Fine Art

London Art Week, the festival of art and antiques that runs from November 29-December 7, showcases 5000 years of art in galleries across Mayfair and St James’s. For this edition, many dealers are focusing on stories to bring their stock to life and immerse visitors in its history.

Woolley & Wallis celebrated its 10th £1m-plus lot last week, selling a portrait by Chinese contemporary artist Yang Fei Yun (b.1954) for £1.7m (plus premium). The sitter – the artist’s wife pictured in the early days of their marriage – was in Salisbury to watch the sale.

An exhibition at Messum’s this month celebrates the ‘glorious and most extraordinary partnership’ of the artists Lionel Bulmer (1919-92) and Margaret Green (1925-2003).

The year 1907 was a decisive one in the artistic development of Lyonel Feininger (1871- 1956). In the previous year he had left his wife and family and moved with his new partner Julia Berg to Paris, where their son Andreas was born.

Spotlight on art offered at Bishton Hall on-site auction underlines appeal of a grand home.

Prints by Modern British artists are often touted as an affordable way-in for collectors on a budget, but it seems this is not always the case for northern powerhouse LS Lowry (1887-1976).

It has been a bullish year for Welsh art and antiques, according to auction house Rogers Jones (24% buyer’s premium), which broke the £1m barrier for the first time this year across three dedicated sales.

Alongside living with bushmen in Africa, visiting 33 native tribes in Brazil and riding the length of the Great Wall of China, the Cornish-based explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison (b.1936) also found time to pursue another passion – one much closer to home.

Edwin Harris (1855-1906) is one name that did not feature in the Robin Hanbury-Tenison collection of Newlyn School art at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (see main story in this section).

Work by the community of mid-20th century painters in Essex known as the Great Bardfield Artists fetches strong sums on the secondary market.

Three modestly valued works in regional sales.

A marine scene by Alfred Priest (1810-50) is among the highlights at English and Continental Antiques’ final exhibition of the year.

John Stanley runs Blackbrook Gallery with his wife Pat. They will stand at Art & Antiques for Everyone in Birmingham from November 15-18.

A London scene by an important Modern British painter will be offered at Deutscher and Hackett in Sydney on November 28.