Jack Whitten Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Jack Whitten Art Value Price Guide

Feb. 06, 2025
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Untitled.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Untitled. Pastel on paper, 1964. 292x490 mm; 11½x19⅜ inches. Signed and dated, lower right. Provenance Private Collection. Sotheby's, New York, September 28, 2018, lot 447. Estate of Patricia Scipio-Brim. Exhibited Allan Stone Projects, New York, Jack Whitten: The Sixties, September 8 - October 22, 2016. Bivins Gallery, Dallas, Texas, Jack Whitten: Earlier Works, April 1 - May 6, 2017. Published Bivins Gallery, Jack Whitten, February 14, 2017, p. 15 (illustrated).
Swann Auction Galleries
Nov. 26, 2024
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Pig Clown.
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Pig Clown. Charcoal on wove paper, circa 1968. 255x336 mm; 10x13⅛ inches. Titled in graphite, lower right. Provenance Gift from the artist, Jeffrey Waite, New York; private collection, New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 15, 2024
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018). Transitional Space 10. oil and acrylic on glazed
Est: £15,000 - £20,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018). Transitional Space 10. oil and acrylic on glazed paper 10 1⁄8 x 13 1⁄8in. (25.7 x 33.2cm.).
Christie's
Oct. 03, 2024
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Untitled.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Untitled. Acrylic collage on cream wove paper, 1973. 254x203 mm; 10x8 inches. Signed and dated "73" in pencil, lower right. Provenance: gift from the artist, private collection, New York (circa 1975-6). This wonderful collage of colorful slivers of acrylic by Jack Whitten marks the beginning of his important experimentation with the materiality of paint. Whitten describes these collages and his breakthrough in detail in a 2017 interview with Robert Storrs in Interviews on Art. Whitten learned how he could excavate the multi-layers of color acrylic paint he had built in his squeejee paintings with a sharp carpenter's tool. He then made collages like this one with jewel-like shards of paint. Whitten emphasizes how this moment was "a historical breakthrough" in 1973 - how he discovered "in 73 that paint could be used as collage". Works on both canvas and paper from this 1973 series of "acrylic collages" were featured in Whitten's 2013 exhibition Light Years: Jack Whitten, 1971 – 1973 at the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 02, 2024
Gestural Disruption # 1
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Jack Whitten 1939 - 2018 Gestural Disruption # 1 signed with the artist' initials, dated 88/89 and numbered #1 (lower right); signed, titled and dated '88/'89 (on the reverse) acrylic on Fabriano paper 25 ½ by 22 in. 64.8 by 55.9 cm. Executed in 1988-1989.
Sotheby's
Nov. 16, 2023
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Untitled 1983
Est: $35,000 - $55,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Untitled 1983 signed and dated 1983 pastel on paper 19 by 17 1/2 in. 48.3 by 44.4 cm.
Bonhams
Nov. 16, 2023
Crushed Grid
Est: $250,000 - $350,000
Art House: The Collection of Chara Schreyer Jack Whitten 1939 - 2018 Crushed Grid signed, titled and dated 2013 (on the reverse) acrylic on canvas 63 by 103 in. 160 by 261.6 cm. Executed in 2013.
