Roy DeCarava Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Roy DeCarava Art Value Price Guide

May. 14, 2026
Hughes, Langston (1901-1967) and Roy DeCarava (1919-2009). The Sweet Flypaper of Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Hughes, Langston (1901-1967) and Roy DeCarava (1919-2009). The Sweet Flypaper of Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955. 8vo. Photographic illustrations by Roy DeCarava. Original photographic wrappers (extremities toned, light rubbing to joints, front joint discretely reattached); folding case. Provenance: Stella Holt (1899-1967), American theater producer (presentation inscription). FIRST EDITION, wrappers issue (preferred), with text beginning on the front wrapper and continuing on p.3. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED IN THE YEAR OF PUBLICATION BY HUGHES TO HIS CLOSE FRIEND, RENOWNED THEATRICAL PRODUCER STELLA HOLT, on the inside front cover: "Especially for Stella Holt, with thanks for so many fine plays, sincerely, Langston Hughes, New York, New York, Nov. 30, 1955." Stella Holt was "one of the first producers to use integrated casts" (New York Times). In her 1965 production of Hughes' Prodigal Son, Holt and Hughes brought in African American playwright Vinnette Carroll as director. "Holt turned Hughes' gospel drama into 'a swinging dance pantomime,' as he marveled, 'a novel concoction I never dreamed of—but a delightful one'... 'Stella was devoted to Langston,' Vinnette Carroll recalled'" (Rampersad, Life of Langston Hughes II:391-2). Holt was also behind the successful 1957 Broadway production of Hughes' Simply Heavenly. She died three months after Hughes in 1967. The Sweet Flypaper of Life appeared in November 1955, just as Hughes was completing the manuscript for his autobiography, I Wonder as I Wander. The critical reception of the work was positive: "No book by Hughes was ever greeted so rhapsodically.... Calling it 'a delicate and lovely fiction-document of life in Harlem,' the New York Times praised its 'astonishing verisimilitude'" (Rampersad, Life, Vol. II, p.249). For his part, Roy DeCarava "looked at their book and almost burst into tears.....[expecting] a big glossy book with [his] photographs lavishly laid out," but the critical reception brought him around (ibid., p249). The Sweet Flypaper of Life remains "one of the most successful collaborations between a great writer and a great photographer ever published" (101 Books, pp.138-9). Auer, p.357; The Photobook, vol. I, p. 242 ("A publishing success and... an important step forward"). This lot is located in Chicago.
Freeman’s
Mar. 12, 2026
DECARAVA, Roy (American, 1919-2009) Hallway, New York. 1953. Printed 1986.
Est: $400 - $600
DECARAVA, Roy (American, 1919-2009) Hallway, New York. 1953. Printed 1986. Black and white tri-tone print. Signed and numbered lower right. Edition 45/500. Letter attached verso from The DeCarava Archives describing the photograph. Not examined out of frame. Paper lightly rippled. Overall good condition. 12 ¾ x 8 ½”. Frame 20 ¼ x 16 ½”.
Potter & Potter Auctions Inc.
Feb. 21, 2026
Roy DeCarava, Langstron Hughes, 'The Sweet Flypaper of Life', first edition
Est: $100 - $200
Roy DeCarava, Langston Hughes, 'The Sweet Flypaper of Life', First Edition, Simon Schuster publisher,1955. Inscribed inside cover, 'For Fay - Now that she can "do something about it". From Philip and Midori via Joan. December 1956
Clars Auctions
Oct. 09, 2025
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009). Couple Dancing, 1956. signed, dated and numbered
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009). Couple Dancing, 1956. signed, dated and numbered '16 / 50' in pencil (margin)image: 12 1/8 x 7 ¾ in. (30.8 x 19.7 cm.)sheet: 23 x 17 ¾ in. (58.4 x 45.1 cm.).
Christie's
May. 08, 2025
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Portfolio entitled Roy DeCarava. 1950-79; printed 1991.
