Hmmm... how to review an auction house? The ambiance is mostly driven by the lots on display for whatever the upcoming auction is... The prices are set not by management, but by free market forces... There are no "secret finds" because all lots are publicly visible for days before being sold... So, how about a description of what Swann does? They hold auctions of art prints, ranging from old masters to contemporary art. They also auction books, autographs, and maps. And they're good at it. Their experts are knowledgeable. Their catalog descriptions are generally accurate. Post-auction, the lots are professionally packed either for delivery or for on-site pick-up. I've only purchased, never sold, anything through Swann, so I can't directly speak to that side of the business. I do pay attention to the market for modern and contemporary prints and it seems that Swann is realizing good prices for their sellers. For somebody looking to purchase, I would say, do your homework, know what you want and what a reasonable price would be. And if you find it on the block at Swann, be comfortable in the knowledge that your dealings with the auction house will be smooth and professional. read more

This company is no longer responsive when working with prospective consignors. I've followed website instruction posting images and details about artwork, and followed up repeatedly with emails and phone calls. No response. I'm disappointed. It's not the Swann Gallery of the past. read more

Everyone I interacted with by telephone or email was very courteous and helpful. I was very impressed with their excellent customer service.

They are just a warehouse not a real gallery! Don't waste your time trying to communicate with anybody over there.

When you are logged onto the Swann website and click on "online bidding," you are taken AWAY from the Swann website and to a different company called "Invaluable." I bid on a Swann lot via Invaluable and paid a heft 5% premium. Swann HAS it's own, online bidding mechanism (which I thought I was using). For some blasted reason Swann doesn't direct you in-house when clicking "online" bidding. Swann, instead, leads you directly to the website with a 5% premium. I wrote to Swann -- they wrote back "apologies for the confusion" and informed me they will continue to keep the Invaluable link on his website so wrote back this evening: Dear Andrew Ansorge at Swann: Your response was anemic. The direct link to Invaluable was far more than confusing. It cost me hundreds of dollars. Swann purposefully led me away from their website to another that charged a fee. Writing "apologies for the confusion" doesn't cut it, especially since Swann is directly responsible for the confusion, directly responsible for guiding bidders away from its website to another one that charges a whopping 5% when Swann has a perfectly fine way of bidding FOR FREE. Why doesn't Swann lead its bidders TO ITS OWN, free bidding site? Why isn't Swann upfront with its bidders? It's frustrating to have you explain the various ways one can bid because you were concise when the Swann website is deliberately not forthcoming to its bidders. Your breezy tone, along with informing me Swann will be maintaining its deceptive "Invaluable" link, knowing it will continue to confuse future bidders and rob money from their pockets, is dismissive and unacceptable. Just how much money does Invaluable pay Swann to lure it's unsuspecting bidders away from the Swann website, giving their bidders the privilege of handing over a whopping 5% of a winning bid? Swann has to be earning some money from this. Swann wouldn't sit by and allow another company to fleece it's customers of 5% for nothing. I'm forwarding this to the top brass of your outfit, as I'm sure you'd be more than pleased to have my response die a quick death in your trash folder. Sincerely, read more

I have bought and sold with Swann Auctions for multiple decades. Experienced knowledgeable professionals. I expect to continue our business dealings for many years. read more

Now I shall start by saying I have not bought anything from Swanns. I rang the head of the Maps Department to inquire about selling a map from 1700. Caleb Kiffer, the director rang me back within an hour - Sothebys and Christies, well over two months has passed since I made similar inquiries, and not a peep!! Since first speaking with Caleb, I have emailed him all sorts of questions, probably things that anyone in the trade would know (my speciality is different). Caleb has speedily answered every email with what are probably my layman's inquiries without any of the airs that manyexperts demonstrate. Caleb, representing Swanns, has sparked my brain into learning more about prints. I have always loved maps, and regret that others of mine were badly handled. Another example of how important due diligence is. The person who said and l quote "the worst gallery". I seriously doubt that he or she has bought from every auction house in the world so as to pronounce Swanns "the worst". It would have behooved this person to delineate where Swanns failed so that Swanns can re-assess internal policies, and correct any deficiencies. It is fine to give negative criticism, but make it constructive. I reiterate, my dealings have been with one department, which I freely say sine qua non. read more

