Auctions

News and previews of art and antiques sold at auctions throughout the UK and overseas, from multi-million-pound blockbusters to affordable collectables.


Lips

Buyer sought to keep £500,000 Salvador Dalí Mae West lips sofa in the UK

17 November 2017

A Salvador Dalí Mae West lips sofa has been blocked from export in the hope a buyer can be found to pay nearly £500,000 to keep it in the UK.

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Manchester United match programme from game watched by 8456 on a freezing February midweek afternoon

17 November 2017

Love or hate Manchester United, it’s fair to say they do enjoy a bit of success. Although the past few seasons have been a relatively lean time, they can still boast 20 league titles, 17 FA and League Cups, three European Cups/Champions Leagues plus a Cup-Winners Cup and Europa League thrown in.

Man Ray

Flash sales: Paris Photo joined by photograph auctions in France

17 November 2017

Le Mois de la Photo in Paris celebrated the art of photography with the city’s annual fair Paris Photo at the Grand Palais from November 9-12 plus a slew of accompanying photograph auctions.

Graff Diamond

Yellow diamond could be record-setter for Fellows Auctioneers

17 November 2017

A yellow Graff Diamonds ring is estimated to take as much as £1.4m at an upcoming auction in Birmingham.

Mundi

Leonardo at auction: how did a £45 painting end up selling for $450m?

16 November 2017

Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ set the highest price ever for an artwork sold at auction when it took $400m ($450m with premium) at Christie’s New York last night.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi

Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ sells for $400m at Christie’s New York - a world auction record

16 November 2017

Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ set the highest price ever for an artwork sold at auction when it was knocked down at $400m (£304.2m) at Christie’s New York last night.

Aristophil

Multi-million-pound collection of manuscripts from the scandal-hit Aristophil to be auctioned in Paris

16 November 2017

A huge collection of manuscripts from investment scheme Aristophil will finally be resold in Paris after a two-year wait.

Chagall

Asian buyers and star Chagall artworks boost subdued Sotheby’s New York auction

15 November 2017

Asian buyers at Sotheby’s evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art in New York last night boosted sale totals as works by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) stole the show.

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Mirror, mirror (and 14 more mirrors) on the wall - which is the best-seller of them all?

15 November 2017

If you are into interior design and are looking for a theatrical flourish then a sale coming up at a Glasgow auction house this Friday (November 17) could be worth a moment of reflection.

Van Gogh

Van Gogh leads $479m Christie’s New York Impressionist and Modern art evening auction

14 November 2017

Artworks by Van Gogh and Leger led Christie’s Impressionist and Modern art evening auction in New York last night with prices exceeding estimates, helping to achieve a 95% increase on the same sale a year ago.

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Acreman St Antiques centre attracts vendors with second auction

14 November 2017

A collection of powder horns provided the starring lots at Acreman St Antiques’ second auction.

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Chinese handscroll sells for 10 times estimate at £225,000 setting house record for Chiswick Auctions

13 November 2017

A handscroll measuring over thirty metres in length by Qing artist Xu Naigu (1785 – 1835) made £225,000 hammer against an estimate of £15,000-20,000 this morning (November 13) – a house record for the auctioneer.

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Image gallery: Six works from Old Master dealer Otto Naumann’s collection offered at Sotheby’s auction in New York

13 November 2017

Old Master dealer Otto Naumann is retire from his New York gallery and has consigned a selection of paintings and sculpture to auction. The group will be offered in a dedicated sale at Sotheby’s New York on January 31 with an overall estimate of $4m-6m.

Underhill

Contents of Australian School artist Tony Underhill’s studio revealed for first time in 40 years at auction in Essex

13 November 2017

Works from the studio of the late artist Tony Underhill, unseen for decades, are to be sold at auction in Essex today.

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Comic book characters raise a chuckle in Ohio

13 November 2017

A 700-lot sale devoted entirely to one single-owner collection of comic book character artefacts is to be offered on November 18 by Milestone Auctions of Willoughby, Ohio.

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Bonhams sits comfortably in Asian art auction series

13 November 2017

Bonhams capitalised on the strong market for classical Chinese furniture to set the two highest prices of the London Asian art auction series.

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Chinese hair ornaments are among Norie collection lots in Copenhagen sale

13 November 2017

This collection of late Qing dynasty Chinese hair ornaments fashioned as bats, flowers and foliage and set with kingfisher feathers, coral, jade and pearls is part of a group of 30 lots from the collection of Evelyn Williams Medows Norie (1862-1915) which is on offer at Bruun Rasmussen on November 29.

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Gardner figures are Russian in at Exeter auction

13 November 2017

Autumn has been the setting for so many specialist sales round the regions that an all-disciplines, quality sale such as that held by Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (21% buyer’s premium) at Exeter on October 3 was almost a rarity.

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What goes around comes around to a Kent saleroom

13 November 2017

What expert James Opie described as “the most intriguing collection I have ever come across” provided Rochester auction house C&T (18% buyer’s premium) with its biggest statement yet in the toy soldiers market.

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An ice price in Yorkshire auction

13 November 2017

British and Irish watercolours piqued the interest of bidders at Tennants’ (18.5% buyer’s premium) Country House sale in Leyburn on October 14.

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