Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
Sotheby’s slashes buyer's fees and sets seller's commission at standard rate
03 February 2024Sotheby’s has announced a major shake-up of its customers’ fees, reducing its buyer’s premium for the first time since it was introduced in 1979 and setting seller's commission at a standard rate.
Pick of the week: The ‘engraving’ that bidders discovered was a JMW Turner drawing
29 January 2024A somewhat innocuous-looking lot at Hansons (26% buyer’s premium) proved to be anything but as a number of eagle-eyed bidders spotted a significant discovery contained therein.
Art Market: Cadell captures the Cassis light
29 January 2024Scottish Colourist likened the French port to Iona – but with more time to paint given the weather
‘For everyday items it will continue to be a buyer’s market’
29 January 2024In Ireland, Adam’s of Dublin held 32 auctions over the course of 2023, raising a hammer total of €13.8m (£12m) which was up from €12.6m in 2022.
Two rare Bessie MacNicol works appear at auction in a week
29 January 2024Works by Glasgow Girl Bessie MacNicol (1869-1904) – who died in childbirth aged 34 – are represented in many public collections, especially in Scotland.
Edward Hopper etching tops Bonhams’ print sale in Los Angeles
25 January 2024American artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is known for his moody views of his native New York with his paintings often imbued with garish light and contrasting bright and muted colours.
Major record for Alasdair Gray as apocalyptic canvas turns heads in Edinburgh auction
24 January 2024A shot in the arm for the picture market of Alasdair Gray (1934-2019) came at the start of the year when one of his most momentous paintings emerged at auction and set a major record for the Scottish artist and writer.
Pulham conjures auction magic in South London
22 January 2024Roseberys (26% buyer’s premium) posted the second-highest auction price for Peter Rose Pulham (1910-56) at its most recent sale of Modern British & 20th Century Art.
Fedden in the pink and over the moon
22 January 2024Works by Mary Fedden (1915-2012) are a fairly common sight at regional auctions.
Velázquez portrait withdrawn from Sotheby’s Old Master sale
18 January 2024A Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) royal portrait due to be offered at Sotheby’s New York has been withdrawn ahead of the auction.
Artist Michael Morgan makes presence felt on auction market
18 January 2024West Country painter Michael Morgan’s (1928-2014) career as an artist took off rather late in life.
Six lots from upcoming auction of ‘legendary’ dealer’s collection
10 January 2024Maurice ‘Dick’ Turpin (1928-2005) was one of the best known antiques dealers of his day.
Six highlights selling at Dreweatts’ auction of artist’s collection
09 January 2024Items from the private collection of contemporary artist Pablo Bronstein (b.1977) formed a 289-lot dedicated sale at Dreweatts in Newbury.
‘Giant among ceramicists’: tributes paid to specialist and TV stalwart Henry Sandon
08 January 2024Tributes have poured in for the late ceramics specialist and Antiques Roadshow expert Henry Sandon who died aged 95 at the end of last year.
Art collector loved the excitement of bidding battles
08 January 2024One of the most eyecatching collections of Impressionist and Modern art sold at a provincial auction at the end of last year comprised 17 lots from the late Ralph Bateman.
Royal portrait rescued from a jumble sale is sold for £16,000
08 January 2024Tiny portrait thought to show a Spanish noblewoman was bought at a local school in the 1970s
Marie-Antoinette’s chair sets an auction record
02 January 2024Among the star attractions at the 60-lot evening sale of works from the collection of Hubert Guerrand-Hermès (1940-2016) at Sotheby’s Paris was a carved and regilded Louis XVI chair.
William Nicholson still-life doubles top estimate at west London auction
02 January 2024A still-life by Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949) that appeared in the final sale of the year at Olympia Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) “generated ripples of excitement among private collectors and the trade alike” according to the West London saleroom.
Romney screen stands out as an unusual offering
02 January 2024Bonhams’ (28/27% buyer’s premium) latest Old Master sale at its New Bond Street rooms was hard going, with almost half the lots unsold and two-thirds of those that did get away either going on or below their low estimate.
Rachel Ruysch attribution bears fruit
02 January 2024One of the Old Masters attracting significant interest at Lyon & Turnbull’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) latest Five Centuries sale in Edinburgh was a small still-life that drew strong competition against a £5000-8000 estimate.