he edited the anthology Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing (1968). Neal was the education director of the Black Panther Party, a member of the Revolutionary Action Movement, and was a founding member of the Black Arts Repertory School/Theatre. In 1970, he was honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship for African American critical studies. Neal held teaching positions at the City College of New York, Yale University, and Wesleyan University. In the 1970s, he was executive director of the Commission on the Arts and Humanities in Washington, DC. Neal died of a heart attack just at the age of 43; his papers are now in the collection of the Schomburg, Center for Research in Black Culture. Biography courtesy of the Poetry Foundation and the New York Public Library. This untitled work is a powerful political and expressive painting by Vincent Smith, a large and important painting by the artist made at the height of his artistic career. Here with his intense, fiery color and exaggerated figuration, Smith depicts the violent and physical struggle of the Civil Rights period in New York - arson, protests and fighting in the streets. Vincent Smith painted many episodes of the clashes in the 1960s with fiery scenes from New York City to the Watts Riots in Los Angeles. As in his other 1960s paintings, including The Fire Next Time in the collection of the Detroit Art Institute, Smith paints distorted and disenfranchised figures, often in silhouette or flattened against the picture plane. These figures often confront the viewer, and are pressed against their urban environment. Smith himself has stressed this relationship - "When I paint, I'm always aware of composition because I've always felt that the tighter the composition, the more interesting the work," he told American Visions magazine in 1999.
Swann Auction Galleries
Dec. 05, 2015
Lithograph by Vincent DeCosta Smith.
Est: $400 - $800
Vincent DeCosta Smith (1929-2004) "Below the Sahara" A/P lithograph, 22" x 30", signed lower right. Size 30" x 22 -1/2".
Morphy Auctions
Dec. 05, 2015
Lithograph "Hausa Men in Nigeria" Vincent D Smith.
Est: $100 - $400
Vincent De Costa Smith (1929-2004) "Hausa Men in Nigeria" lithograph A/P, 22-1/2" x 30" sheet, signed lower right, 1975. Size 30" x 22 -1/2".
Morphy Auctions
Dec. 05, 2015
Etching by Vincent D. Smith from 1972.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Vincent de Costa Smith (1929-2004) American "A Moment Supreme" 1972, etching 9" x 11" image, signed, signed lower right, A/P. Artist proof etching executed in 1972 depicting the funeral of John Coletrain, July 21, 1967. Albert Ayler on saxophone and Donald Ayler on trumpet. Size Framed: 22" x 15".
Morphy Auctions
Jun. 10, 2014
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Shadows in Harlem.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Shadows in Harlem. Etching on cream wove paper, 1965. 203x222 mm; 8x8 3/4 inches, full margins. Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 40. Signed, titled, dated, and inscribed "Artist's Proof" in pencil, lower margin. Other impressions of this print can be found in the art collection of the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation, as well as in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Art.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 10, 2014
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2004) Do-Rag Brother.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2004) Do-Rag Brother. Oil and sand on thick linen canvas, 1968. 750x610 mm; 29 1/2x24 inches. Signed and dated in oil, upper right. Provenance: G.R. N'Namdi Gallery, Chicago; private collection, Chicago. Exhibited: Jazz &...., Kreft Center Gallery, Concordia University, Ann Arbor, MI, January 23 - March 9, 2003 ,with the label on the verso. Do-Rag Brother is a wonderfully expressive painting by Vincent Smith, and only the second significant painting by the artist to come to auction. Here with his intense, fiery colors and a gritty texture of sand, Smith depicts an almost abstract, graffiti-covered and scarred wall. Vincent Smith wanted to record an era when many took to the streets, and he painted many episodes of the Civil Rights struggle in the 1960s with fiery scenes from New York City to the Watts Riots in Los Angeles. As in his other 1968 paintings, including The Fire Next Time in the collection of the Detroit Art Institute and Waiting, Smith paints politically and socially disenfranchised figures in sihouette or flattened against the picture plane. They are powerful and unforgiving - the figures often confront the viewer, and are pressed against their urban environment, the stark store fronts and dark street corners of the Village and Brooklyn. Smith himself has stressed this relationship - "When I paint, I'm always aware of composition because I've always felt that the tighter the composition, the more interesting the work," he told American Visions magazine in 1999.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 27, 2012
Vincent DaCosta Smith, (African-American; 1929 - 2004), Dispossess, Etching, 4 3/8" x 8" (plate)
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
Vincent DaCosta Smith (African-American; 1929 - 2004) Dispossess Etching c. 1965. This artist's proof is a rare early edition printed in 1965 (there were later printings--one in 1966, an example of which is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art; and one in 1994--this example is included in the collection of The Detroit Institute of Art). This series of etchings done by Smith was inspired by the work of Otto Dix. Brooklyn native Vincent Smith documented some of the most compelling events in 20th century America, from the jazz clubs of the New York avant garde music scene, to the burgeoning civil rights movement, and the Black Arts Movement. After a tumultuous youth, Smith found new direction in art, a vocation he completely immersed himself in, both as a student and as a working artist. He took classes at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School and the Art Students League, NY. He traveled to Maine to study on scholarship at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Smith drew inspiration from African-American artist Jacob Lawrence. Smith was especially struck by the composition found in his artworks. In turn, Vincent Smith became very deliberate and conscious of composition in his work as well. His first solo show was held at the Brooklyn Museum Art School Gallery in 1955. Throughout his career, his work had been featured in over 25 one man shows and more than 30 group shows. His work can be found in many private and public collections such as The Art Institute of Chicago, MoMA New York, The National Museum of American Art in Washington D.C., The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Yale University, New Haven. Smith was a member of the National Conference of Artists; African-American Museum Association; Audubon Society; and the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylics. He received awards from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, scholarship, 1955; John Hay Whitney Foundation, fellowship, 1959-60; National Institute of Arts and Letters, grant, 1968; American Academy of Arts and Letters, Childe Hassam Purchase Prize, 1973, 1974; National Academy of Design, Thomas B. Clark Prize, 1974. 4 3/8" x 8" (plate)
Ripley Auctions
Feb. 16, 2012
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Watts.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) Watts. Watercolor, pen and ink on wove paper, 1965. 254x330mm; 10x13 inches. Signed, titled and dated "7/65" in ink, lower margin. Provenance: private New York collection. Vicent Smith depicted many of the episodes of the Civil Rights struggle in the 1960s with fiery scenes. Despite the early July date, the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles was famously marred by riots from August 11 to August 15, 1965. The 5-day riot resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 3,438 arrests. It was the most severe riot in the city's history until the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 06, 2011
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) A Moment Supreme.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
VINCENT D. SMITH (1929 - 2003) A Moment Supreme. Etching, 1972. 220x275 mm; 8 3/4x10 3/4 inches, full margins. Artist's proof, aside from the edition of 35. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed "A/P" in pencil, lower margin. Printed at Robert Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop, New York. A very good, dark impression of this scarce print. On July 17, 1967, the jazz world was stunned when John Coltrane died from liver cancer at the age of 40. This etching evokes a stirring scene, recalling the funeral service for Coltrane on July 21st at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in New York City, when both the Ornette Coleman and the Albert Ayler quartets performed.
Swann Auction Galleries
Aug. 06, 2010
Vincent D. Smith
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
Couple
Barridoff Auctions