Coronavirus

After three lockdowns but also a successful auction launch last August in between closures, Graham Hessell will be throwing open the doors once again to his Melford Antiques, Interiors & Lifestyle Centre on April 12.

“Due to our digital presence with our website, social media and the live virtual shopping tours I have been conducting all over the world my skeleton team of 10 staff have been kept extremely busy.”

Fair organisers are now planning for the spring and summer as the roadmap to ease coronavirus restrictions in England allows outdoor events to be held from April.

Roadmap means reopening time is getting closer at last but some hurdles remain.

Plans for shop reopenings, new fair dates and rescheduled auctions are under way as the art and antiques sector welcomed the news of the government ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown in England.

MADAM – I am intrigued by the ongoing debate surrounding Christie’s interpretation of the current Covid-19 restrictions in relation to the viewing of auction lots – in particular the Apter- Fredericks sale of January 26 (front page, ATG No 2481).

Christie’s has explained its policy of holding trade-only viewings of its sales, saying they comprise ‘business meetings’ rather than public viewings.

It’s fingers crossed again as new provisional fair and market dates are chalked in

The heads of three associations say dealers need to rise to the challenges during the toughest trading period for decades

Click-and-collect services from non-essential retail will now no longer be allowed in Scotland.

All fairs and markets and physical art and antiques exhibitions and events are cancelled across England under the new coronavirus lockdown restrictions.