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

Sheffield Assay Office

Plea to help find stolen silver from Sheffield Assay Office

19 January 2023

More than £100,000 worth of silverware has been stolen from the Sheffield Assay Office after a group of burglars broke in using an angle grinder.

2577PV Edit Duke Windsor Southon

Acrimonious royal family split detailed in letters now up at auction

18 January 2023

Not THAT split, but the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII which also caused recriminations, as letters at Catherine Southon's sale show - plus other auctions offer many unpublished photos of Princess Di and paintings said to be by Queen Victoria.

Dance on the Beach by Munch

Edvard Munch painting hidden from Nazis in a Norwegian forest to be auctioned

17 January 2023

An Edvard Munch (1863-1944) picture last on the market 89 years ago, which had been hidden from the Nazis during the war, is to be offered at Sotheby’s with a $15m-25m estimate.

Summer fairs cancelled

Shock closure of Olympia and Masterpiece summer fairs leaves dealer plans in disarray

16 January 2023

The 2023 edition of Masterpiece London and the summer Art & Antiques Fair Olympia have both been cancelled, leaving a crater in the capital’s summer season.

Veronica Burleigh self portrait

Pair of Veronica Burleigh portraits soar over estimates to take highest ever prices

16 January 2023

Bringing fervent bidding at Kings Russell’s (28% buyer’s premium) first sale of the year, two portraits by Veronica Burleigh (1909-99) set the highest prices ever recorded for the Sussex painter.

Volubilis sculpture

Art dealers Bowman sell sculpture to French museum

16 January 2023

The Camille Claudel Museum has unveiled its newly purchased Volubilis sculpture by Alfred Boucher.

Dinky toy van

Pick of the week: Dinky labels drive demand to high level

16 January 2023

Models produced for promotional purposes usually benefit from considerable rarity value and so it proved when a Dinky toy came up for auction at Stockton-on-Tees saleroom Vectis.

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London fairs scene under threat amid rising cost of staging events

16 January 2023

Brexit and decline in international exhibitors also blamed as Masterpiece is among the latest to close

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Hampstead Antique Emporium given stay of execution

16 January 2023

Asset of Community Value status breathes life into campaign to save Hampstead antiques centre

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Second chance to own a pioneering Summers plywood armchair

16 January 2023

Bidders who missed out on a version of Gerald Summers’ 1933-34 plywood armchair sold for £20,000 as part of a collection of Simple Furniture at Lyon & Turnbull last October did not have too long to wait for another to appear for sale.

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Nymphenburg factory dishes up a high sum

16 January 2023

What is very probably a new record for the Nymphenburg porcelain factory was set at the 500 Years of European Ceramics sale at Bonhams (27.5/25% buyer’s premium) on December 7.

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Blend of science and witchcraft still casts a spell

16 January 2023

One of the most interesting pictures sold at the latest series of Old Master sales in London was an interior scene by David Teniers the Younger (1610-90).

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Dam Busters poster is stirring stuff

16 January 2023

Considered one of the best British movies about the Second World War, the British quad-sized poster for 'The Dam Busters' (1955) was not too bad either.

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5 Questions: Clare Wabe of Molly and Harlequin

16 January 2023

Clare Wabe of Molly and Harlequin specialises in antique maps and prints with a focus on natural history, though the stock ranges wider.

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Lust and found: van Gogh film poster

16 January 2023

Top price at the Ewbank’s (25% buyer’s premium) poster auction on January 6 came for a design that was a work of art in itself.

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Churchill gathers sale demand

16 January 2023

An inscription bearing Winston Churchill’s signature and dated 1948 found in a single volume of his famous history of the Second World War that came to auction in Cumbria was believed to be authentic.

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Harrogate Pavilions forms a Yorkshire triangle of events

16 January 2023

At this month’s 'Pavilions of Harrogate Decorative Antiques & Fine Art Fair', Elaine Phillips Antiques, a returning exhibitor, offers a pair of 17th century high-back oak chairs featuring finely carved details.

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Valuable consignment delivered on foot

16 January 2023

One of the most local consignments provided arguably the most notable lot at a Busby (21% buyer’s premium) sale in Bridport, Dorset, on November 17.

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The web shop window: 'The funniest car mascot on the market’

16 January 2023

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

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Sleepers woken up via the internet

16 January 2023

Demonstrating how the internet has transformed the market for potential sleepers, three portraits that drew strong interest recently at different auctions in the UK and Europe all sold to online buyers.

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