By NINA TARNAWSKY

A rare collaboration between Harlem Renaissance artists Norman Lewis and Augusta Savage, called The Hubert Log Cabin, is coming up for auction from the Swann Gallery in New York on Oct. 6.

James H. Hubert was the executive secretary of the New York Urban League from 1919 to 1943. He also owned a cabin in Aquinnah where Mr. Lewis and Ms. Savage were guests. To thank Mr. Hubert for putting them up, the two artists created a woodcarving of his cabin. Ms. Savage, known as a clay and plaster sculptor and figurative artist, carved it, while Mr. Lewis, known for his work as a Works Progress Administration artist, painted it.

The two artists met in Harlem where Ms. Savage was Mr. Lewis’s teacher at the Savage School; both were significant modern artists.

For Nigel Freeman, the director of African American Fine Art at the Swann Gallery, this piece is a tremendous find. Though just 18 by 24 inches, it holds a piece of art history.

“This is the first piece I’ve seen or heard, let alone sold at auction, of them working together,” he said in a phone conversation with the Gazette.

The work reflects the longstanding arts scene here on the Island, especially the participation of the many significant African American artists who lived or visited here, Mr. Freeman said, excited at putting this piece on the block.

“I think it’s a great piece that captures a moment in early days of a great period of American creativity. In the early 1930s, this was sort of the promising time when these artists were developing into major figures, and here was this time when they summered. It’s almost like a time capsule,” Mr. Freeman said.

“It crystallizes this early moment, this important moment of modern American art. Two great artists coming together at this time, when there were all sorts of possibilities,” he added

Both Mr. Lewis and Ms. Savage were better known for other kinds of work. Mr. Lewis became a major abstract expressionist artist in the New York school in the 1940s through the 1960s. Ms. Savage did many casts and bronzes when she could afford them and was notable for her figurative pieces. So this piece is exceptional in each artist’s individual arc as well as a unique collaboration.

“It is an unusual piece,” Mr. Freeman said.

“It would be good for a museum because it does tie in these various themes in modern American art history and the contributions of African American artists,” he said, while acknowledging that because it’s a rare collaboration between two important artists, it could be a sterling addition for a private collector.

The piece will be on view at the gallery the week before it goes up for auction. It’s expected to be sold for between $20,000 and $30,000.

Unlike many Vineyard art scenes, Mr. Lewis and Ms. Savage’s woodcarving captures a family home rather than a maritime scene or a landscape. Come October 6, Mr. Hubert’s home will find a place in someone else’s.