Sotheby's

The 52-lot auction of furniture, paintings and works of art collected by members of the Rothschild family was among the most animated during a packed week of London showpiece sales.

After a bullish 2018 for the major Modern British art sales in London – during which Christie’s posted its strongest evening sale to date – results from the first ‘Mod Brit’ series of 2019 looked a little flat by comparison.

In September the Paris auction scene wakes up from its long summer slumber to get back into action for the approaching autumn and winter season.

A Cricket Match (1938) by Mod Brit giant LS Lowry (1887-1976) was the fitting headliner at Sotheby’s. Offered in the midst of the Cricket World Cup, the 18in x 2ft (46 x 61cm) oil on canvas showing a back-street match played by local children in Salford sold for a mid-estimate £950,000 to a UK private buyer.

Art market insiders are expecting a dramatic change in the dynamic at the top end of the sector if a remarkable $3.7bn bid to buy Sotheby’s completes this year.

The offer price from Patrick Drahi represents a premium of 61% to Sotheby’s closing price on June 14 and a 56.3% premium to the company’s 30-day average share price.

The latest sales of Impressionist & Modern art in London put in a mixed performance.

The 55-year-old media and telecoms entrepreneur and enthusiastic art collector Patrick Drahi has made an offer to buy Sotheby's via his BidFair USA company in a $3.7bn deal.

Sotheby’s is showing a growing commitment to the timed-online format.

Asian auction series now take place around the world throughout the year in the major centres of the art market. Paris held its latest staging this month at the beginning of the French capital’s Temps Fort or high season.

Locks of Beethoven’s hair are known to have been taken from the composer on his deathbed in 1827, but an earlier and substantial sample featured in a recent London sale. Sold for £28,000 at Sotheby’s (25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) against an estimate of £12,000-15,000, it is certainly a well-documented souvenir.

ATG asked practitioners to explain the ins and outs of this increasingly popular auction format.