London

The London auction calendar in early December offered a busy schedule of antiquities, sculpture and works of art sales running side-by-side with the Old Master series. Overall the sales were relatively well-received with improved selling rates on previous years. Here we select five highlights from the series.

A self-portrait of British artist John Sergeant (1937-2010) was one of the highlight sales at London Art Week where it was bought as a donation to the British Museum.

More than 300 works from the The Fine Art Society, which left its New Bond Street home of 142 years in August, go under the hammer at Sotheby’s next year.

Auction house Sotheby’s teamed up with fashion designer Victoria Beckham on an Old Master art exhibition for the second time this year.

The highlight of the latest series of Old Master auctions in London was not a painting this time round but a rare work on paper by an enigmatic draughtsman.

A key measure of business success, marketers will tell you, is the returning customer. There were plenty of those – stall holders, buyers and stall-holding buyers – packing the Alexandra Palace on Sunday, December 1.

The auction house handling the much-contested sale of Boris Becker’s personal collection has said the event will now take place next year. It follows the bankrupt former tennis champion dropping his claim to diplomatic immunity.

Tapestry and textiles specialist Franses won a landmark Supreme Court case against its landlord the Cavendish Hotel, allowing it to continue to operate from the London gallery that has been its home for more than 25 years.

Our latest look at moves across auction houses, dealerships and art and antique organisations.

Bonhams is closing its Michelin-starred New Bond Street restaurant to focus on its “core business of auctioneering”.

London Art Week celebrates 5000 years of art history around the galleries of Mayfair and St James’s.