Fine Art

While many US museums display portraits of famous Patriots from the War of Independence, especially the likes of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Nathanael Greene, pictures of Loyalists are less common in their collections.

An album of 19 carte de visite portrait photographs of Charles Darwin is offered in Reeman Dansie’s Fine Art auction on November 8-9.

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

Modern British pictures featured prominently among the works dispersed by Sworders this autumn from the collection of Sir Jack Baer.

The private collector who consigned a painting he had bought at Sotheby’s in London in 2013 to Koller (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) in Zurich for the auction on September 23 will have been most agreeably surprised by the result.

There was obviously much more to a pair of 14 and 15in (35 and 37cm) terracotta figures offered at auction than the starting price of €240 suggested.

Views of France, both rural and urban, provided an interesting facet to the sale of the collection of Sir Jack Baer and his wife Diana.

Since its inception, the focus of the 'Highlights' fair on Modern and Contemporary art has increased and in recent years photography dealers have also been given more space.

Studio potter Waistel Cooper (1921-2003) is back in the spotlight at The Fine Art Society and leads a busy autumn programme at the gallery.

The human figure has been continually re-imagined by artists, whether they have followed tradition or rebelled against it.

A little-known theatrical portrait painted by Johan Zoffany (1733-1810) towards the end of his career sold for £330,000 at auction in Dorset.

This bronze sculpture depicting a woman painting with a palette and brush was among the many sales at The Northern Antiques Fair.

A couple of ballet-related lots danced away for high prices over the summer.

Titled 'De Watteau à Vuillard Une Collection Parisienne', paintings, works on paper, furniture and objects from a Parisian collection were the object of the first of two single-owner classic contents sales marking the start of the new auction season for the Old Master, furniture and objects departments at Artcurial (26/20/14.5% buyer’s premium).

An early 17th century gouache by the German artist Johann König (1586-1642) was a highlight of the Ivoire Troyes (24% buyer’s premium) auction.