Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
Salon du Dessin postponed as organisers reverse decision to go ahead
13 March 2020The prestigious Paris drawings fair ‘Salon du Dessin’ has been postponed until the end of May as the outbreak of coronavirus in Europe continues to have a major effect on the fairs calendar.
Pair of Old Masters sets new picture high for Woolley & Wallis
09 March 2020A spectacular competition came at Woolley & Wallis’ latest picture sale as 12 bidders pursued a pair of Italian Old Masters which the auction house had spotted tucked away in a dark corner of the vendor’s top landing.
Dealer Rafael Valls offers 100 Old Masters in Sotheby’s online sale
05 March 2020London art dealer Rafael Valls has consigned a group of works to Sotheby’s which will be offered in an online sale next month.
Top stories this week – including news of a museum buying a record-breaking piece of Martin Brothers pottery
23 February 2020The most popular stories on this website over the last week included news of a new museum in Plymouth buying the record-breaking Martin Brothers grinning crab.
Second consignment of works from major Orientalist art collection comes to Sotheby’s
18 February 2020A second group of works from the record-setting Najd collection of Orientalist art will be offered at Sotheby’s next month.
Hockney makes a £21m splash but total is down
17 February 2020The overall total from the latest London series of Contemporary art auctions was down year-on-year. With one day sale still to run at the time of going to press, the running total of £197.4m from the sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips compared to £253.9m from the equivalent sales in 2019.
Top stories this week – including news of the dealer supplying props for the new Jane Austen ‘Emma’ movie
16 February 2020The most popular stories on this website over the last week included news of an antiques dealer with a side-line supplying antiques as props for TV or movie productions.
‘High crimes and misdemeanors’ – Rare copy of first US impeachment resolution offered at Bonhams
14 February 2020An original copy of the first impeachment resolution against US president Andrew Johnson has emerged at auction.
Terence Cuneo ‘end of an era’ painting of British Rail’s last steam engine emerges at Sworders’ auction
13 February 2020A painting of the last steam engine built for British Rail by the celebrated train painter, Terence Cuneo (1907-96), is being offered at Essex saleroom Sworders next month.
Hockney leads Sotheby’s Contemporary art evening sale at £21m
12 February 2020Sotheby’s set the third-highest price for a work by David Hockney (b.1937) in London last night.
Impressionist and Modern auctions post lowest totals for a February series in a decade
10 February 2020The latest Impressionist & Modern auctions in London posted the lowest total for a February series in this category for a decade.
René Magritte surrealist scene lifts Christie’s modern art auction in London
07 February 2020Auction records for Tamara de Lempicka and George Grosz boosted Christie’s latest Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art evening sales in London but it was a surrealist scene by René Magritte that made the largest contribution to the night’s total.
Recovered works top Sotheby’s modern art auction
06 February 2020Pictures restored to the family of an important Jewish collector whose property had been seized by the Nazis led Sotheby’s latest evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art in London.
Mantegna and Tiepolo make the difference in ‘highest NY Old Master total in five years’
03 February 2020Two key consignments, one painting and one drawing, lifted the latest Old Master series in New York to the highest total for five years.
Medical researcher’s mill scene by LS Lowry sells for £2.2m at Christie’s
24 January 2020A painting by LS Lowry (1887-1976) that had never before been seen in public led Christie’s Modern British art evening sale in London on January 21.
Nazi-looted paintings by Pissarro and Signac that entered the Musée d’Orsay to be offered at Sotheby’s
16 January 2020Three Impressionist paintings believed to be worth over £14m that were taken by the Nazis during the Second World War but recently restituted to the heirs of a French-Jewish art collector will be offered at Sotheby’s in London next month.
Lawyer’s new book published covering the ‘nuts and bolts’ of art market law
14 January 2020A recent addition to Elgar Practical Guides – a series of handy, concise and practical guides to a range of legal practice areas – has been penned by Martin Wilson, the chief general counsel at Phillips Auctioneers.
US tariffs on Chinese art “diverts market elsewhere”, says Sotheby’s
08 January 2020Sotheby’s has added its weight to the art market’s response against President Donald Trump’s imposition of import tariffs on Chinese works of art in the US.
Top stories this week – including our pick of 10 outstanding dealer sales in the last year
05 January 2020The most popular stories on this website over the last week included our selection of the most unusual and wonderful objects that dealers sold in the last 12 months.
France blocks export of €19.5m Cimabue panel following sale to overseas buyer
03 January 2020The French government has blocked the export of ‘The mocking of Christ’, a medieval panel by Cenni di Pepo (known as Cimabue) that sold in October for €19.5m plus premium at auction house Actéon.