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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Louis Wain pottery is among five sales to watch

26 May 2025

With estimates from £800, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

Karl Stengel

First UK solo show of post-war Hungarian artist

26 May 2025

Karl Stengel's debut solo UK show marks 100 years since the artist's birth

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Gerrit Jensen is the suggestion as marquetry strong box maker

26 May 2025

Like many English joiners of his time, not a great deal is known about the private life of Gerrit Jensen.

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Popular Battersea fair performing well against economic headwinds

26 May 2025

There’s no denying that we live in uncertain times. The impact of recent financial turmoil has hit dealers and collectors alike.

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London Underground enamel map is a rare survivor from 1915

26 May 2025

A very early enamel map of the London Underground will be unveiled at a specialist fair next month.

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Casas creates a Catalan classic poster

26 May 2025

Like Toulouse Lautrec, Ramon Casas y Carbo (1866-1932) was not only an avant-garde artist but a master poster maker and graphic designer.

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Knife was wielded by an SAS founder who played billiards with ‘Paddy’ Mayne amid battle carnage

26 May 2025

Shown here is a 1st Pattern Fairbairn Sykes fighting knife by Wilkinson, London that belonged to Major Charles George Gibson ‘Pat’ Riley DCM (1915-99), one of the founding members of ‘L’ Detachment, SAS Brigade in 1941.

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Gould proud of his work on the most sumptuous and costly of British bird books

26 May 2025

Chiswick Auctions (26% buyer’s premium) held a sale titled The Art of Nature – a themed catalogue of art and antiques based on the natural world.

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JPR Williams’ Barbarians jersey was worn in famed game

26 May 2025

The Barbarians jersey worn by JPR Williams (1949-2024) in one of rugby union’s most famous matches sold at Rogers Jones (22% buyer’s premium) for £27,500 on April 10.

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Survivor’s letter sets Titanic record

26 May 2025

A postcard letter written by a survivor of the Titanic disaster sold for £230,000 (£300,000 with premium included) at Henry Aldridge & Son last month – a record for a letter related to the disaster.

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Special medals of special forces leader

26 May 2025

Woolley & Wallis is offering what it hails as a collection of military medals given to “one of Britain’s most distinguished soldiers of the 20th century”.

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Sport collectors also like to play with older purchases

26 May 2025

With golfers looking forward to the US Open in June and the British Open in July, as well as the Wimbledon Tennis Championships running for two weeks from June 30, these sports are about to hit the headlines.

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The 1932 Battle of Britain: Newcastle Utd v Rangers football programme nets £6500

26 May 2025

One-off football ‘super cup’ style ties are nothing new, as a very much in demand programme offered at Telford saleroom Mullock Jones (20.5% buyer’s premium) demonstrated.

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Bone models story fleshed out: by prisoners of war or craftsmen?

26 May 2025

Some ‘prisoner of war’ productions are now thought to have been made by skilled craftsmen

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It just gets better for Spurs – Euro trophy win and success scored with auction bid

26 May 2025

Now celebrating on-the-field success thanks to a 1-0 victory against Manchester United in the Europa League final on May 21, Spurs also came top in the saleroom seven days earlier.

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Taylor a happy Hammer after hefty auction prices

26 May 2025

It is perhaps fitting that the shirt belonging to a player who scored two goals successively in the quarter, semi final and final of the 1975 FA Cup would double its top estimate at Stacey’s (25% buyer’s premium) on April 28.

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Numbers add up to good result for revolutionary mathematical book

26 May 2025

Important mathematical work by young German genius Gauss makes a rare appearance at auction

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Teaset design by Vanessa Bell fits the bill in Cornwall

26 May 2025

Vanessa Bell submitted two designs for the 1934 Modern Art for the Table exhibition at Harrods.

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Manchester football derby plays out in the saleroom

26 May 2025

The fierce football rivalry between the Sky Blues and Red Devils led to a competition not on the pitch but on the rostrum thanks to the Graham Budd (24% buyer’s premium) two-day sale dubbed An Auction of Two Halves.

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Indian art interest rolls out to a wider audience

26 May 2025

Latest sales suggest a wider collector base targeting history and topography

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