Old Masters

Traditionally this sector is defined as works by master painters working in Europe from before 1800. It includes Renaissance artists and Dutch Golden Age painters for example. Today Old Master auctions in London and New York will include works by British artists as well as some 19th century works.


Anna Tonelli self portrait

Rediscovered Anna Tonelli portrait goes above estimate at Cotswolds auction

15 May 2026

A rare painting by the Italian artist Anna Tonelli (c.1763-1846) emerged at a sale at Cotswold Auction Company (24% buyer’s premium) this week.

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Da Messina discovered in private collection

15 May 2026

This oil on panel portrait of a saint is an addition to the small number of autographs by Quattrocento painter Antonello da Messina.

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Museums on the hunt for drawings and works on paper in Paris

15 May 2026

Institutional purchases have become a major feature of the Salon du Dessin works on paper fair

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Born without hands or feet: the remarkable artist Matthias Buchinger

15 May 2026

Rare family tree drawing by the 18th-century artist, magician, musician and showman comes to auction

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Moreau festive designs for birth of the Dauphin are now celebrated by the Palace of Versailles museum

15 May 2026

The artist Jean-Michel Moreau the younger (1741-1814) was employed from the 1780s onwards as a dessinateur des Menus-Plaisirs.

Portrait of Henry Pelham

Descendant consigns two prime minister portraits to Essex auction

08 May 2026

Portraits of the third and fourth prime ministers of Great Britain are among the highlights of a fine collection of British portraiture that comes for sale at Sworders on May 19.

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Sixteenth century Old Master sleepers awake in Switzerland

08 May 2026

In recent sales at Artcurial, Bailly, Beurret and Widner (25% buyer’s premium) in Basel, works of art from the renowned collection of Lotar Neumann in Gingins have been consigned by his descendants and achieved notable results.

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London gallery expands horizons as 15th to 19th century art is paired with focus on photography

01 May 2026

On a hot afternoon in 2000, as part of his broader exploration of marginalised communities, Italian photographer Marco Delogu (b.1960) visited a Roma camp on the outskirts of Rome.

Robert Tucker in his home in Rochester

Collector Interview: looking back on three decades of restoring a Rochester landmark

01 May 2026

Robert Tucker lives in the Grade I-listed Restoration House in Rochester with his partner Jonathan Wilmot.

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Turner prints quest leads to latest exhibition at Mayfair art dealer Gerrish Fine Art

01 May 2026

The quest for Turner prints is a constant in the career of British art dealer Hilary Gerrish, who started trading in 1971.

Mary Magdalen fragment

Headless Mary Magdalen Old Master by Gentileschi takes more than five-times estimate at Vienna auction

30 April 2026

A fragmented Old Master portrait by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654), with the head and shoulders of the sitter cut out, took a hammer price of €650,000 (£563,305) at Dorotheum.

Lord Harley’s Bloody Shouldered Arabian 

Newmarket museum acquires three large equine portraits via tax scheme

29 April 2026

Three large horse portraits by the British artist John Wootton (1682-1764) will be on display at The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket following an allocation from Arts Council’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

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More celebrations for de Caullery

17 April 2026

There was plenty of interest at a sale held by Van Ham (27% buyer’s premium) in Cologne for a painting of a Medieval scene with jousting tournament.

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Three Old Masters come to auction with a direct link to Augustus the Strong

17 April 2026

Three Old Master paintings being sold by Van Ham on May 22 in Cologne have a direct connection to the collection of Augustus the Strong.

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‘Second Lady’ in style of Lely takes first place in price terms

10 April 2026

Top-seller when a collection of antiques from the estate of a descendant of one of Britain’s longest-serving chancellors of the exchequer went to auction in the Cotswolds was an oil painting “in the manner of 17th century royal portraitist Peter Lely”.

Miss Vernon

Rediscovered portraits by Romney and Raeburn emerge at auctions this spring

10 April 2026

Mark the diary for the appearance of two notable British portraits at auction in Paris and in Cambridge.

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Gallery visit showcased in art sells at auction house after international bidding contest

10 April 2026

Nine potential buyers from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and the US engaged in a bidding battle for a 17th century Dutch genre painting in Lille.

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Battle of the bookcase Old Master

10 April 2026

Bidding competition breaks out in south London for Mannerist work discovered in a west London house

Still life

The Getty Museum buys two 17th century Dutch still life paintings

01 April 2026

The J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has bought two 17th century Dutch still life paintings, one by Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-84) and one by his slightly older predecessor Pieter Claesz (1597/98-1660).

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Tudor portraits provide timeless qualities of style and substance

27 March 2026

Specialist Philip Mould describes the appeal of art from the era ahead of his Elizabethan showcase

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