Latest News Articles by Frances Allitt

Make a racket purchase in a magical selection of antiques
27 May 2019Two rackets rackets (no, you aren’t seeing double) are on offer at the exhibition '#7 – It’s a Magic Number', organised by Cotswolds dealers Manfred Schotten and Christopher Clarke Antiques.

Decorative art dealer Oscar Graf opens a London gallery
27 May 2019Oscar Graf, the French specialist in 19th decorative art, opens a gallery in London this summer.

Where to buy antique summer birthstone jewellery: Seven top pieces at UK and European auction houses
25 May 2019Antique jewellery can be an ideal birthday present, especially when it features the appropriate birthstone.

Five places to see and buy art in London next week including a Cedric Morris flower exhibition in Mayfair
24 May 2019A look at the top quality works on view at commercial galleries and major institutions in the run-up to London’s busy summer schedule of art fairs and events.

Salvaged ‘Whisky Galore’ bottles from the 1940s go under the hammer at Bonhams in Edinburgh
24 May 2019When the 8000-ton cargo ship SS Politician left Liverpool for Jamaica and New Orleans in 1941 it was carrying 28,000 cases of malt whisky. Two days later it sank in the Outer Hebrides.

Dates for TEFAF Maastricht 2020 announced
23 May 2019Dates for next year’s TEFAF Maastricht fair have been announced.

Here come the Men in Black (and the Jedi and the wizards): Will Smith suit goes under the hammer at Ewbank’s movie prop auction
23 May 2019Bidders have the chance to get that alien-hunting time-travelling look next week as Will Smith’s suit from Men in Black 3 goes under the hammer.

Four London book fairs will go into one week in June
21 May 2019For the first time this year, the four fairs that make London a destination for bibliophiles in June will be held side-by-side across the space of just four days. ATG looks at the personality of each event.

Faces from Firsts: Interviews with three exhibitors at the upcoming book fair in the capital
21 May 2019A trio of exhibitors at London’s rare book fair 'Firsts' ponder the market, their motivations – plus flooded shops and heavy metal.

Gargoyles grimace in Suffolk House Antiques exhibition
20 May 2019A highlight of Suffolk House Antiques’ summer selling exhibition is a pair of 13th or 14th century English gargoyles.

5 Questions: Nick McConnell of McConnell Fine Books
20 May 2019Nick McConnell of McConnell Fine Books is among the exhibitors at Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair (see Books Supplement in this edition). He worked from shops in London before moving to the Kent coast, close to Canterbury.

London gallery showcases rediscovered drawings that record an Italian journey in 1817
20 May 2019A collection of rediscovered drawings by the 19th century artist Elizabeth Frances Batty (1791-1875) feature at Bloomsbury gallery Abbott and Holder this month.

The web shop window: Portrait by British artist Mary Stork
20 May 2019Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Alan Davie and all that jazz in London gallery
20 May 2019Scottish artist Alan Davie’s (1920- 2014) oil on canvas 'Jumpin’ at the Woodside' (1965), which is on offer at Richard Green Gallery, references a jazz number with the same title released by Count Basie in 1938.

Watercolour by John Nixon shows changing face of London
20 May 2019A watercolour by John Nixon (1755-1818) showing St Paul’s Cathedral and the City of London from Regent’s Park in the early days of the land’s development is offered at Guy Peppiatt Fine Art for £6500.

They said what!? The week in quotes from the art and antiques market including ram raid reactions and a saucy novel
19 May 2019From responses to a Thatcher sale to cataloguing Harold Wilson’s, read what members of the art and antiques trade had to say this week.

Bonhams Aston Martin auction offers James Bond-style drives and vintage classics: five highlights
18 May 2019Bonham’s annual sale devoted to Aston Martin features old and new models of the classic British car – including some James Bond favourites – as well as a wide array of automobilia.

Six places to see and buy art in London this weekend
17 May 2019This weekend London plays host to two major photography fairs, a new drawing fair and several gallery exhibitions.

Golf’s oldest scorecard drives bidders at Bonhams
14 May 2019The world’s oldest existing golf scorecard survived adverse weather conditions and a dissatisfied player before going under the hammer at Bonhams earlier this month.

A First Folio at Firsts as book fairs pack early June
13 May 2019Running from June 7-9 at Battersea Evolution, the upcoming ' 'Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair' will feature 150-exhibitors.