London

A preparatory sketch by John Constable was knocked down for £720,000 at Bonhams earlier today.

Antiques dealers of Camden Passage in Islington are attempting to clear up debris and dry their shops and wares after a “tsunami” of water forced galleries to shut this week following a burst water main in the area.

Sotheby’s Old Master evening sale in London last night was somewhat short of stellar works but the auction registered a decent performance for the material on offer.

Christie’s contemporary art chief Brett Gorvy is leaving the firm to become an art advisor.

Antiques dealers of Camden Passage in Islington, north London have been forced out of their galleries by severe flooding following a burst water main in the area.

A sixth arrest has been made by police investigating the murder of antiques dealer Robyn Mercer.

London’s Mayor Gallery has filed a complaint in New York state court claiming the Agnes Martin foundation acted wrongly when rejecting works submitted for authentication.

Conservation and restoration firm Plowden & Smith has won a new contract to help the University of Edinburgh renovate Scotland’s oldest concert hall.

New dates for the LAPADA Fair this year mean that the event opens on a Thursday, rather than a Monday, for the first time.

This French porcelain hot water jug, or ‘pot à eau’ was made at the Vincennes factory in 1754, probably for the Dauphine Maria Josepha. The mother of King Louis XVI, who was guillotined during the French Revolution, she was an important patron of Vincennes.

A north London independent antique restorer who faced eviction has got the go-ahead to stay.

A musical manuscript at the centre of a row over whether it was handwritten by Ludwig van Beethoven or a copyist has failed to sell at an auction at Sotheby’s.

Besides the danger of a dog bite, delivering the mail is not generally seen as a perilous business. However, as a presentation sword up at auction in London shows, on occasion it can be a matter of life or death.

A small and previously unrecorded portrait of Lord Nelson sold for £14,000 at Charles Miller’s latest Maritime and Scientific sale in West Kensington.

Christie’s auctions of Modern British & Irish art this week helped lift their annual total in this category to £68m, the highest figure the firm has ever posted.

Specialist sales of antiquities in London kick off at Bonhams later this month with a 192-lot auction in New Bond Street on November 30.

Portobello Road traders remain unconvinced of revised plans to develop the vintage end of the west London market.