Art and antiques news from 2007

Upwards of 150 people crammed into the top floor of The Texas Embassy restaurant off Pall Mall in London last week for the fourth annual Antiques Trade Pub Quiz.

South West auctioneers Chilcotts are to open a second saleroom in Honiton.

Islington Council say they have no powers to keep out clone stores

Early works of art might be seen as something of a Cinderella area of the market, somewhat left behind when compared to contemporary and Asian art or even some other traditional fields.

THE 2007 Dealers Vs Auctioneers charity football match raised more than £10,600 in aid of Breast Cancer Haven.

A gang of thieves are targeting dealers in Hatton Garden, using diversionary tactics to grab briefcases and bags.

Bonhams have announced the appointment of a new managing director of Scotland and confirmed that new premises have been found in Edinburgh.

Bonhams chairman Robert Brooks has issued a public statement taking a strong stand against the guarantee system following the November art sales in New York and London.

Gagosian’s bid gives Sotheby’s new heart

LAPADA have appointed Emma Kendrick-White, to be fair organiser for their London showcase Objects of Desire: The LAPADA London Fair, the third of which will be held at the Royal Academy, Burlington Gardens from May 8 to 11 next year.

THE latest development in imaging technology means that it may soon become much simpler and cheaper to analyse the paint layers of works of art.

OLYMPIA’s Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair, which closed on November 18 is the premier pre-Christmas fixture in London. This 15th annual staging proved no exception and, as usual, it got off to a strong start.

Stella Show Management have said that Antiques at the Armory, the January 18-20 antiques show at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, will go ahead as planned.

As one dealer put it: “The How name is a little insurance policy for the future.”

Lawrence B. Salander, the embattled Manhattan art dealer, has filed for Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy protection citing debts of between $50m and $100m.

Anyone who picked up Sotheby’s latest Chinese catalogue for their November 7 sale in London could not have failed to notice the stunning blue and white Qianlong moonflask on the catalogue cover, the piece that topped the sale when it sold for £2.5m.

THE first book on swimming printed in England was Everard Digby’s De arte natandi of 1587.

There were winners all round as Asian Art In London celebrated its tenth anniversary with a gala party in the Hotung Gallery of the British Museum last Tuesday.

North west Essex auctioneers Mullocks Wells are to close by the end of the year. Their Monday, November 19 sale of fine art and antiques will go ahead as planned but is likely to be the last at the Dunmow Sale and Auction Rooms.

THE closure of Sherborne House in Dorset leaves a question mark over the future of the Elizabeth Frink Archive, the premier assemblage of the sculptor’s work.