Historically Black women's college sends Aaron Douglas painting to auction

Bennett College, a women's college in Greensboro, North Carolina, is selling a painting by the artist Aaron Douglas. The auction house expects it to sell for between US$2.5 million and US$3.5 million, according to ArtNews.

The work is called Harriet Tubman, painted in 1931. It is six feet wide. Tubman escaped slavery and later led many others to freedom, and the painting is a portrait of her. The North Carolina Museum of Art, which lists the work on its learning website, says it was commissioned for Bennett College for Women, the school's earlier name.

Bennett is one of only two historically Black women's colleges in the United States. The college plans to use the money from the sale to support several initiatives, including women's health equity. That phrase refers to efforts to make sure women across different groups get fair access to health care.

The estimate is the auction house's expected price range before a sale. It is not a promise of what the work will bring. ArtNews reports that the US$2.5 million to US$3.5 million estimate is the highest ever placed on a work by Aaron Douglas. His current auction record is US$600,000, set in 2008, when Building More Stately Mansions (1944) sold at Swann Galleries, an auction house in New York.

The painting will be on public view at Sotheby's in New York starting November 7. It will be offered on November 18 as part of Sotheby's marquee modern art auction, the evening sale that anchors its autumn calendar in New York. Sotheby's has also provided what is called a house guarantee for the work. That means the auction house has promised the seller a minimum amount, so the sale goes ahead at that level even if bidding comes in low.

Auction results are usually reported in two figures. The hammer price is the bid the auctioneer closes on. The final price is higher, because the buyer pays a fee to the auction house, known as the buyer's premium, on top of it. Results from the November 18 sale will show both figures once the bidding closes.

For the college, the sale is a chance to fund its programs with money from a single work. For the public, it is also a chance to see the painting in person before it is sold. The viewing period opens on November 7, and the auction follows eleven days later.