Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
‘Fake’ coin proves to be the €210,000 real deal
01 March 2021Gold coin rejected at first but now identified as once owned by renowned Russian collector
Collectors vie for Breguet gold watch which belonged to a Tolstoy
01 March 2021Abraham Louis Breguet is generally considered to be the greatest watchmaker of all times, responsible for numerous inventions, which revolutionised the art.
Young boy and a baby destined to be emperors one day
01 March 2021This watercolour and pencil drawing from 1833 which became the star lot at a recent sale at Nusser (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich had an imperial connection.
Michaux uses mescaline as his extra inspiration
22 February 2021Among the surprises at a Contemporary art sale at Ketterer (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich was the result for a work by the painter-poet Henri Michaux.
Heartfelt work of Joseph Beuys
22 February 2021Legendary yarn explains how this material became a key component of the artist’s designs
Judd’s art shapes up with a box and tube
22 February 2021The American artist Donald Judd (1928-94) abandoned painting in the 1960s and devoted himself to producing three-dimensional objects.
Christo coverage leads to market upturn
22 February 2021It is well known that the death of an artist often leads to an upsurge of market interest and that has certainly happened with the Bulgarian Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, who died last year.
Chinese collectors bid up porcelain vases to 500 times the reserve
25 January 2021A local collector who consigned a pair of Chinese porcelain vases to Hargesheimer (25% buyer’s premium) in Düsseldorf was in for a substantial pre-Christmas surprise.
German and Austrian sales: freshness counts in Old Master sector
25 January 2021In a market challenged by a lack of fresh consignments, works new to the saleroom stand out
Roentgen cabinets draw bidders in Germany
04 January 2021Cologne auction house offers fine selection of 18th century works made by both father and son
De la Tour nocturne sets Lempertz auction house record
14 December 2020One of the last Georges de la Tour (1593-1652) paintings in private hands was sold by Cologne auction house Lempertz on December 8.
Mammen makes entrance with Way Out
30 November 2020For many decades, Jeanne Mammen was a forgotten artist. In the 1920s-30s she had been a celebrated illustrator and chronicler of the Weimar Republic.
Barlach on song as bronze sculpture cast comes to Cologne sale
30 November 2020Many of the German sculptor Ernst Barlach’s works have a musical connection and none more so than the bronze 'Der singende Mann' (The Singing Man).
Railway picture by Moholo-Nagy emerges at Munich sale
30 November 2020In 1919, László Moholy-Nagy came to Berlin, having fled from his native country after the collapse of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic.
Josef Hoffmann vase is a leading light at Vienna auction
30 November 2020Items designed by Josef Hoffmann, leading light of the Wiener Werkstӓtte movement, will feature in a sale in Vienna.
Asian art preview: Extended sale, extensive collections on offer
23 November 2020The auctioneers at Nagel in Stuttgart will have their work cut out at the upcoming sale of Asian art.
Deity hails from an old Dutch collection
23 November 2020At 2ft 5in (73cm), this Blanc de Chine figure of Guanyin on sale at Lempertz in Cologne on December 15 is unusually large.
Nineteenth century take on archaic
23 November 2020This 19th century take on an archaic vessel is one of the objects on sale at Hargesheimer in Düsseldorf on December 5.
Crabs on screen
23 November 2020A table screen was often to be found in the study of a Chinese scholar.
Chinese ink drawings emerge in Zurich
23 November 2020One section of the Asian art sale at Koller in Zurich on December 3, with its own catalogue, is devoted to a private collection of Chinese ink drawings.