Est: $50,000 - $75,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Portfolio entitled Roy DeCarava. 1950-79; printed 1991. With 11 (of 12) stunning, hand printed dust-grain photogravures made from DeCarava's poignant photographs, including many of his iconic images of Harlem. Photogravures, the images measuring approximately 8x11 inches (20.3x28 cm.), and the reverse, the sheets 18x22 inches (45.7x55.9 cm.), each with DeCarava's signature, negative date, and edition notation 13/50 in pencil on recto. Elephant folio-sized black clamshell case with a gilt-lettered leather title label; contents loose as issued. Renaissance Press Paul Robeson, New York, 1950 * Lingerie, New York, 1950 * Horace Silver, New York, 1963 * Across the Street, Night, Brooklyn, 1978 * Night Feeding, Brooklyn, 1973 * Billie [Holiday] at Braddocks, New York, 1952 * Man in Window, Brooklyn, 1978 * Fourth of July, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 1979 * Dancers, New York, 1956 * Four Men, New York, 1956 * Milt Jackson, New York, 1956 This edition is limited to 62 sets. The plates were subsequently destroyed by the artist. Roy DeCarava began his artistic career as a painter and print-maker. He initially began using a hand-held camera as a tool to aid in his sketches. Yet within only a few years, DeCarava embraced photography with fervor, embarking on a career in the medium in the late 1940s that would take him into the present day. Born and raised in New York, DeCarava is Harlem's photographer, as his honest and gripping photographs of the vagaries of modern life attest. Showcasing the urban environment in all of its gritty glory, DeCarava accentuates the quotidian activities of the everyday African-American men and women, avoiding sensationalist and outré crafted personas in favor of social realism. DeCarava describes his methodology as, "I want to photograph Harlem through the Negro people. Morning, noon, night, at work, going to work, coming home from work, at play, in the streets, talking, laughing, in the home, in the playgrounds, in the schools, bars, stores, libraries, beauty parlors, churches . . ." While not the first African-American photographer to chronicle Harlem, DeCarava quickly became its champion as the neighborhood morphed from the center of artistic and intellectual creativity during the Harlem Renaissance to an essential destination for Civil Rights luminaries and their messages of change. Imbued with a dark tonal range, DeCarava's photographs provide keen insight to a deft eye intent on discovering visual truths. He illuminates integral components of mid-twentieth century urban life in New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 17, 2025
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009). Billie Holiday and Hazel Scott, 1957. signed in i
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009). Billie Holiday and Hazel Scott, 1957. signed in ink (recto); signed, titled and dated [with print date] in pencil (verso)image: 10 x 12 ¾ in. (25.4 x 32.4 cm.)sheet: 11 x 13 7/8 in. (27.9 x 35.2 cm.).
Christie's
Feb. 13, 2025
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Hallway, New York. 1953.
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Hallway, New York. 1953. Silver print, the image measuring 13¼x9 inches (63.5x22.9 cm.), the sheet 14x11 inches (35.6x27.9 cm.), with DeCarava's signature in ink on recto, and his signature in pencil on verso. Provenance Acquired directly from Roy DeCarava in 2005 by the Present Owner Roy DeCarava's Hallway, New York was made as part of an extended series documenting daily life in Harlem during his yearlong Guggenheim Fellowship, the first ever awarded to an African American photographer. He told the San Francisco journalist Sam Whiting, "It was all the hallways I grew up in. They were poor, poor tenements, badly lit, narrow and confining. Hallways that had something to do with the economics of building for poor people." Subsequently, DeCarava collaborated with Langston Hughes on The Sweet Flypaper of Life, which was published in 1955. A master image-maker and skilled photographic printer, DeCarava initially used the camera as a means of gathering information for his paintings, but became attracted to the medium's directness and flexibility. Working with a 35mm camera, DeCarava moved through the