Latest News Articles by Laura Chesters

Jade thieves ordered to pay back proceeds of auction sales
12 September 2022A man, who along with his father, stole valuable Chinese works of art from the home of an elderly Bedfordshire widow has been asked to pay back more than £200,000.

Bonhams brings oak and folk sale to Scotland
12 September 2022Bonhams has relaunched its oak and folk art sales – this time in Edinburgh.

‘The last ever Richardson & Linnell auction’
12 September 2022The collection of former Richardson & Linnell auctioneer Ian Aitken will be offered at Bamfords on September 26-27.

Commons sense: tracking down a parliamentary artist
12 September 2022Seven years of research, multiple meetings with members of the Lords and the Commons and tracking down an artist’s grandchild in Scotland were all part of dealer Daniel Hadden’s process to establish the painter of an unusual picture he had bought at an antiques fair.

£120,000 sought to keep early Polar flag in Britain
12 September 2022A flag from polar explorer Captain Henry Kellett (1806-75) has been barred from export in the hope £120,000 can be raised to keep it in the UK.

County Durham dealer and North Yorkshire auction house team up for online quiz show
08 September 2022Barnard Castle antiques dealer David Harper and Ripon auction house Elstob & Elstob are calling on dealers, collectors and antique enthusiasts to join them as contestants for a new quiz.

French antiques dealer teams up with Christie’s to auction blockchain-recorded furniture
07 September 2022Antiques dealer Benjamin Steinitz is to offer 58 lots of furniture and decorative arts at auction that will be registered and secured on a blockchain.

UK buyer sought for Arctic exploration flag from Captain Henry Kellett
06 September 2022A flag from polar explorer Captain Henry Kellett (1806-1875) has been barred from export in the hope £120,000 can be raised to keep it in the UK.

Warrior figure stolen from former antiques shop
05 September 2022The art and antiques trade has been asked to help track down a stolen wooden sculpture from a renowned former antiques shop in Hampshire.

Dealer establishes a new Bourne identity in Surrey
05 September 2022Steampunk, 1990s rave culture and a Grade II-listed 17th century former mill may at first seem odd bedfellows, but catering to both new and old collectors’ tastes is what the new manager of Bourne Mill Antiques in Farnham is aiming for.

National Portrait Gallery leads call to raise £50m to keep Reynolds’ Omai portrait in the UK
03 September 2022Sir Joshua Reynolds’ portrait of Omai has been blocked from export to give institutions time to raise the funds to keep it in the UK and the National Portrait Gallery is leading the efforts.

Police appeal after van and dealers' stock stolen in Lincolnshire
02 September 2022Lincolnshire police and an antiques dealer are appealing for any information to help track down a stolen van filled with stock.

Gold coin hoard discovered in a cup under a North Yorkshire kitchen floor comes to auction
01 September 2022A family re-laying their kitchen floor in their home in Ellerby, North Yorkshire, discovered 264 gold coins stored in a small cup.

Fake or Fortune team investigate whether Sitwell sketch is a Modigliani
24 August 2022In the second episode of the new Fake or Fortune? series, Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate whether an artwork inherited from writer, critic and art collector Sacheverell Sitwell is a real Amedeo Modigliani sketch.

Life is grand with a string of contents sales
22 August 2022A raft of contents sales from grand English estates is coming up this autumn.

Rare signed copy of JK Rowling’s crime novel is among five lots to watch
22 August 2022With estimates from £100-3500, here are five previews of items upcoming up at auction this week.

New faces including at Catherine Southon Auctioneers, Olympia Auctions and LAPADA
18 August 2022The latest appointments and moves across auction houses, dealers and associations.

UK buyer sought for £2m Lombardy portrait blocked from export
17 August 2022A 17th century example of Lombard art has been blocked from leaving the UK in the hope an institution can raise the £2m to keep it here.

Art sleuth show Fake or Fortune? returns to screens this month
10 August 2022BBC TV series 'Fake or Fortune?' is back for its 10th series later this month.

National Gallery acquires two paintings via government tax scheme
09 August 2022Two Italian pictures have joined the National Gallery’s collection via the government’s inheritance tax scheme.