Features

Among the surprises at a Contemporary art sale at Ketterer (25% buyer’s premium) in Munich was the result for a work by the painter-poet Henri Michaux.

The Madoura pottery founded by Suzanne and Georges Ramié in Vallauris, a village in the south of France renowned for pottery production, was a popular place for many artists in the post-war years. From 1948-55 Pablo Picasso lived in Vallauris and divided his time between painting and creating ceramics at Madoura.

A drawing by Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964) will be among the lots on offer at Sworders’ sale of Modern British & 20th Century art on April 20.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Legendary yarn explains how this material became a key component of the artist’s designs

When Paul Feeley (1910-66) returned home after serving as a US marine in Japan during the Second World War, it triggered a fundamental shift in his art.

The American artist Donald Judd (1928-94) abandoned painting in the 1960s and devoted himself to producing three-dimensional objects.

It is well known that the death of an artist often leads to an upsurge of market interest and that has certainly happened with the Bulgarian Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, who died last year.

A group of works from the estate of West Country artist Michael Morgan (1928-2014) drew bidding at a recent sale at Atkins Auctions (15% buyer’s premium) of Axminster, Devon.

A painting by Pierre Soulages (b.1919) sold at Caen Enchères (20% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Normandy featured a particularly notable provenance.

Property from the collection of Mrs Henry Ford II is being offered by more than one auction house this year. Christie’s has sales in New York on March 30 and London on April 15, and Doyle (26/21/15% buyer’s premium) held a single-owner selection in its New York rooms on January 25.

An abstract painting by Aubrey Williams (1926-90) offered at Grand Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Folkestone at the end of last year set another auction high for the Guyanese artist.

As the pandemic continues to upend the art market calendar, two heavyweights of the Contemporary art and design fair scene are going digital.

On March 30 Christie’s France is offering a selection of around 70 Modern and Post-war works from an unnamed Parisian collector that have been assembled over four decades.

Back in 2004-6, a boom occurred in the prices for Jack Vettriano (b.1951) and a host of works made six-figure sums at auction. These included his most famous work 'The Singing Butler', which sold for a staggering £660,000 at Sotheby’s in April 2004, still a Vettriano auction record.

Keys’ forthcoming Modern Art and 20th Century Design Sale on February 24 includes a painting by Iraqi artist Faraj Abou (1921-84).

Just before England entered a third lockdown, the John Martin Gallery squeezed in a solo show of artist Andrew Gifford’s (b.1970) work at new art hub Cromwell Place in London.

Four online Post-War & Contemporary art exhibitions organised by dealers.

This coin, from the period known as ‘The Anarchy’, was discovered by a metal detectorist in a Yorkshire field in March.

In the absence of face-to-face contact, 2020 was a difficult year for the numismatics market as a whole... but the auction business found a way to thrive.