Image: Courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries
Richard Mayhew’s Soquel sold for $249,000 at Swann Auction Galleries Contemporary Art sale on June 4, 2026 in New York City. A distinguished landscape painter, Mayhew’s African American and Native American ancestry profoundly influenced his artistic vision, particularly his deep connection to nature and the land. His signature style of luminous, abstracted landscapes blends realism with emotional and spiritual depth, something that he described as a “mindscape” in an interview with Hyperallergic magazine. Throughout his career spanning over seven decades, Mayhew has been celebrated for his ability to capture the transcendent qualities of light and atmosphere in his landscapes, moving beyond mere representation to evoke mood and memory. The painting at hand, aptly titled Soquel, the Californian town in Santa Cruz County, on the northern coast of Monterey Bay, where Mayhew lived and worked until his passing in 2024, is just one example of his signature style, which often featured trees. His work has been exhibited widely and is held in prestigious collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In addition to painting, Mayhew was also a dedicated educator, arts advocate and activist. Some of our other favorites, from Swann Auction Galleries Contemporary Art sale on June 4, 2026 in New York City, appear throughout the issue.
