Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Wright of Derby portrait of Captain Bayly bought by Virginia's Colonial Williamsburg collection at Sotheby's
11 March 2019Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia has acquired a Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-97) portrait of an Irish veteran of the French and Indian War. The foundation bought it at Sotheby’s Old Master day sale in London in December when it sold for £40,000 plus premium.
TEFAF chooses new global chair for ‘independent’ vetting committees
11 March 2019Ahead of the Maastricht fair on March 16-24, TEFAF has appointed a new global chairman of vetting.
Panel discoveries post six-figure prices in American sale
11 March 2019Two early panel paintings, one German, the other Cretan, emerged from a Florida collection to sell for six-figure prices at the Premier Auction at Brunk (20% buyer’s premium) in Asheville, North Carolina, on January 28. Both were new discoveries by rare artists.
First issue Beano makes £8700 at London auction
09 March 2019A fine copy of the very first issue of the Beano has sold at auction for £8700. Beano Comic No 1 from July 1938 debuted characters such as Big Eggo, Morgyn the Mighty, Contrary Mary and the long-running favourite Lord Snooty and his Pals.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes in the last week? Five auction highlights including a silver spoon from 1528 that drew spectacular bidding
08 March 2019ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week include a Henry VIII apostle spoon making ten times estimate at an auction in Leicestershire, and a huge Minton majolica urn bringing similar levels of competition in Ireland.
Chinese goddess figure by celebrated Ming potter smashes estimate at West Sussex auction
06 March 2019A Dehua blanc de chine figure of Guanyin sold for a surprise £39,000 – some 130 times the top estimate - at Bellmans in Wisborough Green, West Sussex last month.
Five highlights from Fellows’ first Fine Jewellery auction
05 March 2019Jewellery and watch specialist Fellows is to introduce a new sale category this month focused upon the better quality lots it sells from its Birmingham saleroom.
Rijksmuseum director appointed new global vetting chief across all TEFAF's art and antiques fair
04 March 2019Ahead of the flagship Maastricht fair on March 16-24, TEFAF has appointed a new global chairman of vetting.
Masterpiece fair to trial Hong Kong move with Fine Art Asia fair
04 March 2019The Masterpiece fair brand will be trialled in Hong Kong later this year with a ‘pavilion’ within the Fine Art Asia fair.
Draft bill seeks further reform for French auction system
04 March 2019The French auction system could be set for more reform with a draft bill recommending further change due to be launched later this month.
How the art and antiques trade is preparing for Brexit
04 March 2019As we approach a crunch vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, a no-deal result is still a possibility – so too the prospect of an extension to the Article 50 process beyond the March 29 deadline. As the selection of comments and advice from across the trade suggests, the art and antiques sector, like businesses up and down the country, is preparing for every eventuality.
Ticket to ride from one of the UK's oldest railways draws bidders at Scarborough auction
04 March 2019A trio of tickets issued by one of the UK’s first passenger railways sold for £1050 at a recent sale held by David Duggleby (21% buyer’s premium) in Scarborough.
Pick of the week: Quilt from a life of cold comfort sells to Bowes Museum at Tennants' auction
04 March 2019The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle was among the buyers when Tennants sold 13 quilts that belonged to Durham hill farmer Hannah Hauxwell (1926-2018) on February 9.
Six lots to watch at auction this week including an Elizabethan jug, a Constable sketch and a German Expressionist painting
04 March 2019With estimates from £100-$50,000, here are six previews from upcoming sales this week.
Welsh auction house battles back from devastating deluge to achieve ‘a gratifying result’
04 March 2019Precisely four months on from a flood inundating its saleroom, Carmarthen auction house Peter Francis (20% buyer’s premium) enjoyed a literal and metaphorical day in the sunshine on February 13.
Hit and hiss: Triqueti Cleopatra in ivory takes £22,000
04 March 2019Following the fall of Louis-Philippe in the 1848 revolution, the French royal sculptor Henri Joseph Francois, Baron de Triqueti (1804-74) was obliged to cast his net further afield for new patrons.
Rare Flemish Old Master sells for more than $2m at auction in Philadelphia as Freeman's confirm premises move
01 March 2019A total of 18 phones competed for a rare devotional painting offered by a New York institution at Freeman’s in Philadelphia this week.
Renowned collector Nasser Khalili revealed as buyer of ‘lost’ monumental Meiji vase as he reunites it with original set
01 March 2019The Khalili Collections revealed it was the buyer of the ‘lost’ monumental Meiji cloisonné vase that surfaced for sale in California last month.
What lots caught bidders’ eyes in the last week? Six auction highlights including a Suffragette archive sold at Catherine Southon’s latest sale
01 March 2019ATG’s selection of hammer highlights over the past week includes a large scrapbook of ephemera relating to Isabel Seymour, secretary for the Women’s Social Political Union (WSPU), that sold at Catherine Southon’s latest auction.
Major selection of German Expressionist works come to auction in New York
28 February 2019Swann Auction Galleries is to sell a major selection of German Expressionist works from one of the movement’s most important collections next week.