Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
‘Irreplaceable’ masonic sword stolen in car theft recovered after emerging at London auction
27 July 2017A masonic ceremonial sword which disappeared in a car theft has been recovered after emerging at a London auction house.
Julia Margaret Cameron photograph of Charles Darwin brings competition at Sotheby’s
24 July 2017A photographic portrait of Charles Darwin by Julia Margaret Cameron was among the lots drawing strong competition at Sotheby’s sale of works from one of the largest private collections of material relating to the great naturalist ever formed.
Ancient ‘peat bog’ bronze sword sells to Dutch museum at Christie’s
24 July 2017A museum in The Netherlands has bought a 3000-year-old ceremonial sword at a Christie’s auction. It had been found around 120 years ago in a peat bog.
Credit card fees banned from January
24 July 2017Auctioneers and dealers will have to decide whether to absorb the cost of credit card transactions or pass them on to buyers in another form when a ban on all such fees comes into force in January 2018.
Consultation launched over offshore hallmarking
24 July 2017Campaigners against ‘British’ hallmarking overseas have welcomed the launch of a consultation on the issue.
Consultation launched into overseas hallmarking
20 July 2017The British Hallmarking Council has launched a public consultation into the issue of UK assay offices using traditional hallmarks in overseas operations.
WATCH: Christie’s South Kensington chairman Nic McElhatton makes emotional speech at saleroom’s final auction
19 July 2017The final auction at Christie’s South Kensington took place today with a 466-lot ‘Interiors’ sale rounding off the saleroom’s 42-year history. Before offering the final two lots of the sale, chairman of CSK Nic McElhatton made an emotional speech to bid farewell to one of London’s most popular auction venues.
Dealers and auctioneers banned from adding card charges to buyers in UK law change
19 July 2017New rules coming into force in January 2018 mean that dealers and auctioneers can no longer add extra charges to cover credit or debit card fees when processing transactions.
Busy bar scene by Norman Cornish takes £16,000 in Yorkshire auction
18 July 2017The second highest ever price at auction for ‘pitman painter’ Norman Cornish (1919-2014) was set at the latest sale held at Tennants in Leyburn, Yorkshire.
Rossetti ‘Lady Lilith’ portrait returns from Japan and sells for £560,000 at auction
17 July 2017A Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) portrait of his mistress Fanny Cornforth led Sotheby’s latest sale of Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art in London.
Money laundering: know the rules
17 July 2017The art and antiques sector is a target for money launderers and the industry must be aware of new regulations, a leading anti-corruption group has said.
US retailer fined after seizure of illegally imported cultural property
10 July 2017A large high street chain in the US has been fined $3m in connection with the purchase and importing of a large number of ancient Iraqi artefacts.
Guardi and Turner top Old Master sales
10 July 2017The latest Old Master sales in London put in a solid performance with the overall total from last week’s auction series running at £115m (including premium) with one day sale still to take place at the time of going to press.
De Pury ‘cut out of gentleman’s agreement’
10 July 2017A claim by former auctioneer turned art-advisor Simon de Pury that he is owed $10m for facilitating the sale of a work by Paul Gauguin was heard before the High Court in London last week.
Guardi’s view of Rialto Bridge leads Christie’s Old Masters evening auction
07 July 2017Francesco Guardi’s (1712-93) 'The Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi' led Christie’s latest evening sale of Old Masters in London. It was knocked down at £23.25m following a competition between two phone bidders.
JMW Turner’s landscape sells for ‘underwhelming’ £17m
06 July 2017In a lively evening sale of Old Masters at Sotheby’s, one of the few large-scale oil paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851) left in private hands was knocked down at £17m.
WATCH – “I’ve sold things at Olympia that I couldn’t sell at Masterpiece”
05 July 2017This year was the 45th anniversary of the summer Olympia fair or, as it is now known, ‘The Art & Antiques Fair Olympia’. ATG visited during the middle of its latest run to gauge how exhibitors were finding the event this year.
WATCH: what dealers told ATG at Masterpiece
30 June 2017The eighth edition of ‘Masterpiece London’ opened its doors this week and some of the 150 exhibitors taking stands at the fair – billed as the capital’s premier art and antiques event – shared their thoughts about the event on camera with ATG.
Asian buyer wins bidding battle for Henry Moore’s family group at Christie’s auction
27 June 2017A bronze family group by Henry Moore (1898-1986) led Christie’s evening sale of Modern British & Irish art in London last night, selling at £3.3m to an Asian collector.
Three men charged in New York over fake Damien Hirst artworks sold to a “multitude of buyers” on eBay
26 June 2017Three men have been charged in a New York court in connection with a $400,000 scam to sell fake artworks by Damien Hirst.