Latest News Articles by Jonathan Franks

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Javanese prince who became an artist

06 May 2024

Over the years, Cologne auction house Van Ham has achieved high prices for works by Raden Saleh Ben Jaggia.

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Monkey business from von Max

06 May 2024

The German artist Gabriel von Max (1840-1915) was not only an accomplished painter but also a passionate follower of Darwinism.

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Prud’hon Psyche caused a stir

06 May 2024

One 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.

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Canaletto works (with a bit of help)

06 May 2024

Venetian painter sometimes used studio assistants

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Flights of fantasy: artist depicted hot-air balloons he never saw

06 May 2024

With 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.

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Latest brews: ninth Brandt tea-infuser emerges

06 May 2024

It 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.

Possible Constable picture

Constable link tempts bidders to German auction

22 April 2024

An 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.

Sideboard designed by Francis Bacon

Short-lived Francis Bacon furniture finds modern-day fans

22 April 2024

One 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.

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London art dealer buys Moore’s classical women at German auction

22 April 2024

British 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.

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Tinplate landscape viewed as worth four times estimate

22 April 2024

Toy 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.

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Silver lights up Dr Fischer's 300th auction

22 April 2024

European 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.

Mohn and Heinrich glass

Initials spell out Mohn and Heinrich collaboration at German auction

18 March 2024

The vendor of an early 19th century glass offered as part of the February 21-24 sale at Wendl (21% buyer’s premium) in Rudolstadt will have been astonished by the result.

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Preyer vendor hopes for a high flyer

18 March 2024

Early on in his career, which spanned most of the 19th century, Johann Wilhelm Preyer decided to paint only still-lifes. He studied at the academy in Düsseldorf and was one of the leading lights in what was to become the Düsseldorf School of painters.

Carl Gustav Carus painting

Auction record set for Carl Gustav Carus after Faust find

18 March 2024

Rediscovered work inspired by Goethe emerges at auction in Germany

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Micromosaic with rare motif emerges in Freiburg sale

18 March 2024

Driven by the demand from the numerous Grand Tourists who visited the Italian capital in the 19th century, Roman craftsmen revived and adapted the ancient technique of mosaics to produce works of art that would appeal to their international clientele.

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Bamboo coat stand to hook a buyer

18 March 2024

In the latter half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, there were over 250 companies in Great Britain producing bamboo furniture.

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Otto Piene smoke painting detected at Berlin sale

18 March 2024

In 1959, some two years after the German painter Otto Piene founded the ZERO group of artists together with his colleague Heinz Mack, he began producing his so-called 'Rauchbilder' (Smoke Paintings).

Qing charger

Qing Dynasty charger is one to rabbit on about

18 March 2024

An early 18th century, Qing Dynasty, Chinese blue and white painted porcelain charger caused the biggest surprise at the March 2 sale held by Kendzia (16% buyer’s premium) in Hamburg.

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Benz fuels cigarette case appeal

18 March 2024

In 1926, after two years of negotiations, two German automobile producers joined forces to become Mercedes-Benz.

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Artist Kuhnert’s natural approach included shooting his animal subjects

26 February 2024

Many late 19th and early 20th century art collectors were entranced by Wilhelm Kuhnert’s (1865-1926) realistic portrayals of exotic animals in the wild.