Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks
Auction record at Swiss sale for rediscovered work by Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela
07 August 2017The unexpected highlight of a recent sale at Beurret & Bailly (20% buyer’s premium) in Basel was a work by the Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) which had been considered lost for over a century.
Irises bloom in Austrian saleroom as tension mounts
07 August 2017Austrian artists figured prominently at the June 20-21 sale at Kinsky (26% buyer’s premium) in Vienna.
The German-born artist who went native in the US
07 August 2017The biggest sensation at Scheublein (26% buyer’s premium) in Munich on June 30 was caused by an oil painting of American Indians from the mid-19th century. It was an oil study for a famous painting by Carl Ferdinand Wimar (1828-62), who also went by the name of Charles Wimar.
Asian art and a continental drift of sales
17 July 2017Dealers in and collectors of Asian art were spoilt for choice around the middle of June in Europe. As well as the Asian sale series in Paris (see last week’s ATG, No 2300), a vast selection of works came up for sale in Zurich, Cologne, Brussels, Salzburg and Stuttgart.
Weeks of Bamberg art and antiques charms
17 July 2017Bavaria is the most popular tourist destination in Germany and for more than 20 years the historic city of Bamberg has hosted a summer event in which a dozen prestigious dealers and galleries take part in a joint sales exhibition, held in their own premises.
Asian auctions make a ‘Gexit’
12 June 2017German salerooms move series to Austria and Belgium in the wake of cultural goods law...
Bidders battle for Old Masters in Vienna and Cologne
12 June 2017Recent Old Master paintings in Vienna and Cologne have yielded some predicted but also unexpected results including a high price for a work by a German better known for his poems and plays than his paintings.
Malaysian artist makes rare visit
12 June 2017The Malayan artist Cheong Soo Pieng (1917-83) is hardly a household name in Europe. Virtually all of his paintings that have sold at auction in recent decades came under the hammer in Hong Kong or Singapore.
Lempertz to hold Asian art auction outside of Germany to avoid cultural heritage law
02 May 2017The controversial new German cultural heritage law has forced Cologne auctioneers Lempertz to hold its Asian art sale outside of Germany.
High-quality paper made in France aids in identification of charcoal drawing sold in Dresden
10 April 2017A French Old Master drawing, a 20th century work by a specialist animal painter and an American Abstract Expressionist work were among the pictures that have performed strongly in auctions across the German regions and in Austria recently.
Russian medal marking victory over Persia sold at auction
10 April 2017A 50 ducat medal commemorating the end of the Russo-Persian war was worth far more than its weight in gold at Künker (23% buyer’s premium) in Osnabruck in the March 13-17 sale.
Meiji incense burner is €12,000 (£10,435) Dusseldorf auction buy
10 April 2017Numerous bidders competed for a5½in (14cm) high Japanese incense burner from the Meiji period (1868-1912) at a sale held by Hargesheimer (25% buyer’s premium) in Dusseldorf on March 10-11.
Let there be all kinds of light - German hammer highlights
05 April 2017From minimalist lamp to starry chandelier
Engraving speciality: a late 17th century goblet
05 April 2017For many centuries the German city of Nuremberg was a major centre for glass decoration.
Obituary: Rudolf Neumeister (1925-2017)
05 April 2017Rudolf Neumeister, one of Germany’s longest serving auctioneers, passed away on February 23 at the age of 91.