Organisations

The Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers have announced a new subscription structure in the hope of broadening their membership to include smaller firms of valuers.

EBAY, the great survivors of the dot-com boom and bust, have again posted a record set of results to complete a remarkable year in which the company reaped revenues of over $2bn. There were 41 million people who have bid, bought or listed on eBay over the past 12 months.

FAR from mourning the demise of the January LAPADA fair, which ran for 13 years at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, the trade seem to have embraced its successor, The National Fine Art and Antiques Fair, which will be launched at this favoured venue from January 28 to February 1.

Measures would not restrict art trade: BRITAIN may soon enjoy one of the most enlightened schemes for keeping key works of art in the country, thanks to the Goodison Review, which has just been published.

The Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers have re-elected Surrey auctioneer Chris Ewbank as chairman and welcomed to new members to the management committee.

WELSH period furniture dealer Ian Anderson of F.E. Anderson & Son has joined LAPADA’s board of directors. Mr Anderson’s business was started by his great-grandfather in 1842 and he still works from the original four-storey premises in the High Street of Welshpool, Powys. “We were one of the original members when LAPADA was set up,” said the new director, who joined the family firm upon leaving school in 1966.

A National Art Collections Fund grant of £37,500 has helped Ely’s Stained Glass Museum acquire an important early 13th century French stained glass panel of the bust of a king.

Ebay are warning their users to be vigilant after users of PayPal fell victim to a hi-tech scam in November and December. Many received a replicating virus that, camouflaged as an email from the online payment provider, tried to trick the recipient into sending sensitive information.

NAVA, the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers, welcomed 70 members to their weekend conference and annual general meeting in Edinburgh, that started on November 20. Highlights included a paper presented by auctioneer Martin Spencer-Thomas entitled: A Revolutionary Concept with Potential or Complete Lunacy?

JOHN Newgas has announced his decision to step down as chief executive of LAPADA, the Association of Art and Antiques Dealers, at the end of December.

IN the week of their centenary conference to discuss the future of saving art for the nation, the National Art Collections Fund announced another success. They have awarded a grant of £108,000 to help the British Museum acquire the Guilford Puteal: Corinth’s Monument to Actium (c.25-10 BC).

SOUTHAMPTON Institute is looking forward to a brighter future after the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers confirmed approval of the BA (FAV) degree course and launched student membership.

LAPADA have set up an email alert system to warn members about fraudsters after an indepth investigation by the association led to a serial offender being caught and jailed. John Alderson of Seattle was convicted in the USA and has just been sentenced to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay restitution of $146,000 to victims.

THIS week sees a two-day international conference at The Savoy in London to mark the centenary of the National Art Collections Fund. Saving Art for the Nation, A Valid Approach to 21st-Century Collecting? runs on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 11 and 12, and will focus on whether it matters if works of art that were once the pride of British private collections go overseas and how they should be rescued for the nation if we believe it is important to keep them here.

A thief who stole garden antiques worth over £34,000 in highly planned operations has been jailed for 15 months after being caught as a result of a Antiques Trade Gazette advertisement.

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DOT-COM giant eBay have registered another set of record results, this time for the third quarter of 2003. With predicted turnover of $515m, the company actually registered revenues of $530.9m for the quarter, an 84 per cent rise on the same period last year.

LAPADA chief executive John Newgas has set out to reassure his association’s members that their interests are being looked after following criticism over the way recent developments have been handled.

THE RICS have issued detailed advice on gun safety in the saleroom. The advice follows the recent case where an auctioneer was fined after a professional musician lost part of his finger when a starting pistol was discharged in the saleroom.