Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
![View on the River Stour by John Constable](/media/7349/john-constable-christies-2244ne03a-26-05-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557090000000)
John Constable ‘six-footer’ headlines Christie’s British art auction
26 May 2016Christie’s have announced that a major landscape by John Constable will be among the works on offer at their Defining British Art sale in London this summer.
![Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I](/media/7348/armada-portrait-of-elizabeth-i-2244nedi-25-05-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557090000000)
Greenwich museums launch campaign to secure £10m Armada Portrait which ‘could’ be sold on the open market
25 May 2016Royal Museums Greenwich are attempting to raise £10m to buy a version of The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I. The work currently belongs to descendants of Sir Francis Drake but the institution say that unless the required funds are raised, the painting “could be sold on the open market and even go overseas”.
![Ivory and silver trophy](/media/7338/2244ne01a-24-05-16.jpg?rxy=0.48421052631578948,0.59666666666666668&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557090000000)
Christie’s fined £3250 for offering ‘unworked’ elephant ivory trophy
24 May 2016Christie’s have admitted to “an honest and genuine mistake” by putting up for sale an ivory and kutch silver trophy that contravened CITES regulations.
![Abraham-Louis Breguet watch](/media/7318/breguet-watch-christies-2243nedib-20-05-16.jpg?rxy=0.49809885931558934,0.61333333333333329&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557080000000)
Rare Breguet watch nets £2.4m
20 May 2016A watch by Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) became the second most expensive piece by the Swiss maker when it sold to a private Swiss museum for triple-estimate SFr3.25m (£2.35m) including premium at Christie’s Geneva.
![At Handeck by Alexandre Calame](/media/7308/alexandre-calame-national-gallery-2243ne08a-18-05-16.jpg?rxy=0.93650793650793651,0.35333333333333333&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557060000000)
Leading collector of romantic landscapes donates two works to the National Gallery in London
18 May 2016Two landscapes by 19th century European artists have been donated to the National Gallery by Asbjørn Lunde, an American of Norwegian extraction who is one of the world’s top collectors in the field.
![Phillips at Berkeley Square in London](/media/7306/phillips-berkeley-square-2243ne06a-17-05-16.jpg?rxy=0.49,0.60333333333333339&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557060000000)
Phillips announce change in buyer’s premium
17 May 2016Auctioneers Phillips have changed their buyer’s premium with immediate effect.
![Cheyenne Westphal](/media/7288/cheyenne-westphal-phillips-2243ne06a-13-05-16.jpg?rxy=0.5083333333333333,0.39666666666666667&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557050000000)
Cheyenne Westphal heads series of appointments at Phillips
13 May 2016Phillips have announced the appointment of Cheyenne Westphal as chairman, reporting to CEO Edward Dolman. Formerly Sotheby’s worldwide head of Contemporary art, she will start in her new role in 2017.
![Jean-Michel Basquiat at Christie's](/media/7280/jean-michel-basquiat-christies-2242ne04a-13-05-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557050000000)
10 highlights from the Modern and Contemporary art auctions in New York
13 May 2016Just under $1.2bn changed hands at the top-end of the art market in New York this week as Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips all held their Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary auctions over seven days for the first time. Here is ATG’s pick of individual highlights sold across the week.
Art Business Conference set for September
13 May 2016Tickets are now available for the third Art Business Conference which will take place at Church House Conference Centre in Westminster, London on September 1.
![Golden Hours by Frederic, Lord Leighton](/media/7257/leighton-golden-hours-2241ne09a-03-05-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557040000000)
Christie’s to stage themed evening sale of British Art in London this summer
03 May 2016Christie’s have announced details of their latest ‘themed’ sale – an evening sale of British art which will take place in London on June 30.
![The diamond and emerald brooch](/media/7250/gilboys-restorers-brooch-discovery-2240ne06a-27-04-16.jpg?rxy=0.60526315789473684,0.51709401709401714&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557030000000)
A mouldy caravan, an old bureau, a hidden drawer and the diamond brooch hiding within
27 April 2016A rotting old caravan propped up on a farm might not sound like the kind of place you’d expect to discover a valuable family heirloom. But for a Devon-based furniture restorer, it proved just that when they found an Art Deco brooch believed to be a rare piece hiding within the contents of the van.
![David Tindle painting at Grand Auctions](/media/7234/david-tindle-grand-auctions-2240pv08a-21-04-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557030000000)
Tindle paintings trundle into Folkestone saleroom
21 April 2016A selection of works by David Tindle (b.1932) will be offered at Grand Auctions in Folkestone on May 9.
![Inverted Jenny stamp](/media/7227/inverted-jenny-stamp-2239ne09a-18-04-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557020000000)
Rare American ‘Inverted Jenny’ stamp recovered
18 April 2016A rare American stamp stolen in 1955 in one of the most famous thefts in philatelic history has been recovered after turning up at Spink.
![Edgar Degas drawing acquired by Pallant House Gallery](/media/7226/pallant-house-edgar-degas-2238ne02a-18-04-16.jpg?rxy=0.41025641025641024,0.38&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557020000000)
Pallant House Gallery acquire Degas drawing in deal brokered by Sotheby’s
18 April 2016A large drawing by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) which has never been exhibited before has gone on display at Pallant House Gallery after being acquired by the Chichester gallery via the Acceptance in Lieu scheme.
![Eric Ravilious watercolour at Sworders](/media/7205/eric-ravilious-sworders-2238ne07a.jpg?rxy=0.44875346260387811,0.59666666666666668&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462556990000000)
Ravilious watercolour makes £85,000 at Sworders
13 April 2016A watercolour by Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) drew serious bidding at Sworders this week, overtaking a £40,000-60,000 estimate before it was knocked down at £85,000.
![Lord Lucan cheques](/media/7152/lord-lucan-cheques-2237ne08a-04-04-16.jpg?rxy=0.49848024316109424,0.57333333333333336&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462556960000000)
Lord Lucan’s bounced cheques appear at auction
04 April 2016The man himself may have disappeared in 1974 but a series of cheques showing Lord Lucan’s spiralling gambling debts have now emerged and will be offered at auction later this month.
![Samanid chess-set from Lothar Schmid collection](/media/7151/samanid-chess-set-sothebys-2234ne04a-01-04-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462556960000000)
Early chess pieces come to Sotheby’s from seminal collection of German grandmaster
01 April 2016An important collection of early chess pieces will be offered as part of Sotheby’s Islamic sale in London on April 20.
![Paolo Veronese drawing](/media/7146/veronese-the-triumph-of-venice-2236ne05a-31-03-16.jpg?rxy=0.52173913043478259,0.37333333333333335&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462556950000000)
Veronese drawing blocked from export after £15m sale
31 March 2016An important drawing by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) that changed hands in a major private sale has been temporarily stopped from leaving the UK.
![Colnaghi's stand at TEFAF 2016](/media/7137/tefaf-2016-colnaghi-2236dd06a-24-03-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462556950000000)
TEFAF 2016: final reports indicate solid sales overall
24 March 2016The 29th staging of TEFAF Maastricht will go down as a good edition of the fair with dealers reporting decent sales overall and the changes made for this year’s event meeting general approval among the standholders.
![Eric Ravilious watercolour at Sworders](/media/7132/eric-ravilious-sworders-2235pv03a-24-03-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462556950000000)
Ravilious watercolour leads Sworders’ dedicated Modern British art auction
24 March 2016An Eric Ravilious (1903-42) watercolour has emerged at Sworders of Essex and will be among the star lots at their first dedicated Modern British Art sale next month.