Latest News Articles by Laura Chesters

Decorative Fair in Battersea Park

Battersea's Decorative Fair celebrates strong opening day sales

15 May 2026

Dealers at the latest The Decorative Fair in Battersea Park were praising the opening day as one of their best.

Earsham Hall Antiques on the outskirts of Bungay

Busy summer ahead in Bungay

15 May 2026

We turn a spotlight on the bustling Suffolk town as a local antiques centre’s flea market is set to expand

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Read all about it: our pick of eight new books on art and antiques

15 May 2026

Ahead of planning your summer reading, take a look at this selection of recently published art and antiques books.

Giles Hume of Old Painted Furniture (shown right with father Frank)

Five questions with Giles Hume

15 May 2026

Giles Hume is a dealer who runs Old Painted Furniture and Earsham Hall Antiques in Bungay

Matthew Cook of The Shop in Bungay

What's in store at The Old Store

15 May 2026

Among other recent openings in the centre of Bungay is The Old Store which opened in June 2024.

Brenda Nassarian of Arundel Eccentrics

Rescuers or wreckers? Upcyclers state their case

15 May 2026

Giving a new lease of life to otherwise undesirable old items makes for an exciting, if occasionally controversial, line of business.

Medieval Royal heraldic embroideries

Medieval Royal heraldic embroideries come to auction this summer

14 May 2026

A pair of late Medieval Royal heraldic embroideries with a Spanish connection will be offered at Bonhams on July 2 with a £200,000-300,000 estimate.

Curwen Studio

Rarely seen Mod Brit print archive to be freely available online following funding boost

13 May 2026

A rarely seen print archive featuring work by Mod Brit art greats including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Elisabeth Frink, Paula Rego, Ceri Richards and John Piper will soon be available freely online.

Keats' love letters

Keats’ love letters returned to family after theft now come to auction

12 May 2026

A rare group of eight autograph letters by John Keats (1795-1821) to his fiancée Fanny Brawne that had been stolen in 1989 but later recovered are now heading to Sotheby's.

Laskett Garden

Sir Roy Strong’s garden statuary comes to auction after his beloved The Laskett is set to be sold

12 May 2026

Statuary from the garden of art historian, writer and museum curator Sir Roy Strong is to be auctioned at Chorley’s.

Redfern Gallery

New premises for London art gallery and York book dealer among latest moves

11 May 2026

The latest Movers & Shakers round up includes new homes for Redfern Gallery and Lucius Books

St Stephen’s in Hampstead

New fair sprinkles stardust to revive north London scene

08 May 2026

With the demise of Alexandra Palace Antiques & Collectors Fair and Hampstead Antique & Craft Emporium*, a TV casting director has turned her 20 years of experience organising actors and directors to try to fill the north London art and antiques gap.

Portrait of John Ystumllyn

Garden Museum launches fundraising plea to buy portrait of one of the earliest recorded black gardeners in Britain

07 May 2026

Lambeth’s Garden Museum is hoping to raise £420,000 to purchase a portrait of the gardener and plantsman John Ystumllyn (1736-86/88), one of the earliest recorded black gardeners in Britain.

Waggons on the Heath

Sale of artist Muriel Jackson's Hampstead home brings 60-strong collection of works to auction

05 May 2026

The Hampstead home of Muriel Jackson (1901-77) and her family was sold earlier this year and now around 60 paintings, drawings and wood engravings will be offered at auction directly from the house at 20 Well Walk.

Lawrence Prentice

Antiques dealer Lawrence Prentice joins the Lillie Road line-up

01 May 2026

A new dealership has joined the ranks of the art, antiques and interior specialists of Fulham’s Lillie Road.

Anti-money laundering rules

Anti-money laundering rule change welcomed as a time saver

01 May 2026

The threshold of qualifying transactions for artworks under UK anti-money laundering rules will change from Euros to British pounds.

Robert Tucker in his home in Rochester

Collector Interview: looking back on three decades of restoring a Rochester landmark

01 May 2026

Robert Tucker lives in the Grade I-listed Restoration House in Rochester with his partner Jonathan Wilmot.

Mary Magdalen fragment

Headless Mary Magdalen Old Master by Gentileschi takes more than five-times estimate at Vienna auction

30 April 2026

A fragmented Old Master portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654), with the head and shoulders of the sitter cut out, took a hammer price of €650,000 (£563,305) at Dorotheum.

Lord Harley’s Bloody Shouldered Arabian 

Newmarket museum acquires three large equine portraits via tax scheme

29 April 2026

Three large horse portraits by the British artist John Wootton (1682-1764) will be on display at The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket following an allocation from Arts Council’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

Renaissance tapestry

Monumental 16th century Italian tapestry to be restored thanks to TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund

29 April 2026

A huge wool and silk tapestry titled The Meeting of Dante and Virgil and dated to 1546-49 will be restored with funding from The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) Museum Restoration Fund.