FUNDRAISER: Collect Black Philly Art + Support Friends of the Tanner House w/ Swann Galleries
Continuing a relationship set forward for us by our new beloved ancestor Danny Simmons, Friends of the Tanner House is consigning two Philly-made artworks for auction with Swann Galleries on October 1, 2026. Takes place in-person AND online. Funds from the sale of these artworks will support ongoing Tanner House operations. Take home Black art from two Philadelphia legends while supporting us in incubating a new generation of artists and changemakers.
We are thankful to Donald E. Camp and the Lewis Tanner Moore Collection for their donations which have allowed this fundraising opportunity to take place. We invite you to learn more about the artworks and the process for taking part in the auction by visiting the Swann Galleries website below.
Donald E. Camp, Man Who Talks - Douglass "Jocko" Henderson.
Donald E. Camp (b. 1940)
Man Who Talks - Douglass "Jocko" Henderson. Earth pigment and casein monoprint on Rives BFK, 1995-6. Signed and dated in pencil, lower left. Signed, titled and dated in pencil, lower right verso. 20 x 22 in. (50.8 x 55.9 cm.)
Friends of the Tanner House was first introduced to Don Camp through the embrace of Lewis Tanner Moore, whom transitioned to ancestor in May 2024. We are grateful for their belief in our mission and vision through the offering of their work for our charity benefit. In conversation, Don offered this important distinction in their artistic process: the unique marbling of the photographic print as “bluesmark”, honoring the cracks, ruptures, and rough spots found within the realization of the image as intentionally placed, meant to be read by viewers as equal contributor to the story just as much as honoring the figure of Douglas “Jocko” Henderson himself.
Donald E. Camp was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1940. Camp holds both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. He began his career in photography as a newspaper photographer and after ten years as a photojournalist, sought a degree in the fine arts. Camp is the subject of an American Artist Oral History at the Smithsonian Institute. He has been honored for his work with a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. Camp has exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; the Institute for Contemporary Art; the Delaware Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Noyes Museum. Camp's work is included in a number of important public and private collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He is currently a professor of photography at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Bio courtesy of the Petrucci Family Foundation.
James E. Dupree, Untitled (Abstraction with Triangle).
James E. Dupree (b. 1950)
Untitled (Abstraction with Triangle). Mixed media on paper, 1983. Signed and dated, lower right. 23 1/4 x 29 1/8 in. (59.1 x 74 cm.), Frame: 26 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 1 in. (67.3 x 82.6 x 2.5 cm.)
Provided to us through the Lewis Tanner Moore Collection, James Dupree represents a homegrown Black Philadelphia visual artist who has struggled to advance the relationship between Black art, anti-gentrification efforts, and Black community self-determination. We are glad to be able to offer an artwork from his earlier years for auction, while he continues to be a force for social change through culture, politics, and art.
James Dupree has been a practicing artist in the city of Philadelphia for over five decades. With exhibitions and residencies of national and international scope, Dupree has created a legacy within the world of Fine Arts and Culture. His mediums include but are not limited to paint, mixed media, and sculpture. Dupree holds a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design, an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania, and has attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. After which, he went on to teach at Arts Centers and Fine Arts Schools, including Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, University of Pennsylvania, and Crewe and Alsager College in England. Currently, James Dupree owns and operates two Contemporary Fine Art galleries. Dupree Gallery Philadelphia, which has been open since the 1980s, is located at 703 South 6th Street in Philadelphia. The newest gallery location is located in the vibrant small town of Lambertville, New Jersey at 10 North Union Street. Both locations host a variety of solo and group exhibitions of artwork crafted by renowned national and international contemporary artists. Bio courtesy of the artist's website.