Sotheby's
Nov. 05, 2023
Jack Whitten (American, 1939-2018), A Little White Cloud That Cries
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
Jack Whitten (American, 1939-2018), A Little White Cloud That Cries Signed and dated 66-68 bottom right, titled top center, oil pastel on paper. 21 1/4 x 26 1/2 in. (54 x 67.3cm) Provenance The Artist. Adger Cowans (acquired directly from the above). Exhibition "Revisiting 5+1," Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook University, New York, November 10, 2022-March 31, 2023. Lot Essay Jack Whitten When Jack Whitten moved from Alabama to New York City in 1960 to study painting at Cooper Union, he met Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden and Willem de Kooning, all of whom greatly impacted the young artist’s work. He also began looking closely at the paintings of Arshile Gorky, a direct link to Whitten’s early Surrealist style. He later moved toward what he called “Figurative Expressionism” in the late 1960s. "The Little White Cloud that Cries" comes from this moment, before his shift to an abstract style focused on materiality and surface, layering colors and dragging them across large surfaces. Whitten and the artist Adger Cowans first met in the 1960s at Whitten’s studio on Lispenard Street in Tribeca, connecting at once over shared perspectives on art. Whitten gave Cowans the present drawing at this first meeting, adding the inscription at the top for Cowans: “A black prince came to visit me at Lispenard St.” When Whitten later went on an extended trip to Greece in the early 1970s, he rented his studio space to Cowans, who at this time was painting with combs, his own hand-made tools and a textured, layered technique. Influenced by his friend’s innovations upon his return, Whitten built a large wooden tool that he used to pull acrylic paint quickly across canvases on the floor, calling them “Slab” paintings. The present work’s title "The Little White Cloud that Cries” refers to a 1951 song written by Johnnie Ray and performed by Ray and The Four Lads that same year. The lyrics include: “A little white cloud that cried / He told me he was very lonesome / And no one cared if he lived or died / And said sometimes the thunder and lightning / Make all little clouds hide/ He said “Have faith in all kinds of weather” / “For the sun will always shine” / “Do your best and always remember” / “The dark clouds pass with time.” Adger Cowans The prolific photographer, painter and musician Adger Cowans is also a prominent art collector in his own right. Like his artistic output, his collection is a testament to his relationships, strong friendships and the crucial importance of these connections in his life. Cowans was born in Ohio in 1936 and became a talented musician at a young age. In his teenage years, his attention shifted to photography and he enrolled as one of the first African American students in the Ohio State University photography program. There he was greatly influenced by his teacher Clarence White, Jr., the son of photographer Clarence White, Sr., an early champion of photography as a fine art medium. The Whites shared their extensive photography collection with the young Cowans, introducing him to photographers like Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz, Minor White, and W. Eugene Smith who would serve as major influences moving forward. Steeped in current events and the news of the day from a young age, Cowans was drawn to create representations of everyday life around him, particularly as it related to the African American experience in the 1950s and 1960s. Cowans moved to New York City in 1958, where he worked at Life Magazine as an assistant to photographer Gordon Parks. Parks would become a supporter and friend of the younger artist, referring to him later as “one of America’s finest photographers.” Cowans’ most readily recognizable images are film stills from Hollywood movie sets, portraits of jazz musicians and fellow artists and scenes capturing life around him. Concurrently, Cowans experimented with more abstract compositions in photography and painting, mastering techniques of light and form that produce stirring images. In a 2022 exhibition catalogue the artist said: “I take a picture with my heart, not with my eyes. The eyes see what the heart feels. You must be there first – recognizing pain, joy, or whatever – to show it to the viewer. That is the artist’s job.” [1] Cowans’ avid collecting and support of his fellow artists comes from the heart as well. From his early days in New York City, Cowans collaborated with other artists to create venues and audiences for their work. Along with renowned Black photographers Roy DeCarava, Anthony Barboza, Daniel Dawson, Louis Draper, Albert Fennar, Ray Francis, Herman Howard, James Mannas, Herbert Randall, Herb Robinson, Beuford Smith, Ming Smith, Shawn Walker and Calvin Wilson, Cowans helped found The Kamoinge Workshop, a Civil Rights art collective. “Kamoinge” references a word from the Kikuyu people of Kenya that means “working together,” and the group sought to disrupt racist stereotypes and promote artists in the Black Art Movement. He later joined the AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) group based in Chicago, an artists’ collective that created and promoted a specifically “Black aesthetic.” Now in his late 80s, Cowans continues to be a force in the art world, painting with his signature tools and layers of color, and advocating for an inclusive and equitable history of art. [1] “Adger Cowans: Sense and Sensibility,” Fairfield University Museum, Fairfield, Connecticut, January 28-June 18, 2022, exh. cat.
