Auction introduction: Highlights include two important sculptures by both Richmond Barthé and Elizabeth Catlett: his iconic male figure Feral Benga, modeled in 1935, cast circa 1960, and the very scarce female figure, Black Majesty, 1969. From Catlett, we offer Head (Head of a Man), carved limestone, circa 1943, one of only two stone sculptures known to be made by the artist, and the stunning Nude Torso, 1994, in a rich black marble. Contemporary sculpture highlights are two salt-fired glazed stoneware works by Simone Leigh, a dark gray vessel circa 2004, and a cowrie shell, circa 2011-12. Significant work in assemblage by postwar artists Sam Gilliam, Howardena Pindell, Noah Purifoy and Timothy Washington, and a strong group of paintings by figurative postwar artists includes Ernie Barnes, Hughie Lee-Smith and Bob Thompson. An excellent selection of mid-century abstraction includes Hale Woodruff’s majestic oil on canvas Carnival, circa 1958, two untitled oil paintings by Norman Lewis: a 1947 oil on board, inspired by the iron gates of Harlem, and Past Time, an atmospheric early-1950s oil on canvas, as well as a wide selection of works on paper spanning three decades. We will also feature a selection of twenty three modern and contemporary artworks consigned to support the Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia and its legacy endowment campaign. Highlights include prints by Emma Amos, Belkis Ayón, Samella Lewis, Richard Mayhew and Stanley Whitney, and paintings by Floyd Newsum and Paul Keene.