France

A sale devoted to pieces by French designers and held in the French capital proved to be a winning formula for Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) latest auction in this category on October 31.

A newly discovered, hitherto unpublished painting by the French master Sebastien Bourdon is coming up for auction in Marseille at Maison R&C on November 16.

Artcurial’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) auction focus on Charlotte Perriand, the celebrated 20th century French designer and a current hot ticket in the design market, took the form of a select sale of just 20 lots chosen to showcase her strengths and versatility.

Masters of Design are very much in the spotlight in Paris at the moment. A week after Artcurial’s Charlotte Perriand sortie on October 31, Sotheby’s Paris (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) was mounting its traditional autumn sale devoted to major works from the Art Nouveau, Art Deco, post-war and modern design periods.

Among recent highlights at the Drouot in Paris, Beaussant- Lefèvre’s (21.53% buyer’s premium inc VAT) classic sale of Old Masters, furniture and works of art on October 18 produced a substantial €265,000 (£240,910) for a modestly estimated bronze of the goddess Diana.

The Louvre museum in Paris is hoping to raise more than £8m to buy a jewel-encrusted Book of Hours.

A new fair in a favourite Parisian location opens this month. Devoted to drawings, paintings and sculpture from the 16th century to today, Fine Arts Paris (FAP) will be staged from November 8-12 in the Palais Brongniart on the Place de la Bourse.

Paris Photo also serves as an opportunity for Paris auction houses to mount their own photo fest. Sales taking place during early November to coincide with the event at the Grand Palais include dedicated auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and various firms at Drouot. Like the fair itself, the material on offer will range from contemporary works by living photographers through to pieces by some of the earliest pioneers.

Paris, like London, is in full fair swing in the autumn. Once Frieze closed in the UK capital, contemporary art galleries move across the Channel to the French capital for FIAC.

Paris saleroom Artcurial will offer a group of 20 works from the family of Camille Claudel (1864-1943) for sale on November 27.

When the French literature section of the great Bradley Martin library was sold in 1989 (at Sotheby’s Monaco), an 1845 first of 'La Reine Margot' by Alexandre Dumas père was offered as part of a job lot of three of his works that sold for FFr11,500 (£1100).

Bibliomania has been running for three years at the Espace Champerret in the 17th arrondissement in Paris. The biannual fair draws around 100 exhibiting dealers from across Europe (including Pablo Butcher from Oxford).

White-walled shop fronts, spindly trees and anonymous figures populate city scenes that Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955) painted in the early 20th century.

The personal seals used by the Qianlong Emperor, a known connoisseur and patron of the arts, are among the most highly prized Chinese artefacts in today’s market.

MADAM – I feel compelled to write and let ATG’s readers know about my experience at the recent Grande Braderie de Lille (2-3 September).

Stephen Camburn’s gallery is set in France’s Loire Valley. Camburn Fine Art France specialises in contemporary art and the paintings of Alan Halliday.