Latest News Articles by Anne Crane
Russian ceramic temple tribute to Catherine the Great
02 May 2017A Russian ceramic homage to Catherine the Great is among the highlights at Schloss Ahlden’s sale on May 6-7 in Ahlden, Lower Saxony. The impressive 22in (55cm) high bronze-mounted porcelain ensemble in the form of a temple dates to the 1780s or ’90s and is estimated at €48,000. It was produced by the Gardner factory in Moscow, which was founded in 1765.
Simon Spero puts the spotlight on Vauxhall and Limehouse
24 April 2017The English porcelain specialist Simon Spero opens his 37th catalogued exhibition this week in his Kensington shop.
Whistler's Weary contribution to New York sale
24 April 2017Pictured here is one of several etchings by James Abbott McNeil Whistler that will feature in Swann Galleries’ sale of prints on May 2.
Liverpool delft charger owned by Pennsylvania Quakers
24 April 2017This 8¾in (23cm) diameter Liverpool delft charger, dated 1738, is initialled MML for Michael and Mary Lightfoot, members of a Quaker family who lived in Chester County.
Nicolas De Staël 1950 work in Vienna auction
24 April 2017A small 6¼ x 11in (16 x 27 cm) oil on canvas by Nicolas De Staël (1914-55), titled Composition and dating from 1950, is one of the potential highlights of the contemporary art auction to be held by Dorotheum in Vienna on May 31 and June 1.
Sparkling mood at Wartski party
24 April 2017The London jewellery dealership Wartski hosted a champagne reception to launch a new CD recording of Façade.
Virginia auction covers Ushak Star carpet fragment
24 April 2017An Ushak Star carpet fragment measuring 5ft 2in x 6ft 1in (1.57 x 1.85m) will feature in Jeffrey S Evans’ April 29 sale of antiques, decorative arts and 20th century design in Mount Crawford.
Gold rush fever hits Australian auction
24 April 2017A mid-19th century oil painting depicting in detail a scene at the height of the Australian gold rush is a potential highlight of a Sotheby’s Australia sale next month.
Famous Radio 4 voices launch new CD recording at Wartski party
20 April 2017The London jewellery dealership Wartski was in a sparkling mood but it was not their Fabergé and other antique gems that were the main attraction on this occasion.
Seven key lots sold during Drawings Week in Paris
19 April 2017The recent Drawings Week event in Paris featured a slew of dedicated auctions across the French capital. They ranged from single-owner dedicated auctions of drawings by Edgar Degas and Antoine-Jean Gros to a huge variety of other works on paper spanning the Italian Renaissance to the 20th century.
Then & now: The changing nature of house contents sales
18 April 2017News as reported from the ATG Archive...
Paris sales double up Degas and Gros
18 April 2017Among the raft of dedicated works on paper auctions staged for the recent Drawings Week in Paris were two market-fresh sales devoted to family collections of works by a single French artist.
Degas in Christie's and Sotheby's Paris auctions
18 April 2017While Degas’ youthful drawings produced some notable individual prices in Drawings Week, it is the classic charcoal and pastel drawings of Parisian dancers and workers from his mature years that are the most commercially popular (the current work on paper record is the premium-inclusive $37m/ £23.35m/€29m paid for Danseuse au repos of 1879 at Sotheby’s New York in 2008).
A view from the Degas family on his works at auction
18 April 2017Marielle Barde, Edgar Degas’ great-niece, was one of the heirs and vendors of the Degas studio drawings and attended Christie’s Paris sale. This was the second such dispersal the family had held in these rooms of artworks from her famous great-uncle following a house move some decades ago.
Paris auction previews: Quentin de la Tour pastel and 18th century Belgian teapot
18 April 2017This pastel portrait by Maurice Quentin de la Tour is the potential star of the auction taking place at Drouot held by Kalck & Associés.
Massachusetts auction preview: American banker’s Asian art collection
18 April 2017A 600-lot sale devoted to Asian art held by Tremont auctions in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 23 will include a 4ft (1.2m) high vase made in the late 19th century.
Trees blossom in fruitful photo auctions in New York
13 April 2017The cusp of March to April is traditionally photo time in the Big Apple. It is the period when AIPAD (The Association of International Photography Art Dealers) stages The Photography Show, which is the main US fair for photography, and the point when the major New York auction houses put on the first of their biannual stateside series of photo auctions.
Napoleon’s gold ring given to young love takes €29,000 in Fontainebleau auction
12 April 2017A gold ring set that was given by the young Napoleon to a youthful love, Caroline du Colombier, sold for a double estimate €29,000 (£25,220) at a recent auction in France.
Daniel Quare barometer heats up Austrian auction
10 April 2017Daniel Quare (1648-1724) is primarily known as a clock and watchmaker. He was, however, also an accomplished maker of portable barometers, one of which came up for sale at Dorotheum (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) in Vienna on March 29.
Extensive collection of Picasso ceramics appears at Sotheby's auction
06 April 2017Eighty-six lots of ceramics by Pablo Picasso come up for sale on April 10 in Sotheby’s annual dedicated auction in London.