city streets with ease, taking images that he then developed and printed himself. Breaking with many of the social documentary trends of the time, DeCarava's imagery remains a poetic and tender record of black life in America. "I do not want a documentary or sociological statement," he wrote in his application for the Guggenheim; the goal was rather "a creative expression, the kind of penetrating insight and understanding of Negroes which I believe only a Negro photographer can interpret." This stunning and exceptionally rare vintage print is rendered in rich charcoal grays and deep blacks, exemplifying the subtle, evocative stillness that suffuses DeCarava's nuanced work. Reproduced Peter Galassi, Roy DeCarava: A Retrospective (Museum of Modern Art, New York), p. 105
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 10, 2024
Self-Portrait
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
About Face: The David and Gail Mixer Collection of Photographs Roy DeCarava 1919 - 2009 Self-Portrait gelatin silver print, signed in ink in the margin, mounted image: 10 by 13⅛ in. (25.4 by 33.3 cm.) Executed in the 1960s. Please note that this lot will not be on view during the sale exhibition. It is located at our Long Island City, New York storage facility. If you would like to examine it in person before the sale please contact Anjli Patel at Anjli.Patel@sothebys.com
Sotheby's
Oct. 19, 2023
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) "Kids God Bless," 1950s
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) "Kids God Bless," 1950s Gelatin silver print, flush-mounted and printed c. 1960, titled and notation '5 on 3' and '16' in pencil on the flush-mount verso; accompanied by a jazz album by the Kenny Drew Trio, with this image on its cover. image/ flush-mount: 14 x 20in. (35.5 x 50.8cm.) Provenance: With with Argosy Books Prints, New York; The Collection of Harry Belafonte; with Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, New York, acquired 2014 Going outside and meeting the challenge of taking what is and making it yours, that's what photography does for me. ROY DECARAVA
Freeman’s
Aug. 30, 2023
ROY DeCARAVA (1919-2009, American), Apartment for Rent 1977-78
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
ROY DeCARAVA (1919-2009, American) Apartment for Rent 1977-78 gelatin silver print 14.5 x 21.0 cm (image); 20.5 x 25.5 cm (sheet) edition size unknown signed verso: [illeg.] CARAVA
Menzies
Apr. 27, 2023
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man Coming Up Subway Stairs.
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man Coming Up Subway Stairs. Silver print, the image measuring 13 3/8x9 3/8 inches (34x23.8cm.), the mount 18 3/4x15 inches (47.6x38.1 cm.), with DeCarava's signature in pencil on mount recto. 1952
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 23, 2023
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Sherry, Susan, Wendy, and Laura.
Est: $3,000 - $4,500
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Sherry, Susan, Wendy, and Laura. Silver print, the image measuring 12 7/8x10 inches (32.7x25.4 cm.), the sheet slightly larger, with DeCarava's signature and negative date in ink on recto. 1983; printed 1990s Provenance: The Estate of Evelyne Z. Daitz, New York
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 20, 2022
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Portrait of the singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson.
Est: $700 - $1,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Portrait of the singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson. Photogravure, the image measuring 11 1/8x8 3/8 inches (28.3x21.3 cm.), the sheet 22x18 inches (55.9x45.7 cm.), with DeCarava's signature, negative date, and edition notation 45/50 in pencil on recto. 1950; printed 1990s
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 04, 2022
Roy Rudolph DeCarava, 1919-2009, Detail
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Roy Rudolph DeCarava 1919-2009 Detail 1949 color screenprint on cream wove paper 9-3/8 x 11-1/2 inches (image), full margins signed, titled, numbered 19/32 Provenance: Anne Kurakin, the artist's second wife to private collection, Minnesota.
Black Art Auction
Apr. 14, 2022
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Graduation.
