Latest News Articles by Alex Capon

Alfred Wallis painting

Grandmother’s Alfred Wallis purchases bring reward for vendor

20 June 2025

Provenance is all important when it comes to the works of Alfred Wallis (1855-1942).

Patrick Mestdagh

CINOA issues rallying cry for the art trade to unite

19 June 2025

The new president of CINOA has issued a call for unity across the cultural sector in response to “increasingly restrictive legislation affecting the global art and antiques trade”.

The Stencil-Maker by Mortimer Menpes

Mortimer Menpes travel pictures bring demand at West London sale

18 June 2025

The artist Mortimer Menpes (1855-1938) was something of a jack of all trades. But contrary to the old adage he was a master of many.

Arthur William Devis portrait

Devis in demand: ‘Relaxed’ portrait of a civil servant bid to £140,000

16 June 2025

Over recent years, works painted in India by Arthur William Devis (1762-1822) have become a valuable proposition.

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Largest Tirzah Garwood group to emerge in one go sets a test of the market

16 June 2025

The most extensive selection of works to come on the open market provides an opportunity to assess the market for the Modern British print specialist

William Dobson self portrait

Dealer brokers sale of Dobson self-portrait to two London museums

13 June 2025

A rare self-portrait by William Dobson (1611-46) has been jointly acquired by Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery in a £2.37m private treaty sale brokered by dealer Hazlitt.

Hot Wells from St Vincent’s Rock by JMW Turner

Turner prize: Rediscovered painting bought for £400 now estimated at up to £300,000 at Sotheby’s

10 June 2025

The first oil painting ever exhibited by JMW Turner (1775-1851) in his lifetime will be offered at Sotheby’s this summer.

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High expectations means bidders thin on the ground for Saunders Old Master collection

09 June 2025

The Saunders collection seems to have been the consignment that Sotheby’s could not afford to lose.

A Native of Sierra Leone by Nathaniel Sparks

Nathaniel Sparks’ ‘masterpiece’ flies over estimate at Cambridge sale

06 June 2025

A work described ‘the masterpiece of Nathaniel Sparks (1880-1957)’ set a major record for the artist at Cheffins last month.

Gerard Dou painting

Van Beuningen’s Old Masters come to Christie’s

04 June 2025

Works from the heirs of the Dutch coal magnate and business tycoon Daniël George Van Beuningen (1877-1955) are being offered at Christie’s in London this summer.

Family in Kashmir by Mortimer Menpe

Menpes pictures with Eastern subjects emerge in West London

03 June 2025

The artist Mortimer Menpes (1855-1938) produced a varied range of work over his career but a group of 15 works offered at Olympia Auctions this month has a particular focus on his views from his wide travels.

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Jellett horses gallop away to artist top spot

02 June 2025

An important Cubist painting by Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) set a major auction record for the Irish artist at Whyte’s.

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‘Deeply moving’ Ribera work went from shed to saleroom

02 June 2025

A painting by Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera (1591- 1652) which emerged from a shed in rural Sweden drew competition at an auction in Stockholm.

Portrait of a young artist by Catherine Lusurier

Portrait of an artist: New benchmark for Catherine Lusurier at Christie’s

29 May 2025

When it came to works drawing good competition at the latest series of Old Master auction in New York at the end of May, three works in particular caught the eye at Christie’s.

Achill Horses by Mainie Jellett

Whyte’s sets second highest price for a painting by an Irish woman

28 May 2025

An important cubist painting by Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) set a major auction record for the Irish artist at Whyte’s this week.

The Flagellation of Christ by Ribera

Newly discovered Ribera painting makes top estimate in Swedish auction

27 May 2025

A painting by Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652) which emerged from a shed in rural Sweden drew competition at an auction in Stockholm.

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Indian art interest rolls out to a wider audience

26 May 2025

Latest sales suggest a wider collector base targeting history and topography

Abraham Lincoln gloves

Record for Lincoln memorabilia as bloodstained gloves take $1.2m

23 May 2025

A consignment of historic material relating to Abraham Lincoln drew extensive interest at Freeman's Hindman in Chicago on May 21. The sale included a pair of the gloves that posted an auction record for any artefact related to the US President.

Frans Hals portraits

Saunders collection raises $64.7m at Sotheby’s but misses overall target

22 May 2025

It was billed as the ‘first ever $100m collection of Old Masters to come to auction’ but the auction of the Saunders collection at Sotheby’s New York last night came in significantly below expectations.

Mary Potter still life

Demand emerges for Mary Potter still life at specialist East Anglian art sale

21 May 2025

A string of works by East Anglian artists, each with their own well-established market, drew notable attention at the latest specialist sale held by Reeman Dansie (25% buyer’s premium).