Freeman's | Hindman
Sep. 29, 2023
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Garden in Bessemer acrylic on canvas 58 x 52 in. (
Est: $700,000 - $1,000,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Garden in Bessemer acrylic on canvas 58 x 52 in. (147.3 x 132.1 cm.)
Christie's
Jun. 21, 2023
Broken Grid VII
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Jack Whitten 1939 - 2018 Broken Grid VII signed with the artist’s initials and dated ‘96 (lower right) acrylic and Sumi ink paper collage on paper 6¾ by 11¼ in. 17.1 by 28.6 cm. Executed in 1996.
Sotheby's
May. 12, 2023
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) 82°F (27.777C) #II acrylic on canvas 32 x 30 in. (
Est: $150,000 - $200,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) 82°F (27.777C) #II acrylic on canvas 32 x 30 in. (81.3 x 76.2 cm.)
Christie's
Mar. 10, 2023
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Future Beta Series V paper collage and carbon slip
Est: $18,000 - $25,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Future Beta Series V paper collage and carbon slip on paper 15 1/4 x 13 1/2 in. (38.7 x 34.3 cm.)
Christie's
Nov. 22, 2022
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Virgin Space, Loop #18 acrylic and black CAT on ca
Est: €50,000 - €70,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Virgin Space, Loop #18 acrylic and black CAT on canvas 30.5 x 30.5cm.
Christie's
Oct. 14, 2022
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Gestural Disruption #4 acrylic on fabriano paper 2
Est: £25,000 - £35,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Gestural Disruption #4 acrylic on fabriano paper 25 1/4 x 22in. (64.2 x 55.8cm.)
Christie's
Sep. 29, 2022
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Volumetric Surface Series #4 paper collage, gesso,
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Volumetric Surface Series #4 paper collage, gesso, toner, and graphite on paper 23 3/4 x 20 3/4 in. (60.3 x 52.7 cm.)
Christie's
May. 13, 2022
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Cultural Shift (Let's Celebrate Lena Horne) A.K.A.
Est: $700,000 - $1,000,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Cultural Shift (Let's Celebrate Lena Horne) A.K.A. The Lena Horne Jubilee acrylic and Styrofoam plates on canvas 48 1/8 x 82 1/8 in. (122.3 x 208.6 cm.)
Christie's
Apr. 05, 2022
Jack Whitten American, 1939-2018 A Fractured Memory, 1993
Est: $20,000 - $40,000
Jack Whitten American, 1939-2018 A Fractured Memory, 1993 Signed and dated J. Whitten 93 and inscribed as titled (lr) India ink on rice paper Sheet size 25 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches (64.7 x 64.7 cm), image size 21 x 21 inches (53.3 x 53.3 cm) C
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Mar. 31, 2022
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Site X.
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Site X. Acrylic with collage on canvas, mounted on masonite, 1987. 229x356 mm; 9 1/2x14 inches. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed "9 1/2x14" in pencil twice on the verso, on the canvas and the upper stretcher bar. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; private collection. Site X is from Jack Whitten's late 1980s Site series of densely constructed urban abstractions. This work shows the artist's growing incorporation of casting objects in acrylic and the introduction of collage into his mosaic-like compositions.
Swann Auction Galleries
Mar. 12, 2022
Jack Whitten, 1939-2018, untitled
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Jack Whitten 1939-2018 untitled 1983 pastel and colored pencil on paper 19 x 19 inches signed and dated
Black Art Auction
Mar. 10, 2022
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Untitled drypoint monoprint image: 7 5/8 x 6 3/8 i
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Untitled drypoint monoprint image: 7 5/8 x 6 3/8 in. (19.4 x 16.2 cm.) sheet: 11 x 9 7/8 in. (27.9 x 25.1 cm.)
Christie's
Nov. 09, 2021
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) The Eleventh Loop (Dedicated To The Memory Of Adri
Est: $1,000,000 - $1,500,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) The Eleventh Loop (Dedicated To The Memory Of Adrienne Rich) titled and dated 'THE ELEVENTH LOOP © 2012 (DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ADRIENNE RICH)' (on the reverse of the…
Christie's
Oct. 01, 2021
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Target (In & Out) #2 magnetite and acrylic on pap
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Target (In & Out) #2 magnetite and acrylic on paper 16 ¾ x 16 ¾ in. (42.5 x 42.5 cm.)
