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

Union Jack flown at Trafalgar

Flag flown at Battle of Trafalgar brings spirited bidding at Christie's

03 July 2025

Still bearing the physical scars of battle, a monumental Union Jack flown by HMS Spartiate at the Battle of Trafalgar led Christie’s Exceptional Sale in London on July 1.

George Gower portrait

‘A handsome bee’: Portrait of Elizabethan dandy makes major sum at Bonhams

02 July 2025

An extraordinary Elizabethan swagger portrait drew dramatic competition at Bonhams’ latest Old Master sale.

Canaletto view of Venice

‘Prime period’ Canaletto makes record £27.5m at Christie’s

02 July 2025

A painting by Canaletto (1697-1768) once owned by the first British prime minister Sir Robert Walpole sold for £27.5m at Christie’s latest Old Master evening sale.

Magdalene Oduno vase

Magdalene Odundo takes British studio pottery to a new high at Sotheby’s auction

02 July 2025

British studio pottery moved into new financial territory at the end of June with the sale of a vase by Dame Magdalene Odundo (b.1950) for £570,000.

June Gibson by Ben Enwonwu

Ben Enwonwu paintings bring strong interest at Surrey auction

02 July 2025

Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu (1917-94) is sometimes described as ‘the first African artist to gain international recognition in the modern art world’.

Ethel Walker auction record

Record for Ethel Walker as elegant still life emerges from huge collection

01 July 2025

An enormous deceased estate in West Yorkshire has been providing Scarborough saleroom David Duggleby (25% buyer’s premium) with a vast range of works to offload over the last two years.

Henry Meadows and plaque

WWI plaque turned into a coffee table returns to South Shields after 50 years away

01 July 2025

A First World War roll of honour brass plaque, that had been made into a coffee table, has returned to South Shields after 50 years away with the help of Gloucestershire auction house Dominic Winter.

John Dixon with sofa

‘When dealers co-operate, great things can happen’

30 June 2025

Paxton House in Berwick-upon-Tweed has been reunited with an important Regency sofa it had lost for a century.

Karl Popper books

Dropped off in a bag at Oxfam, philosopher’s personally inscribed works sell for £13,000

30 June 2025

A tiny Oxfam shop in Headington, Oxfordshire, was celebrating after a set of 12 books dropped off by an anonymous donor later sold at Bonhams for £13,000 (£16,640 with premium).

John Harrison’s Time-keeper

Pamphlets reveal longitude dispute

30 June 2025

Courtesy of Dava Sobel’s 1995 best-seller, the compelling story of a Yorkshire horologist’s struggle to receive a prize for creating a reliable and accurate method for determining longitude at sea is well known.

Gyula Batthyany painting

Monumental Hungarian painting makes 60 times the high estimate in West Sussex

30 June 2025

A large diptych depicting a profusion of colourful and curious figures attracted spectacular bidding at a recent sale held by Toovey's (24.5% buyer’s premium).

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Silver that tells many stories: the Peter Cameron collection comes to the saleroom

30 June 2025

Stock of retiring dealer offered at auction includes items with fascinating backgrounds

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Norfolk auction includes big hitters offered with hugely different estimates

30 June 2025

Two separate lots at the recent books and manuscripts sale held by TW Gaze (26.4% inc VAT) in Diss, Norfolk sold at £20,000.

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Incredibly rare Hellenistic coin dies in sheikh's collection survived the centuries

30 June 2025

Only a very few coin dies have survived from antiquity so there was great interest in the Hellenistic examples offered by Apollo Art Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) on June 8.

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Grandma’s Attic organises antiques marquee at county show for the first time

30 June 2025

The average total footfall for the annual three-day 'New Forest & Hampshire County Show' held at The Showground in Brockenhurst comes in at a gigantic 85,000 to 90,000.

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Drury showcase celebrates sculptor and his influences

30 June 2025

This terracotta sculpture, 'The Triumph of Silenus', is among the highlights at Willoughby Gerrish’s exhibition 'Alfred Drury and the New Sculpture Movement'.

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Christopher Gibbs: His World – First book on a legendary dealer

30 June 2025

Christopher Gibbs (1938-2018) was an antiques dealer, collector, tastemaker and socialite, credited with shaping the aesthetic of ‘haute bohemian’ style and whose many friends included Mick Jagger, John Paul Getty, Bruce Chatwin, William Burroughs and Cecil Beaton.

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Cobwebs cleared after 50 years

30 June 2025

A specialist antiques shop in Southampton, a city rich in maritime heritage, is set to close at the end of August after 50 years of trading.

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Several firms placed in the frame

30 June 2025

Spotlight on specialist traders, a fresh online offering, the creation of new styles and revitalising antique items

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Early Japanese sketches and photos reveal ‘the dress, manners, customs and country of the people’

30 June 2025

Sketches at the Time of the Commencement of British Intercourse with Japan, an album containing 76 watercolours and drawings and 126 wood engravings from the last days of the Edo period, sold for £16,000 at Dominic Winter (22% buyer’s premium).

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