To other bidders. A word of warning. Do not trust Swann to operate fair and ethical bidding policies. In their auction of July 30, 2020, I was announced as the winner of this nice item, for $425. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/87470799_manuscript-notaire-royal I went off to tell my wife, and then came back to discover that the auctioneer had reopened the bidding and sold the item for $500. When I wrote to ask what was going on, they responded, "We make an announcement prior to the sale and it has been our policy for more than 75 years that the auctioneer reserves the right to reopen a lot if a bid is missed..." My response to this was, "Thx for this, but merely "announcing" an unfair policy doesn't make it right. If a bid comes in late, it's late. Too bad for the late bidder. But you don't reopen the bidding just to make a few extra dollars after a winning bidder already has been announced. It's better to disappoint the late bidder than to disadvantage the winning bidder. As bidders, we've all experienced getting our bids in a bit late and missing out. That's a natural part of on-line bidding. But we're not used to having a winning bid cancelled out. That's really unprofessional, devious, and just plain fraudulent. No matter how many times you "announce" that you're going to do it." To this they responded, "It is the only fair policy to not miss out on slow bids from online platforms and since we sell for third-party consignors, that is who we are trying to protect as well!" But both these justifications are self-serving and unconvincing. We've all had on-line bids arrive late. I myself have missed, well, probably hundreds of bids because my bid got there a fraction of a second late. But the bidding has never, not once, been reopened to accommodate me. You just don't disadvantage a winning bidder because someone else's bid arrived late. Likewise the argument about third-party consignors. Yes, that was exactly my point. Reopening the bidding to make more money. But how does making more money, for the auction house or the consignor, justify canceling a winning bid? So my feeling remains the same. Once an item is sold, it's sold. Effective ownership has passed to the buyer. Allowing bidding to be "reopened" after an item is sold is a fast practice that should not be permitted, and for all I know may be illegal. And it certainly does not reflect well on the reputation of the auctioneer. read more

Worst auction house I've ever dealt with. Lost half of my antiques that I purchased in the lot! I really expected better from a seemingly credited establishment! Took 2 months to ship me the wrong stuff. I had to call them to find out what was going on. read more

I should have read there sales contract more closely as I likely would have not consigned anything to this auction house. They accept work but charge you if a few of it is not sold plus $100 for taking a picture of the work. No auction house I have sold with in the 55 years selling at auction ever stopped so low as to do this to a consigner. I will never try them again! read more

Perhaps they do in great job in their shipping policies and are good at selling the art. Unfortunately, these positive traits are not carried over when treating the dealers that provide the art. We have been trying to resolve a situation where they need to return the consignments valued at over $70,000. They did sell some things and those items were paid; however, some items that should been returned have now been sold and no payments have been made. The remainder of the items have been held hostage. They have offered a flea market price for the remainder and it was promptly declined. Please! Before you buy any item from this organization, think about the people they are ripping off. Don't even think about consigning anything to them. read more

I have both bought and sold several works from Swann's. I have always found them very responsive to my questions, and actually spent the time to discuss what I wanted to sell, and sent good photos of what I was interested in. I am not sure why I see some negative reviews...it is certainly not my experience. I question if they are genuine, actually. I plan to continue to use Swann over any number of choices I have been presented with. An excellent auction house in my experience! read more

Extremely poor communication and very delayed shipping of my purchase (still waiting) but were very quick to cash my check! This was my first and will be last experience with Swann. I will never deal with this auction house again. read more

I have had a number of dealings with Swann and its specialists over a number of years, primarily as a bidder but also, on occasion, on behalf of friends or clients who are looking for an honest and trustworthy expert in evaluating artwork or books that had to be evaluated when disposing of a collection or an estate. I have found the people I have spoken to and consulted with to be extraordinarily helpful and generous with their time and knowledge and I have recommended Swann to many people based on my own experience. As a prospective bidder I have always marveled at the number of auctions conducted, the quality of the material, the ease of viewing and examining items of interest in person and online. This is truly a place where an ordinary collector can find "bargains" relative to what dealers ask for the same or similar works and I have found it to be accessible like no other auction house in New York City. There are many reasons why an item offered for auction might not sell -- too high a reserve, insufficient demand, external market factors (think "stock market" volatility) arising between the time an item is consigned and the date of the auction. But it is obvious that Swann reaches a huge audience of dealers, serious collectors as well as "ordinary" folks such as myself -- exactly what you want if you have something of value to sell. All anyone can ask when looking to sell something of value is that you receive good and impartial advice about the item and the market and that the "competition" of the auction establish a reasonable value. Sometimes prices go well beyond "reasonable" when at least two bidders want the same item and are prepared to pay what it takes to win the bidding. But it should be enough to know that many possible buyers had a chance to see an item and offer what they were willing to pay to acquire it for their own collection or for resale. I am a huge fan and grateful for the help and advice I've received from Swann's staff as well as a few wonderful works of art that never would have graced my walls and shelves but for Swann Auction Galleries. read more

