News

PICTURES of dogs are big business as Bonhams’ & Doyle’s sale of Dogs in Art in New York on February 11 highlighted. And an artist frequently featured in these New York sales brought James Adam (15% buyer’s premium) of Dublin success on March 12.

Signed by Hillary and other members of the 1953 Everest expedition (though not by Tensing, whose right to be known as the true conqueror of the mountain is still being fervently pressed by his compatriots), a deluxe copy of Alfred Gregory’s The Picture of Everest, illustrated with 42 full-colour reproductions of photographs and here specially bound in vellum, sold at $1200 (£750) in a special Himalayas section of a February 13 travel sale held by Swanns.

COLLECT is the simple name of a new annual event to be launched at the V&A in London in February next year. The Crafts Council say it will be the premier showcase for unique and limited edition contemporary objects.

With armed troops patrolling the refugee camps and townships in the occupied territories of Palestine, the message to the governing forces from the freedom fighters was defiant: “It is not our intention to convince anyone of the justice of our cause, for we don’t expect any goodwill from those who have deprived us of our country... you have learned what the word ‘terrorist’ means, some of you may even have come into direct contact with them.

NOTTINGHAM is set to get its own version of the Kent Act, forcing antiques dealers and other traders to register if they want to do business in the city.

SOTHEBY’S have registered a 12 per cent rise in turnover on the fourth quarter of last year, but net losses for the year have climbed considerably thanks to extraordinary costs. Three quarters of these costs relate to anti-trust settlements.

The Europa saleroom at Christie’s South Kensington (17.5/10% buyer’s premium) was packed to capacity for their film poster sale on March 4. It was standing room only for the international mix of collectors and dealers who had turned out to secure one of the 280 lots of posters promoting the attractions of various Westerns, horror and science fiction, James Bond, film noir and other vintage and not-so-vintage movies from around the world.