Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
Pick of the Week: The two sides of Alberto Giacometti
16 October 2017A double-sided drawing by Alberto Giacometti of his classic elongated head and figure designs has been sold at auction in Cambridge for £130,000.
Leonardo result will be Old Master record
16 October 2017Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi will more than double the Old Master auction record when it is offered at Christie’s New York next month.
WATCH: Alberto Giacometti drawing takes £130,000 at Cambridge auction
12 October 2017A double-sided sketch by Alberto Giacometti (1901-66) has posted one of the highest prices ever for a 20th century drawing sold at a UK regional saleroom. It sold at Cheffins of Cambridge today for £130,000.
WATCH: Sheffield auctioneer sells “fantastic piece of engineering” as model train bid to £13,400
12 October 2017An extraordinarily detailed steam engine built by a modelmaker over many years has sold at auction for £13,400.
Dramatic auction result for portrait of leading 1920s Hollywood couple
11 October 2017A double portrait of the two early 20th century Hollywood stars Pola Negri and Rudolph Valentino drew an appropriately dramatic competition at Bonhams in London.
John Constable view of The Thames emerges at Oxford auction
11 October 2017Oxford saleroom Mallams will offer a John Constable (1776-1837) landscape drawing on October 18. It will be estimated at £12,000-15,000.
Christie’s to offer Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ in New York with $100m estimate
10 October 2017Christie’s will offer Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ at a New York auction next month. It will carry an estimate 'in the region of' $100m.
Auction in support of Gainsborough
09 October 2017Leading UK artists have donated works for an auction raising funds to establish a national centre for the artist Thomas Gainsborough.
Mixed night for Francis Bacon at Christie’s
06 October 2017Two works from Francis Bacon’s (1909-1992) famous ‘Popes’ series met with contrasting fates at Christie’s latest post-war and contemporary art evening auction.
David Hockney’s Grand Canyon landscape lifts Sotheby’s ‘Frieze’ week auctions
06 October 2017Sotheby’s latest evening sale of Contemporary art in London raised a total of £50.3m including premium with a landscape by David Hockney (b.1937) among the lots drawing bidders.
Bonhams adjusts buyer’s premium thresholds
05 October 2017Bonhams has changed the price thresholds for its buyer’s premium. The new rates in the UK exactly mirror Christie’s charges but are slightly different to Sotheby’s adjusted fees structure which comes into force next month.
Works by Maggi Hambling and Antony Gormley to feature in auction to help ‘transform’ Gainsborough’s House into national centre
04 October 2017An auction of contemporary and post-war British art will be held in Sudbury this month to raise funds to establish a national centre for the artist Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88).
Brush washer sets £25m auction record for Chinese ceramics at Sotheby’s
03 October 2017Sotheby’s posted a record price for any piece of Chinese ceramics sold at auction after a rare Ru guanyao brush washer drew a 20 minute bidding battle in Hong Kong.
Hollywood comes to London: white-glove auctions for Vivien Leigh and Audrey Hepburn collections
02 October 2017The personal collections of film stars Vivien Leigh and Audrey Hepburn were both ‘white glove’ events in London last week.
Anthony Caro sculptures allocated to the Tate after settling £2.7m tax bill
02 October 2017Two abstract sculptures by Sir Anthony Caro have been acquired for the nation as part of the ‘Acceptance in Lieu’ scheme. Together they have settled £2.7m of inheritance tax due from the estate of Caro’s wife, the artist Sheila Girling, who died in 2015.
Yeats sale generates controversy and bidding at Sotheby’s
02 October 2017The sale of the Yeats collection at Sotheby’s in London brought mixed results: the highest estimated lot failed to sell but strong competition emerged elsewhere.
Philip Mould and National Gallery of Ireland among buyers at Yeats collection sale at Sotheby’s
28 September 2017Dealer Philip Mould was among the bidders at Sotheby’s sale of the Yeats collection this week.
Oak coffer boosted by rare form and excellent condition at Bonhams' sale
26 September 2017The highlight of Bonhams’ latest sale of oak furniture in London was a joined coffer made in the West Country and dating from 1609.
Julian Thomson takes the helm at Anderson & Garland
25 September 2017Newcastle auction house Anderson & Garland is under new ownership after Julian Thomson and Fred Wyrley-Birch bought out the previous owner Andrew McCoull.
Tate’s acquisitions valued at £27.4m in this year’s annual report
25 September 2017More than 1000 works were acquired by the Tate in the last year according to its latest annual report. They ranged from Old Masters to Contemporary art and had a combined value of £27.4m.