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Graduation. Silver print, the image measuring 8 7/8x13 inches (22.5x32.8 cm.), the sheet 11x14 inches (27.7x35.3 cm.), with DeCarava's signature and print date in ink on recto. 1949; printed 1982 WITH--Roy DeCarava. Roy DeCarava, Photographs.The first copy of a deluxe limited edition, numbered and signed by the photographer. A collection of photographs depicting everyday life in New York City by the first Black artist to receive a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. Edited by James Alinder. Introduction by Sherry Turner DeCarava. Small folio, black-stamped cloth; in a matching slipcase with a leather title label. LIMITED EDITION, SIGNED BY DECARAVA. The Friends of Photography, Inc., (1981)
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 07, 2021
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Bass Player, Small's, New York.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Bass Player, Small's, New York. Silver print, 1956, printed in 1981. 355x279 mm; 14x11 inches. Signed, dated and inscribed "printed in 1981" in ink, left edge verso. Provenance: private collection, New York (1982), purchased from Witkin Gallery, New York. Roy DeCarava frequently photographed jazz musicians throughout New York City. DeCarava was interested in documenting the essence, versatility, and talent of both famous and less well-known jazz musicians. The dark basements of jazz clubs and their nocturnal activities were also well suited to his aesthetic. DeCarava here captures the image of a bassist passionately playing the double bass while sweating profusely at Smalls Paradise. Smalls Paradise (often called Small's Paradise and Smalls' Paradise, was a nightclub in Harlem, located in the basement of 2294 Seventh Avenue. It opened in 1925 and was owned by Ed Smalls a nightclub owner throughout the Harlem Renaissance. During the era, Smalls Paradise was the only well-known of the Harlem nightclubs to be African American owned and integrated. It became the longest-operating jazz club in Harlem before it closed in 1986.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2021
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009); Cycle of Blue Collar Workers, New York, NY;
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Cycle of Blue Collar Workers, New York, NY, 1963 Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1983, credit, title and date in pencil on the verso. 8 1/2 x 8 1/2in (21.5 x 21.5cm) sheet 14 x 11in (35.5 x 28cm) For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
May. 27, 2021
ROY DECARAVA (1919-1919) Catsup Bottles, Table and Coat, New York.
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-1919) Catsup Bottles, Table and Coat, New York. Silver print, the image measuring 8 3/4x13 inches (22.2x33 cm.), the sheet 11x14 inches (27.9x35.6 cm.), with DeCarava's signature, in ink, and the title, dates, and copyright notation, in ink, in an unknown hand, on recto. 1952; printed 1982
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 18, 2021
HUGHES, Langston (1902-1967). -- DE CARAVA, Roy (1919-2009). The Sweet Flypaper of Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955.
Est: $600 - $800
HUGHES, Langston (1902-1967). -- DE CARAVA, Roy (1919-2009). The Sweet Flypaper of Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955. 8vo. Numerous black and white photographs. Original printed wrappers (some very minor soiling or slight rubbing.) FIRST EDITION, SIGNED BY LANGSTON HUGHES AND ROY DE CARAVA, October 30th, 1955. "It is one of the most successful collaborations between a great writer and a great photographer ever published" ( 101 Books). Auer, p.357; 101 Books, pp.138-39; The Photobook, vol. I, p. 242 ("A publishing success and... an important step forward"). [With:] HUGHES. Fight for Freedom, the Story of the NAACP, 1962. Paperback. -- HUGHES. Black Misery, 1969. [ Laid in:] "A Personal Statement by Langston Hughes." Typed document, 1p. "I am not a member of the Communist Party, have never been a member of the Communist party, and have so sworn under oath before the McCarthy Committee..."
Cowan's Auctions
Oct. 02, 2020
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009); Cycle of Blue Collar Workers, New York, NY;
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Cycle of Blue Collar Workers, New York, NY, 1963 Gelatin silver print, signed, titled and dated in pencil on the verso. 8 3/8 x 8 3/8in (21.2 x 21.2cm) sheet 14 x 11in (35.5 x 28cm) For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Jun. 11, 2020
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Lonely Women.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Lonely Women. Oversize silver print, the image measuring 13 1/4x19 7/8 inches (33.7x50.5 cm.), flush mounted, with the title and numeric notations, in pencil, in an unknown hand, on mount verso. Circa 1960
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 17, 2019
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Boy with bowed head.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Boy with bowed head. Silver print, the image measuring approximately 13x10 inches (33x25.4 cm.), the mount, with a laid down overmat, 20x16 inches (50.8x40.6 cm.), with DeCarava's hand stamp and his typed label with the title and inventory notations (a price crossed out), on mount verso. 1961; printed early 1970s
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 08, 2019
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Untitled (Harry Belafonte, Carnegie Hall).
