Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
Affordable art: Three works sold for under £2000 including a Richard Frizzell oil on canvas
13 April 2020Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Frizzell oil on canvas
Auction record set for British ‘society’ portraitist Ambrose McEvoy at Dreweatts
06 April 2020Artist battles back to regain favour with auctioneers, private buyers and dealers
Second tranche of pictures from dealer Duncan Campbell's collection sold in Newbury
06 April 2020A group of pictures from the collection of the late art dealer Duncan Campbell, who died in 2011, were among the lots drawing interest at Dreweatts.
Sotheby’s: online ‘surge’ as clients bid from home
23 March 2020In an early test of the art market after the announcement of social distancing guidance, Sotheby’s latest ‘Made in Britain’ auction recorded a dramatic increase in online bidding.
Institute of Art and Law to update guidance on restitution cases
19 March 2020Arts Council England has appointed the Institute of Art and Law to help form new guidance for institutions around the thorny issues of restitution and repatriation of cultural objects.
Sotheby’s reports ‘surge’ in online buying as clients forced to bid from home
18 March 2020In one of the first tests of the art market since the UK government announced tougher ‘social distancing’ guidance due to the coronavirus outbreak, Sotheby’s latest ‘Made in Britain’ auction recorded a dramatic increase in online bidding.
US buyer wins bidding battle for Terence Cuneo’s painting of British Rail’s last steam engine
17 March 2020Terence Cuneo’s (1907-96) ‘Evening Star at Full Steam’, a painting of the last steam engine built for British Rail, sold to a US buyer at the latest picture sale held at Essex saleroom Sworders.
Salon du Dessin postponed as organisers reverse decision to go ahead
13 March 2020The prestigious Paris drawings fair ‘Salon du Dessin’ has been postponed until the end of May as the outbreak of coronavirus in Europe continues to have a major effect on the fairs calendar.
Pair of Old Masters sets new picture high for Woolley & Wallis
09 March 2020A spectacular competition came at Woolley & Wallis’ latest picture sale as 12 bidders pursued a pair of Italian Old Masters which the auction house had spotted tucked away in a dark corner of the vendor’s top landing.
Dealer Rafael Valls offers 100 Old Masters in Sotheby’s online sale
05 March 2020London art dealer Rafael Valls has consigned a group of works to Sotheby’s which will be offered in an online sale next month.
Top stories this week – including news of a museum buying a record-breaking piece of Martin Brothers pottery
23 February 2020The most popular stories on this website over the last week included news of a new museum in Plymouth buying the record-breaking Martin Brothers grinning crab.
Second consignment of works from major Orientalist art collection comes to Sotheby’s
18 February 2020A second group of works from the record-setting Najd collection of Orientalist art will be offered at Sotheby’s next month.
Hockney makes a £21m splash but total is down
17 February 2020The overall total from the latest London series of Contemporary art auctions was down year-on-year. With one day sale still to run at the time of going to press, the running total of £197.4m from the sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips compared to £253.9m from the equivalent sales in 2019.
Top stories this week – including news of the dealer supplying props for the new Jane Austen ‘Emma’ movie
16 February 2020The most popular stories on this website over the last week included news of an antiques dealer with a side-line supplying antiques as props for TV or movie productions.
‘High crimes and misdemeanors’ – Rare copy of first US impeachment resolution offered at Bonhams
14 February 2020An original copy of the first impeachment resolution against US president Andrew Johnson has emerged at auction.
Terence Cuneo ‘end of an era’ painting of British Rail’s last steam engine emerges at Sworders’ auction
13 February 2020A painting of the last steam engine built for British Rail by the celebrated train painter, Terence Cuneo (1907-96), is being offered at Essex saleroom Sworders next month.
Hockney leads Sotheby’s Contemporary art evening sale at £21m
12 February 2020Sotheby’s set the third-highest price for a work by David Hockney (b.1937) in London last night.
Impressionist and Modern auctions post lowest totals for a February series in a decade
10 February 2020The latest Impressionist & Modern auctions in London posted the lowest total for a February series in this category for a decade.
René Magritte surrealist scene lifts Christie’s modern art auction in London
07 February 2020Auction records for Tamara de Lempicka and George Grosz boosted Christie’s latest Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art evening sales in London but it was a surrealist scene by René Magritte that made the largest contribution to the night’s total.
Recovered works top Sotheby’s modern art auction
06 February 2020Pictures restored to the family of an important Jewish collector whose property had been seized by the Nazis led Sotheby’s latest evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art in London.