Print Edition

We enjoy reading letters sent to us by our readers both via email and more traditional methods.

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the sale of a letter by Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in Paris.

The move towards online auctions during the lockdown has not led to the disappearance of intense bidding battles, as witnessed with a number of works at the Daniel Katz auction (see main report) and earlier at the Rafael Valls sale (see ATG No 2440).

MADAM – With the list of auctions increasing in every issue, it gives me hope that normality is on the way and soon we should be acting as normal albeit online for a while instead of bidding in person at these auctions.

The weighty three-dimensional forms for which Henry Moore (1898-1986) is best known are the subject of his 1940s lithograph, Sculptural Objects, offered in an exhibition at Eames Fine Art.

US auction house Skinner (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) reported record levels of participation at its latest American & European Works of Art sale.

Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Maine will be holding a two-day weekend auction of more than 1000 lots on July 18-19.

MADAM – Re: the crayon drawing of Churchill.

An American collector bought this original Second World War RAF ensign flag at a recent East Bristol Auctions (18% buyer’s premium).

Our regular listing of books and works on paper auctions the UK and Ireland.

Laurence (Laurie) Langford died on June 7, aged 93.

A trading standards investigation has unearthed a ‘medal factory’ in Derbyshire, sparking the fear that thousands of fake military awards and badges could be in circulation.

An ancient writing tablet made famous by Yuval Noah Harari in his bestseller 'Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind' comes for auction in London next month.

As Portobello Road market dealers come under financial pressure following the lockdown, the owner of many of its arcades has defended its stance on rent payments.

The antiquities trade has welcomed a new independent report that estimates the volume of looted objects on the market is much smaller than previous reports have suggested.

In 1765 the engineer and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) visited Paris, where he observed first-hand the workshops of bronziers and the wares that were proving hugely popular with Georgian Britain’s elite.

Tribal Art London has hired a new director to organise and lead the fair.

Cases disputing the rightful ownership of antiquities have become common in recent years with nations including Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and Iraq seeking repatriation of objects in private or public ownership in Europe and the US.

Over a century old, Cartier’s most famous watch is seemingly ubiquitous on the market. But pre-war examples of the Tank are scarcer than one might imagine.