Drawings & Pastels

In its latest edition London Art Week (LAW) showcased 35 participants, including four taking part in LAW Digital, and also the three major London auction houses: Bonhams, Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Portrait sketch of pianist by Dame Laura was one of the eye-catching works on paper offered in the run-up to summer

Pictures by two leading women of the Modern British art movement sold strongly at a Lyon & Turnbull (26/25/20% buyer’s premium) auction in London.

A 78-page manuscript bought at a Bonhams auction could help to shed light on author Jane Austen.

A remarkable sketchbook compiled after its creator had been taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore in the Second World War sold for £1650 (estimate £500-700) as part of a timed online sale.

If you wanted to sum up the current state of the watercolours and works on paper sector in a single sentence, you might say something like ‘flatter than ever for general works but exceptional lots routinely generating strong interest’.

The Paris auction houses will also be hosting plenty of sales devoted entirely or in part to works on paper.

One of the stand-out results at a three-day auction of a huge American book collection came for a very British lot.

Drawing Week, the Paris annual spring celebration staged around the Salon du Dessin fair and a raft of works on paper auctions, takes place in the latter part of this month when the French capital traditionally turns the spotlight on drawings

Running for the first time under new ownership Master Drawings New York (MDNY) produced strong results for many of its exhibitors, including London dealer Guy Peppiatt.

With clients including the Maharajah of Kutch, Queen Victoria and multiple princes and dukes, Holmes & Co was one of the top coachbuilders of the 19th century.

A 19th century scrimshaw carved on board a whaling ship with an all African-American crew sold for $7250 (£5700) at Bruneau & Co (20% buyer’s premium).

Among the images included in Emanuel von Baeyer’s latest catalogue is a study of a female nude by Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919).