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Untitled (Harry Belafonte, Carnegie Hall). Silver print, 1960. 191x241 mm; 7 1/2x9 1/2 inches. With DeCarava's name and address ink stamp verso. Belafonte appears in this image with members of the vocal group, The Belafonte Folk Singers. They performed together at Carnegie Hall as part of the live performance and double album recording - Harry Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall on May 2, 1960.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 01, 2019
ROY DECARAVA - Hallway, New York, 1953
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
ROY DECARAVA - Hallway, New York, 1953
Phillips
Apr. 02, 2019
ROY DECARAVA (1919–2009) Roy DeCarava: Twelve Photogravures
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919–2009) Roy DeCarava: Twelve Photogravures Ashuelot, New Hampshire: Renaissance Press, 1991. Portfolio of twelve photogravures, 1950–1979; each signed, dated and numbered '40/50' in pencil (margin); each image approximately 8 x 11 1/4 in. (20.3 x 28.2 cm.) or inverse; each sheet 18 x 22 in. (45.7 x 55.8 cm.) or inverse; together with title page, colophon, text by Shelly Turner and plate list; number forty from an edition of fifty numbered sets plus one Bon A Tirer, one Printer's Proof, six Artist's Proofs and three Hors Commerce; contained in black clamshell case with gilt-lettered leather title label.
Christie's
Feb. 21, 2019
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dancers (Harlem).
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dancers (Harlem). Silver print, the image measuring 13x8 3/4 inches (33x22.2 cm.), the sheet 14x11 inches (35.6x28 cm.), with DeCarava's signature, copyright, and date, in ink, on recto, and his notations, in ink, on verso. 1955; printed 1982
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 18, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Portfolio entitled Roy DeCarava.
Est: $50,000 - $75,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Portfolio entitled Roy DeCarava. With 12 (of 12) stunning, hand printed dust-grain photogravures made from DeCarava's poignant photographs, including many of his iconic images of Harlem. Photogravures, the images measuring approximately 8x11 inches (20.3x28 cm.), and the reverse, the sheets 18x22 inches (45.7x55.9 cm.), each with DeCarava's signature, date, and edition notation 49/50, in pencil, on recto. Elephant folio-sized black clamshell case with a gilt-lettered leather title label; contents loose as issued. Renaissance Press: 1950-79; printed 1991
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 18, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Hallway.
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Hallway. Silver print, the image measuring 12 3/4x8 1/2 inches (32.4x21.6 cm.), the sheet 13 7/8x11 inches (35.3x27.9 cm.), with DeCarava's signature, in pencil, on recto. Circa 1953; printed late 1960s-early 70s
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man Lying Down, Subway Steps.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man Lying Down, Subway Steps. Silver print, 1965. 337x254 mm; 13 1/4x10 inches. Signed in pencil, on the over mat. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; private collection, New York. Illustrated: (another print) Peter Galassi, Roy DeCarava: A Retrospective. p. 103. Roy Decarava frequently photographed people in New York City's subway stations. DeCarava was interested in documenting the unknown, showing their strength, wisdom and dignity, rather than the famous or well-known. Roy DeCarava was the first African-American photographer to receive a Guggenheim scholarship. The fellowship enabled him to spend a year shooting hundreds of photographs documenting life for African-Americans in New York City. Other prints of the very scarce photograph are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Art Gallery, Washington DC.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Billie Holiday (Billie at Braddocks, New York).
