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Former owner of Sotheby’s A. Alfred Taubman – and central figure in the auction price-fixing scandal – has died aged 91.

Sotheby’s have appointed Tad Smith, aged 49, as president and chief executive officer, effective March 31, 2015.

COMMENT: As the saying goes, turnover is vanity, profit is sanity. Hold that thought as you consider the announcement that Bill Ruprecht is to stand down as CEO of Sotheby’s after nearly 15 years.

BILL Ruprecht is to stand down as chief executive, chairman and president of Sotheby’s as soon as they find a replacement.

Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani, once considered the world’s biggest art collector, died at his London home on November 9 aged 48.

Simon de Pury took to the podium at the top of London landmark the Gherkin to launch Falcon Fine Art on October 13.

Auctioneer Richard Madley believes he may have set a record for the longest time ever taken to sell a single lot.

Fair organisers David and Lee Ann Lester of IFAE of Miami, Florida, and Harry Vander Hoorn, second-generation owner of the Dutch stand builders StabiloWorld and partner in Masterpiece London, have formed a new company, Next Level Global Fairs, LLC.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey is to headline the first Art Business Conference, a new event scheduled for September 4 in London that will tackle key issues for trade professionals.

Public collections in need of information about their oil paintings can be connected with specialists and members of the public with relevant knowledge thanks to a scheme called Art Detective.

Christie's former chief executive Edward Dolman is to become chairman and chief executive officer of Phillips this summer.

Six years ago, Ingrid Nilson of The Antiques Dealers Fair Limited held her first ‘Luxury Antiques Weekend’ in Northumberland, at Linden Hall Hotel Golf & Country Club near Morpeth.

Sotheby’s board have acted to fend off criticism from shareholders led by hedge fund billionaire Daniel Loeb by saying they will issue a $300m special dividend in March.

Statute of limitations laws may prevent previous owners successfully reclaiming art acquired during the Nazi purge of the late 1930s that was hoarded in a Munich flat.

Details are slowly emerging regarding the discovery in Munich some two years ago of an extraordinary cache of art with a Nazi era provenance.

Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point hedge fund has acquired almost 10% of Sotheby’s stock, has called for the auction house’s chief executive and chairman, Bill Ruprecht, to step down.

The Pinault family, owners of Christie’s and the luxury goods group PPR, are to hand back to China the two Qianlong bronzes that caused great upset when offered for sale in Paris four years ago.

Eric Knowles has joined the team at Dreweatts and Bloomsbury Auctions as a consultant.

Simon de Pury, the high-profile international auctioneer, has sold his remaining stake in Phillips de Pury & Company to The Mercury Group and stepped down as chairman.

The Florida organisers International Fine Art Expositions (IFAE) have teamed up with the French dealer association Syndicat National des Antiquaires (SNA), organisers of the Paris Biennale, to launch a Miami fair in 2014.