Christie's
May. 14, 2021
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Target (In & Out) #2 magnetite and acrylic on rice
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Target (In & Out) #2 magnetite and acrylic on rice paper 16 ¾ x 16 ¾ in. (42.5 x 42.5 cm.)
Christie's
May. 14, 2021
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Crystal Palace: For Jeanne Siegel acrylic on canva
Est: $800,000 - $1,200,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939-2018) Crystal Palace: For Jeanne Siegel acrylic on canvas 48 1/8 x 48 ¼ in. (122.3 x 122.3 cm.)
Christie's
Mar. 09, 2021
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Untitled drypoint monoprint image: 7 5/8 x 6 3/8 i
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Untitled drypoint monoprint image: 7 5/8 x 6 3/8 in. (19.4 x 16.2 cm.) sheet: 11 x 9 7/8 in. (27.9 x 25.1 cm.)
Christie's
Mar. 09, 2021
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Untitled drypoint monoprint with glitter image: 8
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Untitled drypoint monoprint with glitter image: 8 ½ x 8 3/8 in. (21.6 x 21.3 cm.) sheet: 12 x 11 in. (30.5 x 27.9 cm.)
Christie's
Sep. 20, 2020
JACK WHITTEN (American, 1939-2018)
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Soul Space IX 1984 sgn. on reverse Jack Whitten oil and acrylic/c, 20 sq. in., original box frame 21.75 sq. in. President Obama awarded Whitten the 2015 National Medal Of Arts Award. Whitten has been described as “a painter of abstract cosmologies.” From a Connecticut gentleman.
CRN Auctions
Sep. 20, 2020
JACK WHITTEN (American, 1939-2018)
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Soul Space V 1984 sgn. on reverse Jack Whitten acrylic and oil/c, 20 sq. in., original box frame 21.75 sq. in. President Obama awarded Whitten the 2015 National Medal Of Arts Award. Whitten has been described as “a painter of abstract cosmologies.” From a Connecticut gentleman.
CRN Auctions
Jul. 10, 2020
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) - Loop #41 (Spiral)
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Loop #41 (Spiral) acrylic on Masonite panel 8 x 8 in. (20.32 x 20.32 cm.)
Christie's
Jul. 10, 2020
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) - Site VIII
Est: $80,000 - $120,000
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Site VIII string and acrylic on board mounted on canvas 12 1/8 x 12 3/8 in. (31 x 31.5 cm.)
Christie's
Nov. 15, 2019
JACK WHITTEN | Midnight Stripper
Est: $800,000 - $1,200,000
acrylic on canvas
Sotheby's
Nov. 14, 2019
JACK WHITTEN | Black Monolith, VII Du Bois Legacy: For W.E. Burghardt
Est: $800,000 - $1,000,000
acrylic on canvas
Sotheby's
Sep. 27, 2019
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) - Untitled
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Untitled pastel and ink on paper 19 ¾ x 12 ¾ in. (50.2 x 32.4 cm.)
Christie's
May. 16, 2019
JACK WHITTEN | Kappa Group II
Est: $800,000 - $1,200,000
acrylic on canvas
Sotheby's
May. 16, 2019
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Virgin Space Loop #19 acrylic and black CAT on canvas 12 x 12 in. (30.5 x 30.5 cm.)
Est: $60,000 - $80,000
Jack Whitten (1939-2018) Virgin Space Loop #19 signed, titled and dated 'VIRGIN SPACE LOOP #19 2012 Jack Whitten' (on the reverse) acrylic and black CAT on canvas 12 x 12 in. (30.5 x 30.5 cm.) Executed in 2012.
