Mod Brit favourites in council sell-off
Pictures by Mod Brit artists such as Barbara Hepworth and Julian Trevelyan will go under the hammer at Cambridge auction house Cheffins on March 21 following a council’s decision to off-load artworks from storage.
The 428 pictures had been acquired over a number of years by Hertfordshire County Council. It began buying such works in 1949 as part of the School Loan Collection, a post-war initiative founded by Sir John Newsom, Hertfordshire’s chief education officer, to teach pupils across the county about art.
Many of the works, by artists also including Carel Weight, Keith Vaughan and John Minton, were purchased in the 1950s-60s. A group of 160 works will be offered initially with a further 268 lower-value paintings to follow. The entire consignment is expected to raise around £300,000.
Photo fair moves to Marylebone venue
The London Photograph Fair has a new venue at the Hellenic Centre in Marylebone.
The next staging of the event takes place on March 17. Attending dealers offer vintage photographs, albums and photobooks.
Prices range from a few pounds to many thousands and both first-time buyers and experienced collectors are welcome. Exhibitors include Allsworth Rare Books, Daniella Dangoor, Richard Meara and Ian Sumner.
The fair’s Special Edition boutique event follows, taking place from May 18-19 at King’s College London.
McCulloch joins L&T London team
Edinburgh auction house Lyon & Turnbull has hired art specialist Rohan McCulloch from Chiswick Auctions.
He joins as head of British and European art in London and will be responsible for the firm’s valuations business in England. He plans to curate a series of new Classical Art sales for L&T in the capital, the first scheduled for later this year.
Rohan McCulloch, who has joined Lyon & Turnbull.
McCulloch began his auction career at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, later moved to Sotheby’s, and also worked as an independent dealer.
The appointment brings L&T’s southern team to four, including Philip Smith, head of modern art and design in London, Kate Flitcroft, head of jewellery and silver in London, and gallery manager Jess Curnow.
Big surprise for portrait miniature
Estimated at just £150-250, a 17th century portrait miniature by Scottish artist David Paton (l.1660-1700) sold for £7500 (plus premium) at Bristol Auction Rooms on January 24.
17th century portrait miniature sold for £7500 at Bristol Auction Rooms.
The winning bid came via thesaleroom.com.
Paton, among the best draughtsmen in late-17th century Britain, worked mainly in plumbago (graphite on vellum) with this 3½ x 4½in (8.5 x 11.5cm) drawing inscribed verso Portrait of John Horsey, Leghorn 1684.
Paton is known to have been in Italy in the 1670s- 80s, accompanied by William Tollemache (1662-94), the youngest son of his primary patron. A self-portrait miniature dated 1683, is held in the Uizi Gallery, Florence.
Dealers ready for LAPADA event
Around 100 dealers will gather at the House of Lords for the latest annual LAPADA conference on February 21.
Guests will attend a digital marketing masterclass on social media. Global digital marketing expert Victor Benady will give advice to attendees.
The keynote speaker will be Julia Record, global director of communications at The Dorchester Collection, to discuss client retention and how to keep “heritage brands relevant”. Also on the agenda is business and succession planning, Brexit planning and a discussion on the anti-moneylaundering directive.
Seminar focuses on the great collectors
The Haughton International Seminar is to put the spotlight on historic collectors this summer with its third annual event, Great Collectors: Taste, Passion & Patronage.
The two-day event, organised by Brian and Anna Haughton, takes place at the British Academy in St James’s, London, from June 26-27.
It features 15 international speakers. These include Ian Wardropper, director of the Frick Collection, speaking on founder Henry Frick; Lydia Liackhova of the State Hermitage Museum on three Russian empresses of the 18th century; and Katharina Hantschmann on the Dr Ernst Schneider Collection of Meissen porcelain at Lustheim Castle.
This year’s edition of the Face to Face series features Lord Rothschild in conversation with Dame Rosalind Savill.
The seminar is £88 for both days. Tickets are available from February 25 – numbers are limited.
Most read
The most clicked-on stories for week January 24-30 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 Trading right until closing time: Adams Fairs has innovative way of discouraging early leavers
2 What lots caught bidders’ eyes in the last week? Five auction highlights including a rare 17th century candlestick
3 Oxford’s Bodleian Library buys 500-year-old bookbox from Paris dealer
4 Rare Dresser armchair made for Art Furnishers’ Alliance makes 70-times estimate at auction
5 The 25 Blythe Road auctions collective is relaunching under the brand of Olympia Auctions
In Numbers
29%
The increase in sales to $916.5m (£701.5m) in 2018 for auction house Phillips. It is the highest annual total in the irm’s history. Auction sales rose 27% to $794.3m (£608m) and private sales increased by 46% to $122.2m (£93.5m).
