News topics

Sworders is to sell the primary contents of North Mymms Park, Hertfordshire – including a collection of European tapestries that have been at the property for over a century.

Drawings fair now also includes paintings and sculpture to complement the core focus...

A precedent-setting legal dispute over a $10m (£7.2m) fee relating to the 2014 sale of a $210m Paul Gauguin painting has been won by auctioneer turned art adviser Simon de Pury.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

For Master Drawings New York this year, London dealer Martyn Gregory is focusing on one female artist and her output during her extensive (and, for the time, very intrepid) travels around the world.

An auction series devoted to Old Master paintings, drawings and works of art has long been a feature of the first month of the year in New York for Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

MADAM – Here’s an insight into my week. Tuesday: I receive my copy of Antiques Trade Gazette. I read it fairly thoroughly, often starting with Bid Barometer. Then with trepidation I move onto Letters, this week almost entirely devoted to ivory.

Paintings by lesser-known Pre-Raphaelites took the honours at the latest Victorian art sales held at Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9%) and Christie’s (25/20/12.5%).

Carroll rubbed shoulders with Wilde, Rackham, Tolkien and many other children’s works in recent auctions.

The chap in the voluminous breeches shown below is far removed from today’s riflemen as far as combat uniform is concerned.

“Buyers want to get back in action after the Christmas holiday,” said Darryl Kirk, saleroom manager at Unique Auctions (17.5% buyer’s premium), after 95% of the 1300 lots offered on New Year’s Day got away.

This ‘Goliath’ carriage clock, below, was offered at Greenslade Taylor Hunt (19.5% buyer’s premium) in Taunton.

Sold as part of a Sotheby’s (25/20/12.9% buyer’s premium) sale to benefit the charity House of Illustration, and in partnership with both the saleroom and Winsor & Newton, was a group of 33 lots gathered together under the heading First Editions Re-Covered.

One outcome of Master Drawings New York’s expansion to take in paintings and sculpture as well as works on paper is the inclusion this year of Tomasso Brothers Fine Art, specialist in sculpture and works of art.

Among the works that David Tunick, a longstanding MDNY exhibitor, will be showing this year at his gallery on East 69th Street is this large 18 x 14in (45.5 x 35.5 cm) watercolour over pencil by John Robert Cozens.

Good times ahead were predicted by Guy Schooling, chairman of Sworders (23% buyer’s premium), after the January 9 Homes & Interiors sale at Stansted Mountfitchet which was topped by a WAS Benson brass mantel clock.

A classic metaphysical fantasy novel that sold poorly when first issued but later influenced the works of CS Lewis and gained many admirers, A Voyage to Arcturus is the work of David Lindsay.

For the Fine Art Society in Edinburgh, the year kicks off with an exhibition of 20th century printmaking.