Obituaries

It is with great sadness that the many friends and colleagues of Dr Ittai Gradel heard of his death from cancer on April 28 aged just 61.

My first encounter with Ittai was a phone call about an item I had for sale.

Peter Coulborn, a long-time figure in the British antiques trade, died peacefully on January 29, aged 86.

We regret to announce Richard (‘Ricardo’) Penman passed away on Monday, April 13, after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.

I first met Ronald Phillips in the late 1960s in the Warwick Arms.

Mark Dalrymple, the distinguished fine art loss adjuster whose expertise led to the recovery of numerous stolen and missing works of art, died on March 20 aged 72.

An era in Danish cultural life has drawn to a close.

Charlotte Gere, who has died aged 88, was loved and admired by her family, but also by art historians, curators and dealers, from across the world.

The world of Islamic art has lost one of its most beloved sons with the passing of Bashir Mohamed, a true visionary in his field who possessed the intuitive spirit of a hunter and the soul of a historian.

Gordon’s working life began as an English and drama teacher but his love of antiques led him to begin dealing from stalls at Bermondsey and Portobello Road Markets in the 1960s, fitting his antique life around his teaching job while raising a young family.

Shortly after Christmas I received a telephone call from Mary Lumb to tell me of the sad passing of her husband Tony. A few days previously he had felt slightly unwell, gone to lie down and had passed away. A very peaceful ending to a long and happy life.

Much-loved West Yorkshire antiques dealer Roger Smith passed away at Airedale hospital on Friday, January 16, after a short illness. He was 79.

Geoffrey ‘Geoff’ Whitaker, entrepreneur, antiques dealer and founder of the International Antiques & Collectors Fairs (IACF), died over Christmas aged 82, after a period of illness.

Pier Giorgio Gracis 1931-2025, affectionately known simply as Giorgio, was among the very last of a generation of antique dealers that frequented the London auction houses and dealers’ shops during the latter half of the 20th century.

Antony Newman, universally known as Tony, was at the epicentre of what is now affectionately described as a golden age for the antiques trade throughout the 1990s.

Chairman of IACF Keith Harris, a highly respected figure, a lifelong entrepreneur, and well-known in the antiques trade, has passed away.

It is with great sorrow and deep sadness that we announce that the wonderful, formidable, generous and elegant lady, Caroline Wallrock (née Russett), passed away on November 18 after bravely battling cancer.