Latest News Articles by Alex Capon
De Pury ‘cut out of gentleman’s agreement’
10 July 2017A claim by former auctioneer turned art-advisor Simon de Pury that he is owed $10m for facilitating the sale of a work by Paul Gauguin was heard before the High Court in London last week.
Guardi’s view of Rialto Bridge leads Christie’s Old Masters evening auction
07 July 2017Francesco Guardi’s (1712-93) 'The Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi' led Christie’s latest evening sale of Old Masters in London. It was knocked down at £23.25m following a competition between two phone bidders.
JMW Turner’s landscape sells for ‘underwhelming’ £17m
06 July 2017In a lively evening sale of Old Masters at Sotheby’s, one of the few large-scale oil paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851) left in private hands was knocked down at £17m.
WATCH – “I’ve sold things at Olympia that I couldn’t sell at Masterpiece”
05 July 2017This year was the 45th anniversary of the summer Olympia fair or, as it is now known, ‘The Art & Antiques Fair Olympia’. ATG visited during the middle of its latest run to gauge how exhibitors were finding the event this year.
WATCH: what dealers told ATG at Masterpiece
30 June 2017The eighth edition of ‘Masterpiece London’ opened its doors this week and some of the 150 exhibitors taking stands at the fair – billed as the capital’s premier art and antiques event – shared their thoughts about the event on camera with ATG.
Asian buyer wins bidding battle for Henry Moore’s family group at Christie’s auction
27 June 2017A bronze family group by Henry Moore (1898-1986) led Christie’s evening sale of Modern British & Irish art in London last night, selling at £3.3m to an Asian collector.
Three men charged in New York over fake Damien Hirst artworks sold to a “multitude of buyers” on eBay
26 June 2017Three men have been charged in a New York court in connection with a $400,000 scam to sell fake artworks by Damien Hirst.
Wassily Kandinsky abstract painting takes record £29m at Sotheby’s
22 June 2017A painting from 1913 by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) drew an intense bidding battle at Sotheby’s latest evening sale of Impressionist and Modern art in London.
Telephone bidding battle lifts James Bateman’s view of the South Downs to £30,000
21 June 2017A dramatic bidding competition for a wartime farming scene by James Bateman (1893-1959) came at the latest sale held at Littleton Auctions in Worcestershire. Estimated at £3000-4000, ‘Ploughing the Downs’ was eventually knocked down at £30,000, a house record for the saleroom.
Hove at sunset – Algernon Newton painting bid to £80,000 at Bonhams’ auction
15 June 2017A painting of Hove by Algernon Newton (1880-1968) drew keen bidding at Bonhams’ sale of Modern British and Irish art yesterday.
10 highlights from London’s Russian art auctions
14 June 2017The Russian art auction series in London last week showed signs of some improvement in the market following a prolonged downturn since the bubble burst around a decade ago. The sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, MacDougall’s and Bonhams generated a premium-inclusive £23.2m, up from the £16.4m posted at the equivalent series last year.
William Roberts’ tea garden takes £700,000 at Sotheby’s
13 June 2017A quintessentially British scene by William Roberts (1895-1980) sparked lively bidding at Sotheby’s yesterday. ‘The Tea Garden’ from 1928 was estimated at £250,000-350,000 but was knocked down at £700,000, the second-highest price at auction for the artist.
'Little Gurie' Fabergé silver cup delivers £19,000 result
12 June 2017Among the pieces of Fabergé bringing competition at last week’s Russian art sales in London was this c.1909-13 silver vodka cup offered at Sotheby’s.
Essex sale benefits from Herculean effort
12 June 2017A major work by French academy painter Edouard Joseph Dantan (1846-97), unseen for over a century, has emerged at an auction in Colchester.
Modern British art in demand in Salisbury as Keith Vaughan’s ‘Sunbathers’ is bid to £120,000
07 June 2017Works by Keith Vaughan, John Minton, Christopher Wood and Paul Nash drew demand at a Woolley & Wallis auction featuring a prominent collection of 20th century British art.
Classical French salon painting rediscovered in Suffolk house offered at auction
07 June 2017A major work by French Academy painter Edouard Joseph Dantan (1846-97) apparently unseen in public for over a century has emerged at an auction in Colchester.
Unique picture book made by Hans Christian Andersen bid to £270,000
02 June 2017The only picture book made by Hans Christian Andersen that remains in private hands was sold at auction this week in Copenhagen.
Old Master view of Venice to appear at Sotheby’s following restitution agreement
01 June 2017A view of Venice by Michele Marieschi (1710-44) which was seized by the Nazis in 1940 will be offered at Sotheby’s this summer following an agreement over a longstanding restitution claim.
Maggs makes its new move
30 May 2017The builders were still applying the finishing touches to book dealership Maggs Bros’ new premises in London’s Bedford Square on the morning before the shop was officially opened with a party on May 23.
Sotheby's marks 100 years on Bond Street
30 May 2017Even in the days of online catalogues, internet bidding and timed sales, the importance of bricks and mortar premises for an auction house can hardly be overstated.