UK

The United Kingdom accounts for more than one fifth of the global art market sales and is the second biggest art market after the US.

Through auctioneers, dealers, fairs and markets - and a burgeoning online sector - buyers, collectors and sellers of art and antiques can easily access a vibrant network of intermediaries and events around the country. The UK's museums also house a wealth of impressive collections

Lawrence Prentice

Antiques dealer Lawrence Prentice joins the Lillie Road line-up

01 May 2026

A new dealership has joined the ranks of the art, antiques and interior specialists of Fulham’s Lillie Road.

Anti-money laundering rules

Anti-money laundering rule change welcomed as a time saver

01 May 2026

The threshold of qualifying transactions for artworks under UK anti-money laundering rules will change from Euros to British pounds.

Pink topaz and diamond girandole brooch

Victorian topaz girandole brooch takes top honours at Scottish sale

01 May 2026

The 18th and 19th centuries were the golden age of topaz.

Pocket watch

Vendor ‘shocked and delighted’ with Swiss pocket watch auction result

01 May 2026

The watch-makers in the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland were a textbook 19th century cottage industry – typically self-employed men, and some women, working either in the ateliers based in the hamlet of Crêt-Meylan or at home. Seldom did they receive credit for their great skill.

William Cook

Dealer flags up a part of American history ahead of antiques fair

01 May 2026

London dealer William Cook is marking the 250th anniversary of American independence by flying the flag at Petworth Park Antiques & Art Fair (running from May 8-10).

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Potter around a special Battersea selection

01 May 2026

Gardening and vernacular furniture displayed as imagined from Beatrix Potter's Mr McGregor’s garden shed forms a highlight from the upcoming The Decorative Fair on May 12-17

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Not just castles on castle-tops

01 May 2026

Cathedrals, palaces and abbeys were also among the sights featured as British tourism developed

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London gallery expands horizons as 15th to 19th century art is paired with focus on photography

01 May 2026

On a hot afternoon in 2000, as part of his broader exploration of marginalised communities, Italian photographer Marco Delogu (b.1960) visited a Roma camp on the outskirts of Rome.

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Asian art auction previews

01 May 2026

While May’s series of UK Asian art auctions lacks the overall focus of the Asian Art in London initiative in the autumn or the pomp of other spring events in New York or Hong Kong, it remains a key moment in the calendar.

Robert Tucker in his home in Rochester

Collector Interview: looking back on three decades of restoring a Rochester landmark

01 May 2026

Robert Tucker lives in the Grade I-listed Restoration House in Rochester with his partner Jonathan Wilmot.

Decorative Pieces Cirencester Fair 2742FM01A

Bank on a couple of winners

01 May 2026

Make the best of the Whitsun weekend with two fairs being staged in scenic venues close to each other

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Inscriptions tell tales of colonial silver items

01 May 2026

The group of Chinese ‘export’ silver offered by Gorringe’s (25% buyer’s premium) in Lewes on April 21 came by descent from Reginald Follett Codrington Hedgeland (1874-1967), an Oxford graduate from Exeter who joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in 1898.

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London calling for Welsh art as more Kyffin Williams works set high prices

01 May 2026

Cardiff auction indicates latest demand trends influencing the market for leading Welsh painter Sir Kyffin Williams

The bog standard is high

01 May 2026

You could say that Emma and David Mann are flushed with the success of their small antiques business, a former public toilet, in Hastings Old Town in East Sussex which celebrates its 11th year in business.

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Why running out of PBFA carrier bags is a good sign

01 May 2026

Visitors to the PBFA’s two-day spring event once again proved they come to buy not just browse

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London and Paris trio team up for Orientalism show

01 May 2026

'At the Door of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus', c.1889-91, was painted by Gustav Bauernfeind (1848-1904), one of the leading Orientalist painters of Germany.

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Turner prints quest leads to latest exhibition at Mayfair art dealer Gerrish Fine Art

01 May 2026

The quest for Turner prints is a constant in the career of British art dealer Hilary Gerrish, who started trading in 1971.

Lord Harley’s Bloody Shouldered Arabian 

Newmarket museum acquires three large equine portraits via tax scheme

29 April 2026

Three large horse portraits by the British artist John Wootton (1682-1764) will be on display at The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket following an allocation from Arts Council’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

Richard Burton books

Personal library of a pioneering British scholar of Armenian and Iranian studies comes to auction

28 April 2026

Volumes from the personal library of a pioneering British scholar of Armenian and Iranian studies form part of Sworders’ latest Books and Maps auction.

Police cordon

Police called to Ardingly fair after suspected live shell discovered by dealer

28 April 2026

One of the dealers stalling out at the two-day Ardingly International Antiques & Collectors Fair last week was shocked to discover a Second World War shell among his possessions.

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