UK

The owner of large parts of Cork Street in Mayfair has launched a new strategy to attract Modern and Contemporary art galleries once the multi-million pound redevelopment is complete.

Uniforms can be a hard sell at militaria auctions. Medals for example are nice and easy to display, while guns can sit high on the wall or in a cabinet, but what do you do with a full set of battledress unless you happen to be a re-enactor or happen to live in a mansion with lots of room for mannequins?

Medals specialist David Erskine-Hill has left Dix Noonan Webb to rejoin former employer Spink.

The earliest and most detailed depiction of Henry VIII’s famed lost Palace of Nonsuch will soon be on public display after The Victoria & Albert Museum saved it for the nation.

The withdrawal of two key works dented the overall total at Christie’s evening sale of Old Masters last night. However, some spirited bidding did emerge on a number of lots which helped lift proceedings.

A preparatory sketch by John Constable was knocked down for £720,000 at Bonhams earlier today.

This stoneware vase designed by Henry Van De Velde for Reinhold Hanke was sold at Mallams in Oxford earlier today for £17,000.

Antiques dealers of Camden Passage in Islington are attempting to clear up debris and dry their shops and wares after a “tsunami” of water forced galleries to shut this week following a burst water main in the area.

In September last year Wayne Rooney hit his 48th goal for England, overtaking at last Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record. But the achievements of a much earlier England star will be celebrated on December 15 thanks to an auction in Cornwall.

Sotheby’s Old Master evening sale in London last night was somewhat short of stellar works but the auction registered a decent performance for the material on offer.

Christie’s contemporary art chief Brett Gorvy is leaving the firm to become an art advisor.

Antiques dealers of Camden Passage in Islington, north London have been forced out of their galleries by severe flooding following a burst water main in the area.

A media report of a spat between two of television’s best known art detectives – dealers Philip Mould and Bendor Grosvenor – has not been denied by the dealers when contacted by ATG.

A sixth arrest has been made by police investigating the murder of antiques dealer Robyn Mercer.

Star Wars, Action Man and plastic soldiers are just three of the toy collectable fields growing in demand as buyers get all nostalgic about their childhoods. Another biggie in this market is Lego.

London’s Mayor Gallery has filed a complaint in New York state court claiming the Agnes Martin foundation acted wrongly when rejecting works submitted for authentication.

Conservation and restoration firm Plowden & Smith has won a new contract to help the University of Edinburgh renovate Scotland’s oldest concert hall.

New dates for the LAPADA Fair this year mean that the event opens on a Thursday, rather than a Monday, for the first time.

Arts & Crafts furniture from the collection of a former boss of brewing giant Mitchell & Butler will be offered at The Cotswold Auction Company this month.

An archive of family drawings by Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) forms part of Mallams’ December 8 sale in Oxford.