Fine Art

One of the highlights of the Contemporary art auction at Dorotheum in Vienna on June 1 is Andy Warhol’s portrait of his favourite artist, the Surrealist and photographer Man Ray, which he created in 1974 after a photo session in Paris.

Contemporary African art was a topic of discussion at last month’s The Art Business Conference in London.

It took the German painter Günter Fruhtrunk many decades before he arrived at the art form for which he is best known.

William Gear (1915-97) is among the Modern Scottish artists whose work regularly appears at auction.

One of the highlights at the timed online of Modern and Contemporary Art Auction at Halls of Shrewsbury, which closes on May 2, is a large painting of sunflowers by John Bratby (1928-92).

The starting point for the careers of many of the most successful Post-war German artists was the group ZERO which came into existence in the late 1950s.

It was a white-glove result for the sale of works from the collection of André Mourgues at Sotheby’s Paris (25/20/10.9% buyer’s premium plus 1% overhead premium) where the 79 lots raised a premium-inclusive total that was just a shade under €10m.

The catalogue cover lot for the sale of Contemporary Art at Aguttes in Neuilly on April 28 will be this 2ft 7in x 2ft 5½in (78.5 x 75cm) acrylic on panel from 1983 by Victor Vasarely (1906-97) titled Pereg.

The toast of Briscadieu’s (23% buyer’s premium) sale in Bordeaux on April 9 was this freeform ceramic wall sculpture by the French ceramicist Georges Jouve (1910-40).

A previously unrecorded family archive relating to Richard Grindall (1751-1820), an able seaman aboard Cook’s Second Voyage, surfaced for sale in London last week with spectacular results.

Several dealerships have completed sales to institutions after the winter showing of London Art Week (LAW).

The Modern British Art sale at Woolley & Wallis on May 31 offers family photographs that come by descent from the war poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967).

Potter & Potter’s early spring signature Circus, Sideshow and Oddities Sale in Chicago features a collection of photographs of such subjects, plus theatrical images, amassed by collector and historian Gary Bart.

This 19th century albumen print is by the pioneering French photographer Gustave le Gray (1820-84).

The 19th & 20th Century Photography sale at Dominic Winter on May 18 includes several works by Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79).

On June 13 the Paris auction house Millon is selling items from the collection of Lili Grenier, celebrated artist’s model and muse and friend of some of the most famous artists of the late 19th century including Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Two transatlantic spring fairs bring the twin collecting areas of historical photography and photographica into focus in the spring.

British photographer Bert Hardy (1913-95) is best remembered for his contributions to Picture Post, the UK’s pioneering photojournalistic magazine of the mid-20th century.