Drawings & Pastels
Drawing is a type of graphic art created with lines and areas of tone applied to paper usually with pencil, charcoal and coloured pencil, but a wash may also be applied.
They frequently serve as preparatory studies for other works, but are also considered works of art in their own right. A practitioner of drawing is known as a draughtsman.
Pastels are created using a stick made of pure pigment and a binder.
A key part of the general art market, both are also specialist collecting areas in their own right.
Modern British art: An art critic’s own taste tested
06 March 2026Sale of more than 300 works amassed by former journalist for The Times attracts a wide range of interest
Three Lowrys from two sources, then all offered in a single Berkshire sale
06 March 2026A group of three works by LS Lowry (1887-1976) consigned from two separate sources appeared in a recent sale at Dawsons (27.5% buyer’s premium) in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
Salon du Dessin seeks new drawing collectors
27 February 2026The Salon du Dessin, France’s annual fair devoted to drawings and works on paper, is an event which regularly brings an international influx of drawing afficionados to the French capital.
Take it to the bridge: Boney ready for painting
27 February 2026A preparatory drawing for a famous painting of Napoleon Bonaparte that is in the Palace of Versailles is to go under the hammer.
French 18th century female painter snapped up by Versailles ahead of auction
27 February 2026One of the highlights of a sale of Old Master works held by Tajan (26/21/14% buyer’s premium) was a pastel self-portrait by the 18th century French portrait painter Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749-1803).
Michelangelo puts his stamp on latest Old Master sales
13 February 2026The sale of big-ticket lots by artists such as Rembrandt, Canaletto and Michelangelo boosted the overall total at the latest Old Master auction series in New York to a record high.
Mystery Old Master leg kicks $200-400 estimate aside to take $45,000
13 February 2026An Italian Old Master drawing of a left leg strode to a hammer price of $45,000 (£33,515) on January 8 at Eldred’s (28% buyer’s premium) in East Dennis, Massachusetts.
Sitting comfortably as online bidding boosts number of new year auctions
13 February 2026Along with August, January is traditionally the quietest month in terms of regional auctions.
Original design for FA Cup trophy makes £32,000 at Budds
11 February 2026A drawing giving a first glimpse of the now instantly recognisable trophy from the oldest national football competition in the world, the FA Cup, sold above estimate at Budds on February 11.
Two works demonstrate demand for Tuke drawings
06 February 2026Strong competition came for two small sketches by Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929) at different regional salerooms in January.
Footing the bill: Michelangelo drawing for the Sistine Chapel makes $23.1m at Christie’s
05 February 2026A previously unknown study of a foot for a figure in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling drew remarkable bidding at Christie’s, making one of the highest ever prices for an Old Master drawing.
Rembrandt’s lion drawing takes $15m bid at Sotheby’s
04 February 2026A Rembrandt (1606-69) sketch of a lion set the highest price for a drawing at auction by the artist when it sold for $15m (£10.9m) at Sotheby’s in New York today.
Royal Air Force Museum buys wartime aerial studies at Roseberys’ auction
28 January 2026The Royal Air Force Museum has purchased two preparatory drawings for major wartime paintings by Walter Thomas Monnington (1902-76).
London specialist takes Nordic works to New York showcase
23 January 2026Swedish artists are especially prominent in show staged by first-time exhibitor at Master Drawings
Rare unpublished Hans Baldung drawing emerges in France
20 January 2026A small drawing by Hans Baldung (c.1484-1545) which has been in the same family for over 500 years will be offered at auction in March.
‘Springboard at the start of the year’
16 January 2026London Art Fair stands out as a key early opportunity to showcase works to a domestic audience
The original drawing for the winning design of the FA Cup in 1911 is coming to auction with saleroom Budds
15 January 2026A drawing giving a first glimpse of the now instantly recognisable trophy from the oldest national football competition in the world will be offered at auction next month.
Bidders overlook condition issues as drawing flies to 50 times estimate in Gloucestershire
06 January 2026Despite suffering from water damage, wear and loss to the sheet as well as chips and cracks to the later 1950s-style frame, a head study of a bearded man brought intense competition at a recent sale at Wotton Auction Rooms.
Do book collecting terms fox you? Pick up a Searle at auction
05 January 2026An original illustration for one of the most entertaining works on rare book collecting hammered for £15,000 to lead Mallams’ latest Modern Art & Design auction.
Shepard pooh-poohed the idea
19 December 2025Illustrator famous for helping to bring alive the beloved bear preferred his other commissions
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