London

It is two weeks since the first of the three major London summer fairs opened. With all three now concluded, ATG looks back on a summer season acknowledged as surprisingly successful.

A medieval chess piece produced one of the most exciting moments in Sotheby’s Treasures auction in London.

‘Lot and his Daughters’ by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) sold for £40m at Christie’s last night, setting a house record for an Old Master painting.

Jewellery specialists Symbolic & Chase have doubled the size of their premises with a move into an additional floor of their building in Mayfair.

A rare interior scene by Swiss painter Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702-1789) was the top lot at Sotheby’s Old Masters evening sale last night, selling at £3.8m.

An early 17th century self-portrait by the English court painter William Dobson (1611-46) was knocked down at £920,000 at Bonhams’ Old Masters sale today.

Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler are set to move their antiques and decorative showroom to Pimlico Road in late September.

Two key figures who left senior roles at Sotheby’s earlier this year, Henry Wyndham and Melanie Clore, are setting up their own fine art company.

More than 25,160 visitors attended the 44th annual Art & Antiques Fair, Olympia which concluded its seven day run yesterday.

The Contemporary art sales in London last week saw a reduced supply of major works affect the overall totals which came in at their lowest levels since 2013. However, the material on offer generally met with decent demand and fears of a Brexit meltdown in the market did not materialise.

The latest themed auction held by Christie’s was their ‘Defining British Art’ evening sale in London. View ATG’s selection of 10 highlights here.

Masterpiece London opened this week at the Royal Hospital Chelsea amid continuing speculation over the effects of Brexit on the art market.

This late medieval repoussé medal depicting ‘The Emperor Heraclius’s Return of the True Cross to Jerusalem’ proved the highlight of the Sir Timothy Clifford collection of Renaissance and Baroque medals sold by Morton & Eden in London.

A series of blue-chip consignments from different sectors of the market helped Christie’s ‘Defining British Art’ evening sale in London last night to a £99.5m total including premium. The auction offered paintings by major names including Joshua Reynolds, John Constable, Stanley Spencer, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon but it was a Henry Moore sculpture that led proceedings, selling at £22m.

A number of St James’s dealers have chosen to relocate their premises in the face of extensive refurbishment plans on the part of Crown Estates.

Two paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) consigned to auction by the actor Johnny Depp sold for a combined £7.6m at Christie’s evening sale of post-war and Contemporary art last night.

The seventh edition of Masterpiece London opens its preview today with 154 dealers bringing a wide selection of desirable and big-ticket items. Here is ATG’s pick of 10 works on offer around the stands.

Fears that the Brexit vote would seriously impact the art market were partially allayed last night as Sotheby’s Contemporary art sale delivered robust results.

The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair at Battersea will be joined by the London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA) in January 2017.

The Art & Antiques Fair, Olympia is the longest-running of the three major London summer fairs. Here are a few views of the fair captured during ATG's visit to the preview of the event now celebrating its 44th year.