Swann Announces New Specialists for Illustration Art & LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History Departments
- by Announcement, Rare Book Hub staff
New York—The start of the fall 2023 season at Swann Galleries brings two new specialists for the house: Corey Serrant joins Swann as the associate director of LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History, as well as serving as a specialist for the African American Art department; and Skye Lacerte has stepped into the role of specialist for the Illustration Art department.
Swann continues to be an industry leader in both fields, with a recent offering of illustration art in June achieving record results: a group of designs by Charles Schultz for his Peanuts bridge sold for $50,000, and a harvest-themed cover image for the Saturday Evening Post by John Carleton Atherton brought $68,750, an auction record for the artist. The hiring of Corey Serrant into a leadership position for LGBTQ+ material signals the house’s dedication to the category. The house is holding its fifth annual LGTBQ+ auction on Thursday, August 17, with iconic works by Hugh Steers, Keith Haring, Tom of Finland and more.
Serrant has worked for Salon 94 and Eric Firestone Gallery, most recently as Associate Director, where he focused on gallery sales and liaising with artist estates. He has participated in lectures at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, the Appraisers Association of America, and the LGBT Historic Sites Project.
As the Associate Director of the LGBTQ+ department, Serrant works with consignors, institutions, and collectors throughout the auction process to develop the burgeoning market for fine art and material culture of Queer Diasporas. He previously worked at Swann as an administrator and cataloguer in the African American Art department.
Skye Lacerte served as Curator of the Dowd Illustration Research Archive (DIRA) at Washington University in St. Louis where she worked with original materials by some of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s most well-known illustrators and graphic artists. She was instrumental in growing the holdings in size, reputation, and impact, leading the acquisition of high-profile collections including Seymour Chwast, Archie Comics, and the Walt Reed Illustration Archive.
Lacerte also served as core faculty in Washington University’s Illustration and Visual Culture MFA program, a unique degree that incorporates special collections practice and materials into the curriculum. She also has curated and developed many successful exhibitions exploring the history, significance, and influence of illustration.
The complete auction schedule, as well as catalogue and bidding information can be found at www.swanngalleries.com.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Plato. [Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Correspondence and documents by or addressed to the first four Viscounts Molesworth and members of their families, letters and manuscripts, 1690-1783. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Shakespeare (William). The Dramatic Works, 9 vol., John and Josiah Boydell, 1802. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Joyce (James). Ulysses, first edition, one of 750 copies on handmade paper, Paris, Shakespeare and Company, 1922 £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Powell (Anthony). [A Dance to the Music of Time], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Chaucer (Geoffrey). Troilus and Criseyde, one of 225 copies on handmade paper, wood-engravings by Eric Gill, Waltham St.Lawrence, 1927. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Borges (Jorge Luis). Luna de Enfrente, first edition, one of 300 copies, presentation copy signed by the author to Leopoldo Marechal, Buenos Aires, Editorial Proa, 1925. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Nolli (Giovanni Battista). Nuova Pianta di Roma, Rome, 1748. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia, 3 vol., first edition, 1842-49. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Blacker (William). Catechism of Fly Making, Angling and Dyeing, Published by the author, 1843. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.