Dealers' Diary

Australian pharmaceutical chemist Robert Francis Burke started building his collection of Chelsea and Worcester porcelain in the 1970s, long before the days of the internet.

Gallery with family connections stages a show 150 years on from Paris exhibition where the art movement began

Simon Rastall, one of the exhibitors at the recent Annual Buxton Decorative Antiques & Art Fair, runs Rastall Art, which specialises in 20th century paintings.

A large shark and tarot card reading might seem a bizarre way to bring visitors into a north-west London antiques centre but there is method behind the apparent madness.

Dickinson holds its first exhibition in the field with Renaissance artists going under the spotlight

Art dealer Philip Mould and interior designer Edward Bulmer first met in their early 20s while students at East Anglia University and have remained friends ever since.

New Orleans art, antiques and jewellery firm MS Rau is expanding and will open a second seasonal location in Colorado, on June 6.

Ilka Gansera-Levegue of Art & Horse Racing Gallery in Newmarket. She will be exhibiting at Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair from May 17-19.

Jewellery specialist Hancocks London is celebrating its move to a new, larger premises. Leaving Mayfair after 175 years, the dealer has opted for St James’ (as revealed in ATG No 2631).

There is a new fine art event in town this month as dealers unveil The Little London Art Fair.

Lesley Ferguson of Lesley Ferguson Antiques is based at Lorfords.

A collection of 23 vintage photographs is showcased in Robert Young Antiques’ exhibition Ironmongers.

In a joint portrait miniature exhibition by Emma Rutherford of The Limner Company and Nick Cox of Period Portraits a depiction of Jane Seymour by Wenceslas Hollar (1607-77) is among the highlights.

A vesta case decorated with a campaigning Suffragette is among the highlights at the Buxton Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair.

Practical campaign furniture is one of the stars as West Sussex event reaches its 10th anniversary

Last month, Dianne Brick of Amherst Antiques announced she was winding up her business specialising in Tunbridge Ware after 39 years.

The age-old saying has it that dealers never really retire, but life does not always run according to adages.

In some cases, having a business passed on is a dream come true. Deep stock and a respected name can make the prospect of carrying a firm forward into the next generation a tempting proposition. But it can also feel like golden handcuffs.

In 2018, British watercolours and drawings specialist Lowell Libson made the unusual move of adding a name, that of Jonny Yarker, to that of his self-titled business.

Many dealers who put a succession plan in place choose family. In the best cases, it brings in a highly trusted member of the next generation who has long been familiar with the business and is personally invested in its success and longevity.