Fine Art

Winter is putting in an early appearance at Dorotheum in Vienna in the sale of Old Master paintings on October 23 in the shape of a 20in x 2ft 2in (52 x 66cm) oak panel Allegory of Winter, painted by Flemish artist Sebastiaen Vrancx (1573-1647).

Three modestly valued works in regional sales, all sold below £900 including a view of St Peters in the Vatican by Scottish architect Basil Spence.

Gerard Sekoto (1913-93) is cementing his place as one of the most bankable names in the field of South African art.

A portrait of a young Stuart woman, below, attributed to the Hungarian painter Johannes Priwitzer (fl.1626-35), topped the picture section in a two-day sale at Cheffins (22.5% buyer’s premium) of Cambridge.

Two exhibitions in Mayfair this month offer a reappraisal of a clutch of artists who lived and worked in St Ives.

Pittsburgh entrepreneur Joseph Calihan and his wife Brenda bought their first piece of Irish art – an oil by Paul Henry – in the early 1990s.

Three modestly valued works in regional sales, all sold below £1000 including a watercolour of a North African market scene by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon.

Figurative art was the other big seller in early September, led by the waxwork of Medardo Rosso’s sculpture Bambina Ridente (see last week’s News pages) which topped a successful week of sales at Chiswick Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) when it more than doubled the top estimate at £180,000.

The relaunched British Art Fair opened with a flurry of sales at its new London venue, the Saatchi Gallery.

In the past, pictures by talented but obscure female artists were given short shrift on the secondary market. Now all that is changing.

Two contrasting marine scenes, encapsulating the unpredictable nature of the sea, were offered at a recent sale at Mitchells (20% buyer’s premium) of Cockermouth in Cumbria.

The Old Masters section of Doyle’s auction in New York on October 31 will include a portrait by the French 19th century artist Eugène Delacroix.

For most enthusiasts of Airfix’s plastic construction kits, it was the company’s dramatic box artwork that caught the eye when choosing the next model to make.

Portraiture was not the preferred genre of the Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923), but early in his career he recognised its value as a reliable source of income and persisted with it throughout his lifetime.

A standout portrait entry to Essex saleroom Sworders (23% buyer’s premium) was a 4ft 2in x 3ft 4in (1.26 x 1.01m) oil on canvas portrait attributed to Francis Cotes (1726-70).

Gracing the catalogue cover of Whyte’s Irish & International Art auction in Dublin on October 1 is this work by Séan Keating (1889-1977).