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

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Osborne Samuel show includes Denis Mitchell yew sculpture

20 July 2020

'Roseveor' (1985) was carved by British artist Denis Mitchell (1912- 93) out of yew, an unusual material for him used in just one other sculpture.

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Airfix in full Attack Force against the Mad Barber and the Golden Bat

20 July 2020

Toys from the Attack Force range are not the earliest of the Airfix models, but they are perhaps the most desirable.

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Early Cedric Morris works draw interest at Sworders

20 July 2020

Cedric Morris (1889-1982) is now a major name in the Mod Brit market whose most bountiful flower paintings can sell for over £100,000. While Sworders has a strong track-record with the artist-plantsman, works depicting two rather different subjects were offered at the latest sale in this category.

British and Irish book auctions: July 21-Aug 1, 2020

20 July 2020

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 21-Aug 1, 2020.

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Auction previews: issue 2452

20 July 2020

Sixteen upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK and Ireland.

Upcoming fair dates as 'Frieze' and 'Frieze Masters' join list of cancelled events

20 July 2020

'Frieze' and 'Frieze Masters' have joined the steadily lengthening list of fairs to be cancelled or rescheduled as a result of coronavirus.

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"Invaluable archive" of London Underground posters and drawings sells 17-times above estimate in Berkshire

20 July 2020

London Underground maps come up relatively regularly at auction – and typically it is the various 1930s states of the classic Harry Beck design that command the really high prices.

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Breaking down barriers: How redecoration is boosting trade

20 July 2020

Stephanie Castell, owner of The Secondhand Warehouse in the Herefordshire town of Leominster, resorted to an extreme measure to make social distancing easier when the centre reopened: she took a wall out.

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Actor Julian Glover's Star Wars badge of rank offered at East Bristol Auctions

20 July 2020

It’s admittedly not much to look at and just 2 x 3½in (5 x 8.5cm), but if you are a Star Wars collector this badge on offer estimated at £4000-6000 at East Bristol Auctions on July 24 means a great deal.

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London updated with a fifties festival

20 July 2020

The first version of this map of London was issued by the Southern Railway in 1938. It was designed by Kerry Lee (1902-88) who brought it up to date for British Railways in the 1950s.

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Dealers celebrate selling key items online from social media to online fairs

20 July 2020

Dealers including Philip Mould, Peter Harrington and Kevin Page Oriental Art have seen works snapped up online.

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Golden Age longcase underlines long and lucrative career of great London clockmaker

20 July 2020

The maxim that major names and top quality will always sell was underlined in the biannual specialist clocks sale at Dreweatts (25% buyer’s premium).

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Ivory in demand ahead of trade ban

20 July 2020

Despite – or because of – the imminent prohibition, good-quality antique ivory works of art continue to bring solid prices at auction.

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Three buyers for four Bawden drawings at Essex auction

20 July 2020

Edward Bawden (1903-89) is an artist whose work appears frequently at Sworders.

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Transatlantic rook flies as souvenir chess piece sells at Oxford auction

20 July 2020

As implied by an extensive inscription, this souvenir chess piece was produced by Carlo Joseph and Arthur Alphonse Giuliano, sons of the celebrated Italian artist jeweller Carlo Giuliano, to commemorate a chess match played via telegraph in 1897.

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Big benefits from miniature locomotives as Gildings offers large single-owner collection

20 July 2020

Leicestershire saleroom Gildings is offering an extensive single-owner collection of large-scale model locomotives in an auction which will benefit a life-size steam railway.

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Casket at Sevenoaks auction reflects rags to riches story

20 July 2020

This late Victorian silver-gilt and enamel ‘freedom casket’ sold at Ibbett Mosely (15% buyer’s premium) of Sevenoaks carries the name of John Aynsley II (1823-1907) and was awarded following his tenure as mayor of Longton from 1886-90.

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Maori greenstone brought to Britain by 1820s adventurer

20 July 2020

Pictured here is one of two 19th century or earlier Maori greenstone 'mere' offered at a recent sale held by Reeman Dansie (20% buyer’s premium) in Colchester.

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Kenneth Grahame’s letter on the loss of his son sells in Bristol

20 July 2020

A letter in which Kenneth Grahame writes about the suicide of his son, Alastair, sold at East Bristol Auctions (18% buyer’s premium) for £1200.

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Books unite the trade

20 July 2020

This portolan atlas known as the Harisse Codex is attributed to cartographer Battista Agnese, who worked in Venice.

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