Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
West End dealer offers rare engraving of one of England’s worst naval defeats at London Map Fair
18 May 2017A map showing one of the few occasions since 1066 that a part of England has been occupied by foreign forces will be offered at the London Map Fair next month.
Sotheby’s sale dented by withdrawal of early Egon Schiele painting
17 May 2017The late withdrawal of Sotheby’s star lot at an evening auction in New York last night was a blot on an otherwise solid sale of Impressionist & Modern art.
Brancusi and Picasso lift total at Christie’s New York
16 May 2017A record for a sculpture by Constantin Brancusi and a 1930s Pablo Picasso portrait of Dora Maar boosted the total at Christie’s Impressionist and Modern art auction in New York last night.
Public consultation to go ahead into British hallmarking overseas
15 May 2017A public consultation into the use of British hallmarks for stamping items made overseas will be held after the general election in June, the British Hallmarking Council (BHC) has confirmed to ATG.
Higher auction margins and private sales boost Sotheby’s results
10 May 2017Sotheby’s latest set of results for the first quarter of 2017 showed an improvement in its fortunes over the equivalent period last year.
York’s Fairfax House seeks funds to buy Grinling Gibbons panel from Leeds dealer
08 May 2017Fairfax House in York is trying to raise £300,000 to purchase a panel by the celebrated woodcarver Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) from dealer Tomasso Brothers.
Nazi-looted picture withdrawn from sale in Austria
08 May 2017Austrian saleroom im Kinsky has hit out at the “biased reporting” and “aggressive reaction” to its decision to offer a Nazi-looted painting at auction. With heightened media coverage about the consignment, the portrait of a Dutch merchant by Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613-1670) was eventually withdrawn shortly before it was due to be offered in Vienna at the end of last month.
CINOA snubs resale right conference
02 May 2017An attempt by collecting agencies and copyright organisations to establish a global treaty on Artist’s Resale Right has been met with strong opposition from international trade bodies.
Online buyers boost spend according to Hiscox Online Art Trade Report
02 May 2017The overall value of online sales in the art market increased by 15% in the last year, though many buyers remain cautious about purchasing in this way, according to the annual Hiscox Online Art Trade Report.
Old Master returned to Poland
02 May 2017An Old Master marine painting looted by the Nazis during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 has been returned to Poland.
Old Master marine painting looted by Nazis returned to Poland
01 May 2017Dutch Old Master marine painting looted by the Nazis during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 has been returned to Poland.
Dutch Old Master triples in value, selling for $10.3m record at Christie’s auction
28 April 2017Christie’s set a major auction record for Govaert Flinck (1615-60) in New York yesterday. The painting by the Dutch Old Master sold at over three times the level it had fetched at a London sale five years ago.
UN agency hosts Geneva event aimed at extending Artist’s Resale Right
26 April 2017International bodies aiming to expand the reach of the Artist’s Resale Right are meeting in Geneva this week to “create momentum” towards a possible future multi-national treaty on the levy.
Online art market up 15%, according to Hiscox Report
25 April 2017The overall value of online sales in the art market increased by 15% in the last year although many buyers remain unconvinced about purchasing works online, according to Hiscox Online Art Trade Report.
Ecce Homo ‘sleeper’ awakened during Lent
24 April 2017Estimated at £500-800, a small Old Master painting of Christ wearing the crown of thorns drew spectacular competition at Adam’s of Dublin on April 9. It came from an institution in the Irish capital which the saleroom said was “doing some spring cleaning”. It was given the pick of around 100 paintings.
Chinese porcelain Buddha emerges at Folkestone auction
18 April 2017A 200-year-old Chinese figure of Buddha previously owned by the secretary to the Viceroy of India will appear at auction in Folkestone next month.
Stradivarius violin takes £1.6m at London auction
12 April 2017A rare violin made in 1684 by Antonio Stradivari sold for £1.6m at a recent sale at London specialists Ingles & Hayday, the third highest price ever achieved at auction for an instrument by the great Italian luthier.
Classical scene takes £58,000 at Chorley’s
04 April 2017A painting of the classical subject of Acis & Galatea drew a flurry of bids at Chorley’s latest fine art sale in Cheltenham.
Pick of the Week: Leighton’s house record for House
01 April 2017The highest price for a picture sold in the regions this year came when a large painting by Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922) drew dramatic bidding at House & Son (17.5% buyer’s premium) in Bournemouth on March 21.
Christie’s drops London summer Contemporary art auctions
27 March 2017Christie’s has dropped its London summer sales of post war and Contemporary art in favour of its two annual auction series in this category taking place in March and October.