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Billie Holiday (Billie at Braddocks, New York). Photogravure, 1952. 292x200 mm; 11 1/2x7 7/8 inches. Artist's proof, aside from the numbered edition of 50. Signed, dated, inscribed "A.P." and numbered "III/VI" in pencil, lower margin. Printed and published by Renaissance Press, Ashuelot, New Hampshire in 1991. From the portfolio Roy DeCarava of 12 photogravures. Provenance: Peter Fetterman, Santa Monica; private collection, Maryland (1997). This iconic image of Billie Holiday photographed in the bar at the Harlem Braddock Hotel comes from the portfolio Roy DeCarava. It is one of twelve hand printed dust-grain photogravures, each made from DeCarava's poignant photographs. The photogravure plates were made by Paul Taylor with Roy DeCarava, and were printed by Clary Nelson at Renaissance Press. Other impressions of this photogravure are in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence and the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 06, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Billie Holliday and Hazel Scott, 1957 Gelatin silver print; credi
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Billie Holliday and Hazel Scott, 1957 Gelatin silver print; credit in ink in the margin; copyright credit, title, date and notation ‘704 #8’ in pencil on the verso. 9 7/8 x 12 3/4in (24.9 x 32.4cm) sheet 11 x 14in (27.9 x 35.6cm)
Bonhams
Apr. 06, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) John Coltrane on Soprano, 1963 Gelatin silver print, credit in in
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) John Coltrane on Soprano, 1963 Gelatin silver print, credit in ink in the margin; copyright credit, title, date and notation ‘61103 #19’ in ink on the verso. 12 3/4 x 9in (32.4 x 22.9cm) sheet 14 x 11in (35.5 x 28cm)
Bonhams
Apr. 06, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man Sitting in Cart, NYC, 1966 Gelatin silver print, title and da
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man Sitting in Cart, NYC, 1966 Gelatin silver print, title and date in ink in the margin; credit and date in pencil on the verso. 13 1/2 x 9 1/2in (39.2 x 24cm) sheet 14 x 11in (34.3 x 28cm)
Bonhams
Feb. 15, 2018
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge. Silver print, the image measuring 13 3/4x10 inches (34.9x25.4 cm.), the sheet slightly larger, with DeCarava''s signature and the negative and print dates, in ink, on recto. 1956; printed 1981
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 19, 2017
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dancers.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dancers. Silver print, the image measuring 12 3/4x8 1/2 inches (32.4x21.6 cm.), the sheet 14x11 inches (35.6x27.9 cm.), with DeCarava's block-lettered signature, date, and copyright, in pencil, on recto. 1956; printed 1981
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 19, 2017
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man smoking cigar on trashcan.
Est: $5,000 - $7,500
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Man smoking cigar on trashcan. Silver print, the image measuring 9 7/8x13 inches (25.1x33 cm.), the sheet slightly larger, with DeCarava's signature and date, in ink, on recto, and various notations, in pencil, in an unknown hand, on verso. 1978
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 05, 2017
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Dancers.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Dancers. Silver print, 1956. 330x229 mm; 13x9 inches. Printed in 1981. Signed, titled, dated "1956 (crossed out) 1981" and inscribed "©" in ink, verso. With the artist's ink stamp (his Manhattan address crossed out) and inscribed "81 Halsey St. Brooklyn, NY" in ink, verso. Also signed, titled "Dancers-1956", dated "1981" and inscribed "©" in ink on the original mount, recto, and with the artist's red ink stamp (his Brooklyn address), verso. Provenance: gift from the artist; private collection, Maryland (1981). Illustrated: (another print) Peter Galassi, Roy DeCarava: A Retrospective, p. 211; (another print) Bennett Simpson, Blues For Smoke, p. ii. This iconic image of figures dancing in a Harlem dance hall is an important image by Roy DeCarava. This masterful photograph displays the artist's creative interests in mid-range tonalties with its subtle grays, and in recording his experiences living in Harlem in the late 1940s and 1950s. In 1952, DeCarava won the prestigious Guggenheim fellowship and became the first African-American photographer to receive this honor. In 1955, he published his photographs with a narrative by poet Langston Hughes in The Sweet Flypaper of Life. A master image-maker and photographic printer, DeCarava's photographs were created with a sophisticated, nuanced eye. Other prints of this photograph are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 02, 2017
Photograph - Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Man standing on street corner
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
Photograph - Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Man standing on street corner
Bonhams
Oct. 02, 2017
Photograph - Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Couple talking, subway platform
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
Photograph - Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Couple talking, subway platform
Bonhams
Oct. 02, 2017
Photograph - Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Face out of focus
Est: $70,000 - $90,000
Photograph - Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Face out of focus
Bonhams
Apr. 26, 2017
DECARAVA, ROY (1919-2009) Metropole cafe (from New York 19), circa 1960, printed 1960. Large-format vintage gelatin si...
