Fine Art

It was rather thin pickings at the latest series of Old Master auctions in London.

Despite appearing in a 1930s photograph held in the MAK Museum, Vienna, this wood carving of Adam and Eve seems to have hitherto eluded scholars of the German woodcarver Leonhard Kern (1588-1662).

Pictured here is one of two very successful lots relating to the career of Houdini that were sold in a Chicago auction.

A good number of lots offered at Great Western Auctions (24% buyer’s premium) on June 17-18 demonstrated the demand that can emerge for works on paper pitched at attractive levels.

Thomas Sandby’s (1721-98) architectural drawings are significant part of the artist’s oeuvre.

Among the 20th century works on paper generating demand at regional sales in the last few months was a Keith Vaughan (1912-77) study of a group of bathers.

For collectors on a budget, works on paper can provide a more accessible route to acquiring works by key artists.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

The market for drawings and watercolours, both modern and traditional, has long been regarded as delicate ground – sensitive towards estimates, market freshness and condition.

Compared to oil paintings and watercolours, drawings by the Scottish Colourists seem to appear less often at auction.

Featured in the European Décor and Design auction at Bonhams Skinner in Massachusetts from July 24-August 3, this classical allegorical marble figure of Flora by the German sculptor Anton Werres (1830-1900) is estimated at $10,000-15,000.

Two fresh-to-the-market watercolours with appealing subjects by major names in the Modern British market, perhaps understandably, drew attention at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) latest specialist sale in this category.

Fabrizio Moretti recently opened an Old Masters gallery, Moretti Fine Art, on Duke Street, St James’s, London.

Thieves hit TEFAF Maastricht last week, entering the venue and smashing a jewellery case on the stand of London’s Symbolic & Chase.

A string of top-end consignments of British works boosted the latest London sales of Modern and Contemporary art.

Exhibitions in London, Cornwall and Edinburgh cover artists who worked in the town

Ketterer’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) recent evening sale in Munich got off to a perfect start.