Art Market

An array of affordable alternatives to the blue-chip names in Modern British art generated strong bidding at Roseberys' (25% buyer’s premium) auction.

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Harry Fidler oil.

Something of a recurring theme at auctions this year has been the increasing volume of bidders registering for sales during the pandemic.

The market for William Roberts (1895- 1980) has expanded significantly in the last two decades and the performance of two small watercolours at Bonhams suggested demand is still healthy.

London dealer takes up task of identifying artist behind views ‘of Oxford and Cambridge’.

A notable group of pictures from a local vendor gave a boost to the Autumn Art Sale held by David Duggleby (20% buyer’s premium) in Scarborough.

As time goes by, an almost imperceptible process seems to take place in the art market where certain artists who were once considered avant garde begin to feel like established names.

A number of notable Modern British pictures came to the auction block at Lyon & Turnbull (25% buyer’s premium) last month.

Back in May, Bonhams sold 22 pen and ink drawings by Cecil Beaton (1904-80).

The highest price to date at Parker Fine Art Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) came at its latest Fine Paintings sale when a rare ornithological watercolour caught the eye of a number of bidders, including from abroad.

Offered with moderate estimates, two Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) etchings from the Vollard Suite drew demand at the recent timed online sale of Modern & Contemporary art at Halls (20% buyer’s premium).

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Daniel Sherrin landscape.

James Dodds (b.1957) has been described as both ‘East Anglia’s most famous Contemporary artist after Dame Maggi Hambling’ and as ‘boatbuilding’s artist laureate’.

Not too many artists appearing at regional auctions have over two million followers on Instagram but, then again, not too many are like Mr Doodle (b.1994).

As Keith Chapman of Modern Art Auctions in Scarborough says, he rarely prints catalogues but coming up in his next auction is “such a good collection of a very underrated artist, we have made an exception”.

The latest Post-war & Contemporary results produced some encouraging signs that supply and demand are holding up well in the £1000 to £50,000 level

Strong bidding emerged at Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest Modern & Contemporary Art auction as a work by Irish artist John Shinnors (b.1950) caught the eye of no fewer than eight trade and private buyers.

The irrepressible Banksy (b.1975) led the day at Bonhams’ (27.5/25/20/13.9%) latest auction of Post-War & Contemporary Art in London.

A group of three etchings by Frank Auerbach (b.1931), all head studies of fellow artists, were among the lots receiving interest at Roseberys’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest sale of Modern and Contemporary prints.

Tennants’ (20% buyer’s premium) latest sale of Modern and Contemporary art generated some confident bidding both online and in the room, taking in limited-edition prints by famous names.