Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Final slice of Soo Pieng
18 November 2019In recent years, Geble (22.61% buyer’s premium) in Radolfzell has sold several paintings by the Singaporean artist Cheong Soo Pieng (1917-83) from a German collection.
Dorotheum saleroom’s seven heaven
18 November 2019Dorotheum (28/25/22/18% buyer’s premium) in Vienna could boast two seven-figure prices in as many days, including the highest Austrian auction price of this year so far.
Vintage print of Julia Margaret Cameron's 'The Dream' offered at Berlin auction
18 November 2019Although her career as a photographer lasted only some 16 years, Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79) is acknowledged as a pioneer of the medium, creating a remarkable oeuvre of portraits and other photographic compositions.
Einstein surprise at Stuttgart auction
18 November 2019One of the biggest surprises at Nagel’s (33% buyer’s premium) sale in Stuttgart on October 16-17 came right at the end of the auction.
Schiele reveals his artistic manifesto
18 November 2019“There is no such thing as modern art, there is only art and it is perpetual.” The author of these lines was, perhaps surprisingly, the highly modern Austrian painter Egon Schiele and are part of an artistic manifesto written on July 17, 1911.
Family values at Munich saleroom
18 November 2019The private collection of the late auctioneer Rudolf Neumeister was on offer at the saleroom bearing his name – which is now run by his daughter.
Stuck sculpture shows athletic inspiration
28 October 2019The German artist Franz von Stuck is generally associated with portraits of sultry, mystical fin-de-siècle women, laden with symbolism.
Panels portray palaces and architectural scenes
28 October 2019One of the highlights at Lempertz in Cologne on November 15 is a set of nine late-18th century scagliola panels.
Head of a saint in Munich sale
28 October 2019The extensive autumn sale at Hermann Historica in Munich runs from November 11-20 and is accompanied by five catalogues for the ‘bricks and mortar’ sale and a further six for the subsequent online auctions.
Greek doves inspire Romans
28 October 2019The history of the motif which inspired an unknown Italian master of the second half of the 18th century can be traced back to the 2nd century BC.
Pendulum pioneers
07 October 2019In 1657, the 10-year-old Dutch orphan Christiaan Reijnaert was apprenticed to clockmaker Salomon Coster in The Hague. It was a momentous time for Coster: he is credited with building the first pendulum clock, incorporating the invention by Christian Huygens.
Rare at auction: Hamdi Bey work
07 October 2019Since 1984, only about 20 paintings by the Turkish artist Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910) have come on the auction market and many of his best-known works are in international museums.
Raise a glass to two big Munich fairs on in same month as the huge beer fest
07 October 2019Autumn in Munich means different things to different people. For several million visitors the high point of the year is the Oktoberfest. For several thousand the main attraction is two art and antiques fairs that run more or less concurrently.
Lalique table lamp
07 October 2019Munich auction house Quittenbaum is holding a specialist sale of works by René Lalique on November 12. One of the eye-catchers is an 11in (27cm) high table lamp with a bronze base, engraved with peacocks, and the opalescent figure of a naked young woman holding a translucent drape in her outstretched arms.
Accomplished still-life painter
07 October 2019Emilie Preyer (1849-1930) obviously learnt a lot from her father Johann Wilhelm Preyer, one of the most famous still-life painters in the Düsseldorf School in the late 19th century.
More from Munich: the Neumeister Collection
07 October 2019Over three days, from October 22-24, Neumeister in Munich is holding a very special sale. Katrin Stoll, the daughter of Rudolf Neumeister (1925-2017), who took over the running of the firm in 2008, and her team will be selling her father’s extensive private collection.
German goblet collection
07 October 2019Forty years ago, Dr Jürgen Fischer held his first auction in Heilbronn which was devoted solely to glass. Since then it has been the main, but not exclusive, focus of the house.
The Bauhaus influence on show at Heidelberg sale
23 September 2019Even though the Bauhaus design school was forcibly closed in 1933, its influence continues to this day.
Calculating a fortune in Cologne
23 September 2019On October 12 Auction Team Breker in Cologne is holding a sale dedicated to antique office equipment. Among the distinctive pieces on offer is this Arithmomètre from 1865 guided at €3000-5000.
Mengelberg’s Last Supper appears at Stuttgart auction
23 September 2019Traditionally, many 19th century painters copied famous works by the Old Masters as part of their artistic training.