Fine Art

Unofficial theme of event this year reflects a few months cooped up at home

The move towards online auctions during the lockdown has not led to the disappearance of intense bidding battles, as witnessed with a number of works at the Daniel Katz auction (see main report) and earlier at the Rafael Valls sale (see ATG No 2440).

The weighty three-dimensional forms for which Henry Moore (1898-1986) is best known are the subject of his 1940s lithograph, Sculptural Objects, offered in an exhibition at Eames Fine Art.

US auction house Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) reported record levels of participation at its latest American & European Works of Art sale.

Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Maine will be holding a two-day weekend auction of more than 1000 lots on July 18-19.

Auckland gallery says it has been doing well despite lockdown as UK firms relaunch

Friedrich Goldscheider (1845-97) is famous for founding the Goldscheider ceramics factory which was set up in Vienna in 1885.

Outside Paris auctions have also started up as lockdown eases.

Sotheby’s Paris (25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) reported a cumulative total of €5.4m for the five online sales it held over two weeks in mid May through to early June. The initiative attracted new buyers, said the auction house, with 35% in the jewellery sale and 27% in the Contemporary art auction.

MADAM – Re: the article on the front page of ATG No 2446 regarding art and antiques premises reopening.

MADAM – I would be very grateful if any of your readers could shed light on the artist of the attached crayon drawing of Churchill.

A newly discovered bronze by a French Renaissance sculptor was acquired by the Louvre museum for €1.15m (£1.05m) at an auction in Paris on June 9.

This painting of Madame de Saint-Maurice is one of five works by Edouard Vuillard spanning the years 1900-18 from the Georges and Jacqueline Herbin collection on offer at Artcurial in Paris.

An album of 12 early watercolour drawings of Australian Aborigines made a surprising £72,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at Forum Auctions in London.

The lockdown may have reduced the number of UK auctions taking place but buyers have been looking more eagerly for opportunities at those events that have been staged.

A group of eight works by Maggi Hambling (b.1945) appeared at a recent online sale held by Welsh saleroom Rogers Jones (22% buyer’s premium).

Christie’s (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium) has held its first live sales in Paris since lockdown.