I have attended several of their African-American art sales (and I pore through each semi-annual catalogue, to which I subscribe), and Swann is THE place for this previously-neglected field of art. They get the most important collections, the premier work from top artists, and probably fetch the best prices for consigners. I've sold something here, too, and was amazed at the hammer price. Michael Ehlers in Boulder, Colorado read more

Initially, I wasn't happy with the fees associated with items I consigned that didn't sell. Also, the initial people I spoke to were not willing to work with me regarding my issues. After my original negative review I was put in contact with people willing to work with me. They did so quickly and politely. So I feel it is only fair to update my review and rating. As with any auction house, please chose carefully and do no assume anything regarding your items. read more

I'm a big fan-- been dealing with Swann's for more than twenty years. Never a problem.

Whenever I have bid at Swann I've had a good experience--they are responsive when you ask for condition reports and their online bid process is very good. Selling item, on the other hand, might be a different experience. I have a collection of photographs, the individual items ranging in value from (perhaps) $1,000 to over $10,000. I submitted a request to consign one of the less valuable items to Swann and received a response that was, frankly, very condescending and dismissive. I didn't know that they require the value of individual items to exceed a certain amount (perfectly understandable and something I'm glad to know), but the manner in which their director of photography informed me was incredibly curt. When I wrote back for further information and indicated that there might be better items I could consign I received yet another very condescending reply that implied they had no interest in discussing my consignments. I'm sorry about that because I had always planned to go to Swann first when I decide (eventually) to sell my entire collection. I've pretty much crossed them off the list, though. I really don't need snobby attitude. By the way, I've seen this for many years as my wife and I have slowly built our collection of photographs: some dealers are down-to-earth people who love helping others collect, even if they know we might purchase only once every year or two; others are much too important to spare a moment for anyone but the wealthiest collectors. I guess auction houses suffer from the same disease. Since I've had such a good experience bidding at Swann, this one is particularly disappointing, but that's life. read more

I always have a fear in any purchases from a dealer, eBay or in this case, a major New York City auction house, that in winning framed artwork, like posters, it is not packed right and gets damaged, especially if shipped UPS. Over the years I have begged people to pack well and put tape across framed pieces with glass. Some make it; some not. Sadly, in NJ a framed poster was not packed right over a year ago, after pleading to tape it right, the piece, a maritime poster treasure from the 1880's, was destroyed, the sender in complete denial he packed it wrong. In winning one 1890 framed poster, I asked the staff as Swann Auction Galleries to please pack it well and cover with tape. Well, what a 180 degree experience. The giant 49 pound box, FedExed most reasonable charged a little over $50 ground from NYC to Palm Springs, and insured, was a masterpiece of professional packing and care for the larger, flat pieces that were shipped together. Layer upon layer of bubble wrap protected them as well as a lot of cardboard support. The one framed poster has the glass completely covered with heavy tape. It was a challange to just unpack it. But the two posters, which I now consider two of the best in the collection, arrived without a hitch. Communication was excellent, and the second box of lesser pieces (zeppelin china and silver food cover from 1850) arrived a few days later equially professionally packed. My sincere thanks to Ariel Kim and his staff for their efforts. And the added bonus, the larger, outside folded carboard, I gave to an 8 year old who lives behind me to use as a "fort or tent" to play in. So it too brings happiness in another form. No worries with Swann Galleries and look forward to future wins that I can afford. The two I got worked out combined, excellant values too, as were the other items. And doing the "live phone bids" worked out well too, especially when having a overall budget. Those staff were great. read more

I have a bid with them on Ebay. They have ebay bidding for their live auctions. I like this very much!!!! and their selection of documents for sale is amazing. im a Mary Pickford collector. I have a bid on ebay for a great Mary Pickford letter which will be great for my collection. I doubt I will be outbid by anybody in the gallery on thursday, but auction bidding can bring surprises. ...special thanks to Reviewer cookie B. who, when I messaged her, said I man-splained something to her that she already knew from years as an appraiser and antiques dealer. She blocked me, but thanks Cookie B, for schooling me. you proved the sterotype is fact, not myth, that antique dealers are arrogant assholes. .....Staff at Swann Galleries sent me an invoice for my internet purchase in a timely manner. However I sent my check before the invoice, so I could receive my document quickly. I overpaid shipping by four dollars. Person emailed me back saying I woud have the four dollars as credit on my future purchase. I told the person a Swann that I do not know when my next purchase would be, and she should put $4 in my package. and I asked "is that so difficult?" Otherwise, assuming she complies with the four dollars, I enjoyed my experience. read more