UK

Unlike in other parts of Europe where portraits of children were a rare phenomenon, the Dutch Republic experienced a rapid increase in this genre of painting between 1500-1700.

HMRC has warned the art market to be on alert for money laundering attempts during the coronavirus pandemic.

The sale at garden statuary specialist Summers Place Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Billingshurst on March 24 (the day after lockdown) was among the first conducted under new government restrictions on social distancing.

A recent sale conducted by Michael Bowman (17.5% buyer’s premium) in Newton Abbot, Devon was a homespun affair – held in the auctioneer’s house, with his wife handling phone and commission bids and two assistants operating the bidding platforms remotely by way of a loudspeaker mobile phone link.

The auction calendar has been much changed by Covid-19 restrictions. However, as indicated by these lots offered for sale in April, some UK auction houses continue to transact behind closed doors holding ‘live online’ sales with bids taken via bidding platforms such as thesaleroom.com or over the phone.

The three magazines shown here were all produced by students of the Royal College of Art in the years 1925-27 and sold online for £1000 in a sale at Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) of Nottingham.

The photograph seen at bottom right is a group of Chinese men convicted of spying and awaiting “…execution by Imperialists”.

The last few weeks of lockdown may have left you wishing you could do more to fight coronavirus. Or they may have left you feeling like that blank stretch of wall in the living room could really do with brightening up.

Dealer Timothy Millett, a specialist in historical medals and associated works of art, has launched a website to sell greeting cards based on images of some of his favourite objects.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from April 28-May 7, 2020. All sales are now held online due to the coronavirus alert.

Brought into Wolverhampton firm Cuttlestones (17.5% buyer’s premium) on a valuation day, this early-19th century anti-slavery tobacco box sold to a UK bidder on thesaleroom.com for £480.

Essay warns about considerable perils of the ‘indecent custom’ of burials in churchyards

Held over three pre-lockdown days on March 5-7, Evesham saleroom Kingham & Orme’s (23% buyer’s premium) auction was rich in the best of English and European decorative arts.

Appearing in 1937, a couple of years after the locomotive itself was launched, the LMS Princess Elizabeth was the biggest and best locomotive that Hornby ever made.

'Calyx (Blue)', a 1951 textile by Lucienne Day (1917-2010), sprouts with Modernist forms. Its colourful, flower-like shapes hint at the mobiles of Alexander Calder or the biomorphs of Joan Miro.