Auctions

News and previews of art and antiques sold at auctions throughout the UK and overseas, from multi-million-pound blockbusters to affordable collectables.


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Gainsborough sketch surfaces in Ruislip

15 June 2015

Auctioneers Bainbridges of Ruislip are selling a chalk and gouache drawing attributed to Thomas Gainsborough.

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De Heem returns home via Van Haeften

12 June 2015

This still life by Dutch artist Cornelis de Heem (1631-95) has been returned to its historical home, The National Trust’s Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire. The painting was bought through London dealer Johnny Van Haeften for £574,000.

Bonhams to close Oxford salerooms

10 June 2015

Bonhams are to close their Oxfordshire salerooms and move more merchandise to London as part of a further review of their regional operations.

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Godwin barn find becomes £31,000 reward at Essex auction

10 June 2015

This spectacular barn find, an ebonised coromandel and inlaid octagonal centre table designed by Edward Godwin (1833-86), sold for £31,000 at Sworders’ sale of decorative art and design in Stansted Mountfitchet.

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New high for Olympic torch as Budd sets £420,000 house record

09 June 2015

Sports specialist Graham Budd struck gold in his latest sale by setting an Olympic torch auction record.

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Still life by Vienna Secessionist in West Sussex

09 June 2015

An oil on panel by Franz Sedlacek (1891-1945), one of Austria’s most prominent artists during the 1920s and ‘30s, will be offered in West Sussex auctioneers Toovey’s sale.

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Thin sales indicate slump in Russian market

08 June 2015

The slump in the Russian art market was laid bare last week. The total for the latest auction series in London was a third of the equivalent sales in 2014.

Ely House to become London auction venue

05 June 2015

Auctioneers Dreweatts-Bloomsbury are to make increasing use of Ely House – Mallett’s showroom on Dover Street – as their primary London sale venue.

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Liebermann restituted from Gurlitt cache comes to auction

04 June 2015

Max Liebermann’s ‘Zwei Reiter am Strand nach links’ (Two Riders on a Beach) has become the first painting to be sold from Cornelius Gurlitt’s hoard of art.

Bonhams to embrace multi-discipline format for European antiques

03 June 2015

Bonhams are to launch a series of multi-disciplined sales for British and European decorative arts in their flagship New Bond Street rooms.

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Newly discovered Thomas Girtin watercolour of London knocked down at £125,000

02 June 2015

Found in the attic of a large Welsh house, this watercolour by Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) of St Paul’s Cathedral drew dramatic competition at Chorley’s sale in Gloucestershire.

It’s not over yet: the continuing saga of the ‘six sixes’ cricket ball

01 June 2015

A new twist has emerged in the long-running story of the ‘six sixes’ cricket ball.

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A £23,000 Benson light show in Oxford

29 May 2015

The work of designer and architect William Arthur Smith Benson (1854-1924) entered a new price arena when this silvered brass ceiling light sold for £23,000 at Mallams Oxford.

Bernheimer sale signals new direction for Munich dealership

28 May 2015

Sotheby’s will hold a sale of the Bernheimer family collection in November and Konrad Bernheimer has announced the family’s Munich art dealership will move from its traditional Old Master specialism to concentrate on Modern and Contemporary art under the direction of his daughters.

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Eighteenth century Chinese bowl shines as £340,000 highlight in Salisbury

27 May 2015

The highlight of the latest Woolley & Wallis sale of Asian art held in Salisbury was this 4in (10cm) Yongzheng (1723-35) mark and period doucai lingzhi bowl.

Tad Smith gives clues on Sotheby’s future

26 May 2015

Sotheby’s latest set of results give the first indication of how Tad Smith will direct the company.

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New record for Danish art at auction

22 May 2015

This interior scene by Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) set an artist’s record when it was knocked down at £1.7m at Sotheby’s in London.

Works on Paper Fair moves to Royal Geographical Society

22 May 2015

From 2016, the ‘Works on Paper Fair’ will move venue from the Science Museum to the nearby Royal Geographical Society, also in Exhibition Road, South Kensington.

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Elephant hopes rest on Rego

21 May 2015

This print ‘Unhappy Courtship’ by Dame Paula Rego (b.1935) is estimated at £2000-3000 at a charity sale being conducted by Roseberys.

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Ship model speeds to £135,000 record at Charles Miller auction

20 May 2015

For a huge model of what was once the world’s largest ship, a whopping price is a suitable result at auction.

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