Organisations

MADAM – It would be my submission that had Jeremy Taylor conducted the same survey of attitudes to a merger between the BADA and LAPADA at Masterpiece rather than Olympia, the result in favour of merger would have been entirely different (ATG No 2302).

The priorities, concerns and opportunities for the British art market are being taken directly to government with a new report launched this week.

New EU rules designed to improve checks on imports of ancient artefacts “will cripple the legitimate international trade”, warns Vincent Geerling, chairman of the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art.

The art market’s chief spokesperson pursues a policy of quiet diplomacy. Now armed with a new report on the British art market, Anthony Browne has something he wants to shout about

Temperatures are usually high in London when the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers (SOFAA) hosts its biennial dinner and this year was no exception. The heat outside didn’t dissuade attendees from donning black tie and high heels to the event at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge on June 30.

The number of art dealers specialising in modern and contemporary art in central London is growing, and outstripping dealers in period work.

The global trade body for antiquities dealers has insisted that Europe does not provide a ready market for looted artefacts from conflict zones.

‘How Western Art Collectors are Helping to Fund Isis’ (Guardian), ‘Broken System Allows Isis to Profit from Looted Antiquities’ (New York Times), ‘How Antiquities are Funding Terrorism’ (Financial Times). In 2015, news of looting and the destruction of ancient sites in the Middle East by the fanatical Islamic terrorists Isis began to gain worldwide attention.

The art and antiques trade associations are preparing to “forge new relationships” with Michael Gove, who has replaced Andrea Leadsom as environment minister in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.