Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Artist not confirmed but Old Master tells a Florentine family history tale
24 June 2024While the identity of the main artist was up for debate, the impressive ownership of a work sold in Austria was not in doubt
Old Master by unknown painter causes a stir as Bavarian collection comes to auction
24 June 2024On May 8, Neumeister (30% buyer’s premium) in Munich sold the collection of Hans Constantin Faussner, a Bavarian lawyer and art collector.
Bulldog advertising sign lights up the saleroom
24 June 2024It is safe to say that nowadays the image of a smoking dog would find little favour with animal rights activists or for that matter with the current (for now) UK Prime Minister.
Fish market scene catches the eye
24 June 2024A monumental painting of a fish market soared to unexpected heights at the May 16 auction at Lempertz (26% buyer’s premium) in Cologne.
Menzel’s Moroccans became a timely work
24 June 2024June 2, 1878, began as a normal day in the varied life of the German artist Adolph von Menzel.
Highlights: a recent selection of stand-out lots sold at auction
24 June 2024This recently discovered example of the iconic Bauhaus tea-infuser, designed by Marianne Brandt in 1924, on offer at Lempertz on May 15 for €200,000, was knocked down to the Hamburg Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum for Art and Industry) for €260,000 (£222,220).
Prophet and profits of horology auctions held in Germany and Switzerland
17 June 2024Moses automaton watch is one of the stand-out hammer highlights in recent sales
Best of British: Bullock longcase on offer in Heidelberg
17 June 2024If proof were needed that regional British clockmakers were as capable of making impressive works as those of London colleagues, then an 18th century longcase clock being sold by Metz on July 19-20 in Heidelberg without reserve, provides it.
Kirchner steps back into view
11 May 2024For over a century, the whereabouts of the painting Tanz im Varieté (Steptanz) (Vaudeville Dance/Tap Dance) by the Expressionist Ernst Ludig Kirchner were unknown.
Javanese prince who became an artist
06 May 2024Over the years, Cologne auction house Van Ham has achieved high prices for works by Raden Saleh Ben Jaggia.
Monkey business from von Max
06 May 2024The German artist Gabriel von Max (1840-1915) was not only an accomplished painter but also a passionate follower of Darwinism.
Prud’hon Psyche caused a stir
06 May 2024One of the highlights on the first day of the May 30-31 auction at Grisebach in Berlin is a collection of 33 works on paper from the collection of the one-time Cologne gallery owner Rudolf Zwirner.
Flights of fantasy: artist depicted hot-air balloons he never saw
06 May 2024With very few exceptions, the French artist Victor Philippe Lemoine-Benoit devoted almost all of his painting career to one subject: hot-air balloons of the Montgolfière type.
Latest brews: ninth Brandt tea-infuser emerges
06 May 2024It has often been said that no other work of art encompasses the spirit of the Bauhaus more perfectly than Marianne Brandt’s tea-infuser or Teeextraktkännchen MT49, as it was officially called.
Constable link tempts bidders to German auction
22 April 2024An old label on the back of a Medway view that emerged in Germany gave a tantalising suggestion that the British artist John Constable was involved.
Short-lived Francis Bacon furniture finds modern-day fans
22 April 2024One of the lesser-known episodes in the long and eventful life of Francis Bacon lasted little more than five years and was later dismissed by the artist as unimportant.
London art dealer buys Moore’s classical women at German auction
22 April 2024British artist Albert Joseph Moore (1841-93) was predestined to become a painter, following in the footsteps of his father and four of his 13 siblings.
Tinplate landscape viewed as worth four times estimate
22 April 2024Toy specialist Lankes (25% buyer’s premium) in Döhlau, Germany auctioned the extensive inventory of the private museum in Prague belonging to Ivan Steiger, who is equally well-known as a caricaturist and a collector of toys.
Silver lights up Dr Fischer's 300th auction
22 April 2024European dealers and collectors competed for pieces of 18th century Transylvanian silver which were on sale at the 300th auction of Dr Fischer (30% buyer’s premium) in Heilbronn, Germany.