Christie's
Apr. 04, 2019
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Psychic Fragments #3.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Psychic Fragments #3. Mixed media, including gouache, watercolor and ink, on cream Japan paper, 1988. 533x724 mm; 21x28 1/2 inches (sheet). Signed and dated in ink, and titled in pencil, lower margin. Provenance: G.R. N'Namdi Gallery, Birmingham, MI; private collection, New York. This large and striking work on paper is from the artist's late 1980s series of densely constructed urban abstractions. In 1988, Jack Whitten also created Spiral: A Dedication to R. Bearden in acrylic and colllage in canvas - one of his early monolithic paintings.
Swann Auction Galleries
Mar. 01, 2019
JACK WHITTEN | Flat Plate Monoprint #3
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
toner on paper
Sotheby's
Nov. 15, 2018
JACK WHITTEN | Sixth Gestalt (The Seamstress)
Est: $400,000 - $600,000
acrylic tiles and Sumi ink on canvas
Sotheby's
Nov. 15, 2018
JACK WHITTEN | Fifth Gestalt (The Coal Miner)
Est: $400,000 - $600,000
acrylic tiles and Sumi ink on canvas
Sotheby's
Sep. 28, 2018
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) | Untitled, 1964
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
pastel on paper; signed and dated ''64'
Sotheby's
Sep. 27, 2018
Jack Whitten (1939–2018) - Space Panel #1
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Jack Whitten (1939–2018) Space Panel #1 acrylic and graphite on paper image: 9 x 9 in. (22.9 x 22.9 cm.) sheet: 11 1/8 x 11 1/8 in. (28.3 x 28.3 cm.)
Christie's
Sep. 27, 2018
Jack Whitten (1939–2018) - PSEE I
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
Jack Whitten (1939–2018) PSEE I acrylic on canvas 17 1/8 x 16 1/8 in. (43.5 x 41 cm.)
Christie's
Apr. 05, 2018
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Untitled.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - 2018) Untitled. Oil on cotton canvas, 1967. 559x787 mm; 22x30 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower right. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; private collection, New York; thence by descent to a private collection, California. This canvas dates from the beginning of Jack Whitten's career as an abstract painter in New York. Born and raised in Bessemer, Alabama, Whitten moved to New York City in 1960 to attend Cooper Union, where he graduated in 1964. Shortly thereafter, he was included in the 1965 Four Men–One Theme: Jack Krueger, Richard Lethem, Mel Roman, Jack Whitten at the Allan Stone Gallery. In 1968, Whitten had his first solo exhibition in New York at the Allan Stone Gallery.
Swann Auction Galleries
Mar. 17, 2018
Jack Whitten pastel
Est: $800 - $1,200
Jack Whitten (American 1939-2018)- ''Celestial People''- pastel on paper, 1964, paper light struck and toned, smudging throughout. 12 x 9'' Provenance: Stephen Mazoh Gallery, New York
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Mar. 02, 2018
JACK WHITTEN | 1 Piece of Wyoming
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
acrylic on canvas
Sotheby's
Nov. 17, 2017
JACK WHITTEN | The Ghost of Joseph Beuys
Est: $200,000 - $300,000
acrylic and canvas collage on canvas
Sotheby's
May. 19, 2017
JACK WHITTEN | Epsilon Group, III
Est: $150,000 - $200,000
acrylic on canvas
Sotheby's
Apr. 06, 2017
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - ) Study for Kappa and Sigma, Series II.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
JACK WHITTEN (1939 - ) Study for Kappa and Sigma, Series II. Gesso, colored pencils and graphite on wove paper, 1978. 432x578 mm; 17x22 3/4 inches. Signed and dated in green ink, lower right recto. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed "gesso, colored pencil & graphite on paper" and "17 " x 22 3/4" " in pencil, verso. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist, New York; private collection, New York. Exhibited: Jack Whitten: Ten Years, 1970 -1980, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, November 6, 1983 - March 18, 1984. This work on paper by Jack Whitten has a beautiful built-up surface, with incised white marks that are occassionally punctuated by color pencils. It is a study for his 1977-78 acrylic paintings Kappa II and Sigma II, exhibited recently in Jack Whitten: Five Decades of Painting at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA.
Swann Auction Galleries