London

LONDON art dealers Agnew’s, who were founded in 1817, mark the new year with a new chief executive, new gallery and a new direction.

ATG have had exclusive access to the first names to sign contracts for Masterpiece, the grand new London fair planned for Chelsea Barracks, SW1, next summer.

As buyers took the chance the chance to swipe a glitzy stocking-filler in time for Christmas, the latest Russian sales in London showed that there is still plenty of money to be made in this sector, despite the downturn.

THE inaugural ATG Online Auctioneer of the Year award has gone to Christie’s South Kensington.

DEALERS in South London have cautiously welcomed Southwark Council’s proposal to relaunch Bermondsey Market, but remain sceptical as to whether funds will be made available to make a significant difference.

FOUNDED by Brian and Anna Haughton in 1982, the International Ceramics Fair and Seminar will from next year be incorporated into the organisers new event Art Antiques London.

MORE than 100 dealers braved gales to be at Olympia at 9.30 on the morning of November 18 for a meeting called by Florida impresario David Lester. They were there to discuss the London International Fine Art Fair, the renamed June Olympia which he co-owns with Clarion but very much runs himself.

LONDON-based organisers Brian and Anna Haughton are first off the mark in announcing top names who have signed up for one of the numerous events vying for exhibitors in June 2010.

SOTHEBY’S staged a white-glove sale in London last week as 50 works from the collection of Lord and Lady Attenborough all found buyers.

CECIL Court, the pedestrian thoroughfare in the West End of London that is home to around 20 antiquarian book dealers, has become the focus of a wider political debate on business rates.

IN a bid to boost pre-Christmas trade at Friday's Bermondsey Antiques Market, Southwark Council have waived the usual stand charge of £30 and only the £10 stall rental charge for a 9 x 3ft stall will apply. This offer applies for November 20 only.

ROYAL Mail have lost another court case over their promise to cover losses under their special delivery services, and face further legal action. Yet they will still not change the terms and conditions that landed them in court.

IF you’re looking for a painting that sums up the problems suffered by the contemporary art market over the last year, then this work by Peter Doig (b.1959) is a pretty good candidate.

A massive Union Flag that flew from one of the ships at the battle of Trafalagar has sold at auction for £320,000.

THE organisers of Masterpiece, one of the hopefuls in the race to fill the gap left by the Grosvenor House fair, hope to have their venue settled by the end of the year.

THE London art trade has welcomed the news that the Acquisitions, Export and Loans Unit’s (AELU) move to Birmingham has been delayed by three months.

AMONG the more run-of-the-mill furnishings that constitute the bulk of the popular Interiors sales at Christie’s South Kensington, there are often a handful of more quirky items.

LONDON-based international fair organisers Brian and Anna Haughton have announced that they will launch a new fair in London next summer, taking advantage of the opportunity offered by the demise of Grosvenor House.

BORN a wealthy European aristocrat and court painter to a Turkish Sultan, the Maltese count Vittorio Amadeo Preziosi (1816-1882) was nevertheless a familiar figure among the back streets of Istanbul.

LEADING London art dealer Richard Green is in the process of demolishing his Old Masters gallery at 33 New Bond Street, prior to completely rebuilding a new five-storey gallery.