Events and conferences

Asian Art in London 2008 has been extended by four days.

With Bernard Cotton's scholarly new book on Scottish Vernacular Furniture coming out soon, where better to promote the event than North of the Border?

The largest ever retrospective exhibition of the work of popular Modern British painter Edward Seago (1910-1974) will be held from September 8-19 at the Bond Street dealers Colnaghi, who represented the artist in his heyday.

Every year English Heritage's open days offer free access to thousands of properties that are usually closed to the public. This year’s opportunity runs from September 11 to 14, and from a list of 3500 places there are two of particular interest to students of Arts & Crafts, one in Devon, the other in Surrey.

A MAJOR loan exhibition of early works by Lucian Freud (b.1922) will run from October 9 to December 12 at the St James’s gallery of Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert, 38 Bury Street, London SW1.

Maurice Collins and the British Library are to hold a display of Weird and Wonderful Inventions and Gadgets, eccentric and ingenious contraptions produced between 1851 and 1951.

GALERIE Kugel in Paris are to hold an exhibition of the Prince of Liechtenstein’s collection of bronzes from September 10 to November 7.

LORD Ashcroft’s Victoria Cross collection – the largest in the world – is to go on public display following his £5m donation to the Imperial War Museum. The news comes as the museum has also received a donation from the Art Fund to purchase an important watercolur by Keith Vaughan (1912-1977) at auction.

THIS year’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors conference will be a two-day event running on Thursday and Friday, October 16 and 17, in south west London.

Swiss auctioneers Koller, who are celebrating 50 years of auctioneering with Jubiliee sales this September, are holding a two-day exhibition of highlights this week on July 9 and 10.

APPRENTICE Andy Cunningham will be among those displaying their skills at the Open Weekend being held at the Edward Barnsley Workshop near Petersfield from June 21-22.

Hedge funds operating in the art market are shifting their investments from the medium to the short term. That is the view of Randall Willette, managing director of Fine Art Wealth Management Ltd, who was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Art Investment Conference at the London Business School.

THIS week sees a three-day celebration of the art of the lathe organised by the Worshipful Company of Turners.

This year's annual Royal College Art graduate summer exhibition, entitled Show RCA, includes the work of over 400 contemporary art and design students, most of which will be for sale or available for commission.

At their annual conference in Warwickshire on May 16 the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneeers (NAVA) announced the launch of a new foundation degree in valuation and auctioneering which has just been validated by the University of Wolverhampton.

Stockspring Antiques will host a loan exhibition entitled The Early James Giles and his Contemporary London Decorators from June 5 to 17 at 114 Kensington Church Street, London.

Treasures of the English Church, an exhibition of more than 300 pieces of sacred silver and gold goes on show at the Goldsmiths' Hall in London from May 30 until July 12.

THE London Business School hosts the Second 2nd annual Art Investment Conference, The Science & Passion of Art Investing on Friday May 30.

Dreweatts have secured a preview for their forthcoming Urban Art sale at Selfridges.

Partridge Fine Art are to roll out a summer programme of exhibitions and other events at their Bond Street gallery, playing host to major names in the art and antiques trade in the process.