Art and antiques news from 2008

This year's annual Royal College Art graduate summer exhibition, entitled Show RCA, includes the work of over 400 contemporary art and design students, most of which will be for sale or available for commission.

THIS year’s Dealers vs Auctioneers chairty football match will take place on August 29 at the Bank of England Sports Club, Roehampton.

BRITISH pottery dealer Jonathan Horne has been appointed Master of the Guild of Arts Scholars, Dealers and Collectors.

This walnut table by the English architect-designer Edward William Godwin (1833-86), was spotted by Jeremy Lamond from Shrewsbury-based Halls during a routine valuation visit to a house in the Welshpool area.

Christie’s are to adjust their buyer’s premium thresholds, with effect from June 2, in line with changes announced by Sotheby’s last week.

Bermondsey Antiques Market is about to move back outside after four years, during which time Bermondsey Square has been redeveloped.

A NEW internet innovation for the art market has been launched with the aim of making it easier to assess shipping costs and cutting delays in having works dispatched.

THE battle over Antiquorum, the world’s leading clock and watch auction house, has stepped up a gear, with significant moves from both sides.

At their annual conference in Warwickshire on May 16 the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneeers (NAVA) announced the launch of a new foundation degree in valuation and auctioneering which has just been validated by the University of Wolverhampton.

A banking firm with offices in Moscow, New York City, and Vienna, has announced the formation of an art investment hedge fund with a difference.

This remarkable late 19th century English longcase clock offered for sale in Pennsylvania last month showed late Victorian design at its most confident.

Tennants are hosting a study day titled The Marquetry Furniture of Thomas Chippendale.

Stockspring Antiques will host a loan exhibition entitled The Early James Giles and his Contemporary London Decorators from June 5 to 17 at 114 Kensington Church Street, London.

A BROAD range of antiques will be available at the University of Sydney Antique Fair on June 8 and 9.

Treasures of the English Church, an exhibition of more than 300 pieces of sacred silver and gold goes on show at the Goldsmiths' Hall in London from May 30 until July 12.

A RADICAL shake-up in the overall organisation, marketing and direction of Palm Beach | America's International Fine Art & Antiques Fair is underway. It will guarantee the future security of the event as a premier American fixture for the next five years and bring in a number of top dealers as part of the organisation.

CONTEMPORARY art may still be heading skywards, but the imminent buyer’s premium rate increases – and Sotheby’s latest set of results – show that pressure at the margins is as intense as ever.

As of June 1, Sotheby’s auctions in New York and London will be subject to new buyer’s premium thresholds that will hit further buyers of ‘middle range’ art and antiques.

THE gargantuan sums of money being spent at the top end of the contemporary art market continued unabated as the latest sales series in New York saw a staggering overall premium-inclusive total of $990m.

THE next LAPADA London fair could well be in a marquee in Berkeley Square following the Royal Academy’s sale of 6 Burlington Gardens meaning it will no longer be the location of the dealers’ association’s London fair.