Features

To seasoned observers, the market for Post-War and Contemporary art might not seem as novel as it once did. Sales in this area are now a core part of the auction calendar and the field has been regarded as having the highest potential for growth for over two decades.

Usually running during the summer high season of late June, this year’s Mayfair Art Weekend takes place during another peak of the London calendar: Frieze Week.

Christo (1935-2020) is famous for the series of monumental projects to wrap landmarks around the world undertaken with his wife and collaborator Jeanne-Claude (1935-2008).

Usually the centrepiece of the London art market in October, Frieze has had to rethink the format of its two mammoth fairs.

Twelve pieces of Post-War & Contemporary art from upcoming auctions taking place in the UK and overseas.

Interest from overseas bidders appears to be lifting the market for Banksy (b.1974) prints to a higher level.

North Yorkshire saleroom Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) has a solid track-record with the artist Joash Woodrow (1927-2006). Eight of his top 10 auction prices are held by the Leyburn saleroom (source: Artprice by Artmarket).

An auction record for Grayson Perry’s (b.1960) 'Britain is Best', a limited edition coloured embroidery depicting five loyalists from East Belfast, was set at Phillips (25% buyer’s premium) in London on September 10.

A notable of feature of the Post-War and Contemporary art market is the wide variety of mediums employed.

A work on paper by Czech artist Mikulas Medek (1926- 1971) drew strong competition at Chiswick Auctions’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest British & European Fine Art sale.

Coinex, the traditional autumn focus for the numismatic world, is cancelled this year.

The auction record for modern Guyanese artist Aubrey Williams (1926-1990) was broken three times at auctions in the south of England this summer.

At a moment when dealers are exploring new ways to trade, Cromwell Place opens for business

Perhaps the quirkiest of all of the many Omega Speedmaster models is this one with a cushion shape or ‘TV’ dial.

With so many auction houses selling jewellery throughout late July and August this year, there was scarcely a summer break. However, the volume of material offered for sale will increase markedly this month. Pictured here is a brief selection of pieces available to bid for at home and abroad.

Not just whole figures but parts such as feet and hands are sought after by collectors in the antiquities market, as evident at a vast six-day auction in Essex

This exceptionally preserved Greek terracotta seated goddess retaining much of its stylised red slip decoration emerged as one of the highlights of the summer antiquities sales in London.

Consigned from a private deceased estate, a group of decorative mosaic floor tile fragments took a multi-estimate £2200 at Clevedon Salerooms (22% buyer’s premium) in Bristol.

Unearthed in a group lot at Lindsay Burns (20% buyer’s premium) in Perth, this Roman marbled Samian ware bowl is believed to closely relate to another in the British Museum.

A dozen lots of Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts once owned by Ferdinand Mainzer (1871-1943), a German-Jewish gynaecologist turned historical author, will open Woolley & Wallis’ tribal art and antiquities auction in Salisbury on September 22.