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
DECARAVA, ROY (1919-2009) Metropole cafe (from New York 19), circa 1960, printed 1960. Large-format vintage gelatin silver print, 14 x 19 7/8 inches (356 x 505 mm), flush-mounted to card. Unsigned, unstamped. Some edge wear to extremities of image. From the library of Harry Belafonte, later acquired by a New York bookseller, probably used in conjunction with the New York 19 shooting script to illustrate one segment. C
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Apr. 26, 2017
DECARAVA, ROY (AMERICAN, 1919-2009) Lonely Woman [with child] (from New York 19), circa 1960, printed 1960. Large-form...
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
DECARAVA, ROY (AMERICAN, 1919-2009) Lonely Woman [with child] (from New York 19), circa 1960, printed 1960. Large-format vintage gelatin silver print, 20 x 14 1/4 inches (505 x 365 mm), flush-mounted to card, annotated with title and other information on verso. Some edge wear to extremities of image. From the library of Harry Belafonte, later acquired by a New York bookseller, probably used in conjunction with the New York 19 shooting script to illustrate one segment. C
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Apr. 26, 2017
DECARAVA, ROY (1919-2009) Lonely Woman [on bus] (from New York 19), circa 1960, printed 1960. Large-format vintage gel...
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
DECARAVA, ROY (1919-2009) Lonely Woman [on bus] (from New York 19), circa 1960, printed 1960. Large-format vintage gelatin silver print, 14 x 19 7/8 inches (356 x 505 mm), flush-mounted to card, annotated with title and other information on verso. Some edge wear to extremities of image. From the library of Harry Belafonte, later acquired by a New York bookseller, probably used in conjunction with the New York 19 shooting script to illustrate one segment. C
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Feb. 14, 2017
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Graduation.
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Graduation. Silver print, the image measuring 9x13 inches (22.5x32.8 cm.), the sheet 11x14 inches (27.7x35.3 cm.), with DeCarava''s signature and date, in ink, on recto. 1949; printed 1982
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 14, 2017
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dancers.
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
ROY DECARAVA (1919-2009) Dancers. Silver print, the image measuring 12 7/8x8 3/4 inches (32.7x22.2 cm.), the sheet slightly larger, with DeCarava''s signature, print date, and copyright, in pencil, on recto. 1956; printed 1981
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 08, 2016
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009) Signed Photograph
Est: $200 - $400
Black and white photograph of a dark, empty hallway pencil signed to lower right "DeCarava" and numbered 26/500. Inscribed "To Sylvia Williams- Happy Birthday- Roy Williams." Housed in a single matte. 19.5 inches height, 16 inches width. Matte measures 23 inches height, 18 inches width. 19.5"H x 16"W Scuffs to matte
Peachtree & Bennett
Oct. 07, 2016
ROY DECARAVA | 'Hallway'
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
signed and dated in pencil in the margin, credit, title, date, and copyright in pencil on the reverse, 1953, printed in 1982 (Roy DeCarava, pl. 26)
Sotheby's
Oct. 06, 2016
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Adolescent (Close Up).
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
ROY DECARAVA (1919 - 2009) Adolescent (Close Up). Color screenprint on cream wove paper, 1949. 238x292 mm; 9 3/8 x11 1/2 inches, full margins. Signed, inscribed "Detail" and numbered 18/32 in pencil, lower margin. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist by Anne Kurakin, the artist's second wife.
Swann Auction Galleries