Latest News Articles by Sheila Gibson Stoodley
Leonora Carrington sketch for mural now in Mexico City nets $70,000
10 November 2025Drawing for mural design was first thought to be a lithograph
Meiji crafts attracted a worldwide following
03 November 2025The Kiryu Kosho Kaisha (The First Japanese Manufacturing and Trading Company) was set up by the Meiji government after the great success of Japanese crafts at the Weltausstellung 1873 Wien (Vienna world’s fair).
Portrait by Mathilde, Princess Bonaparte makes a record sum
03 November 2025Doyle (28% buyer’s premium) set a record for an artwork by Mathilde, Princess Bonaparte (1820-1904) at a sale in New York.
Candelabra custom-built for the Vanderbilts
03 November 2025A ‘monumental’ pair of 15-light silver candelabra made by Tiffany & Co for a member of the Vanderbilt family hammered for $230,000 (£171,565) at John Moran Auctioneers (27% buyer’s premium) in Monrovia, California.
Kosler's merchants tempt a six-figure bid
03 November 2025Franz Xavier Kosler (1864-1905) made his reputation painting Arabian market scenes and the art market continues to admire them.
One day in American salerooms, two lots of coveted European chairs
03 November 2025Two sales held just over 1000 miles apart on the same day included coveted examples of European post-war furniture.
Timely transatlantic battle fought for British and Spanish works
27 October 2025UK bidder competes with US counterpart for horological pamphlets published in London and Madrid
Cabinet card tells tale of a US legal first
27 October 2025A c.1891 cabinet card that captures a significant episode of both Native American and US history realised six times its low estimate at Grant Zahajko Auctions (27% buyer’s premium).
British books contribute to Chicago auction
20 October 2025US auction house Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) enjoyed great success with its event titled Select Rarities: Exceptional Books & Manuscripts Sale.
Winnie the Pooh first edition emerges in the US
20 October 2025A scarce 1928 US first edition of The House at Pooh Corner hammered for $5000 (£3720) against a guide of $500-700 at Copake Auction (25% buyer’s premium).
Rare zoot suit swings into Vermont saleroom
13 October 2025Influenced by the English drape suits favoured by the Duke of Windsor, the zoot suit was all the rage among disfavoured youths in Second World War-era USA.
Oyster tureen became a family favourite
13 October 2025A remarkable silver oyster tureen with cover and stand hammered for $26,000 (£19,150) at Leland Little (20% buyer’s premium) in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
‘The most dangerous toy in history’: Atomic lab kit blows up bidding at US auction
13 October 2025The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab is perhaps the most notorious of all mid-century toys.
Meat and greet lots of hotly contested kitchenalia
13 October 2025US bidders show great appetite for early 20th century display slabs hailing from the UK
Armorial attractions: English mahogany hall bench in demand at Connecticut auction
13 October 2025This English mahogany hall bench dating from the first quarter of the 19th century sailed well above estimate at a sale in New Milford, Connecticut.
Hitchcock sketch presented at auction
06 October 2025Long before it became the signature for the 1955-62 television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the director had perfected his self-portrait: an economic sketch of his profile rendered in just a couple of lines. Hitchcock would regularly draw and sign them for fans.
Aronson sets the scene for a surprise dramatic bids battle
06 October 2025American actor, singer, dancer, director, and photographer Joel Grey (b.1932) is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the master of ceremonies in both the Broadway and film versions of the musical Cabaret.
Naval action engraving sold ‘with the wind at our backs’
06 October 2025A hand-coloured engraving of an Anglo- American naval battle in 1779 hammered for $5200 against a $1000-1500 guide at Swann Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium) in New York City.
Former owner reunited with his prized panels
06 October 2025Bidder was determined to secure items from their old house
Liotard history painting is a real rarity
06 October 2025Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-89) made his name creating rococo pastel portraits of the European elite. However, in his formative years as a painter he had harboured loftier artistic ambitions as a history painter.