2018

The first part of Christie’s much-anticipated sale of the David and Peggy Rockefeller collection smashed the record for a single-owner auction in New York last night, setting records for Monet, Matisse and Delacroix in the process.

The Duke of Cambridge, aka Prince William, has been in the news recently for obvious reasons but it is the last holder of the title before him who will be in the spotlight at London auction house Sotheby’s this summer.

A Japanese art and antiques event focusing on the history of the samurai launches in Utrecht this summer.

Collectors can be a hard bunch to predict. When an extensive group comes to auction – one of the best of its type – the buyers’ response may be strong across the board, or it can be seen as a sudden glut on the market and only the top items get picked off.

More details and a launch date have emerged for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new Photography Centre.

A new guide to antiques venues in the Peak District, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire has launched.

What makes a great dog painting in the eyes of a 21st century collector? A picture specialist addressed the question with ATG this week. Also, read the reaction to the new leader of a major trade body, artefacts were returned to their home countries and an auctioneer held a major country house sale.

An early painting by British artist Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-97) is at risk of being exported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match its £7.46m asking price.

Auction house Sotheby’s has reported a 70% jump in private sales in the first three months of 2018 to $247m (£182m).

Nearly 90% of art and antiques dealers want easier ways to borrow money to fund purchases and nearly a third believe the lack of available lending hampers growth, according to a recent report.

A database of Egyptian and Nubian antiquities has been launched by the British Museum after it was awarded a government grant of nearly £1m.

Five pieces of royal wedding cake are set to go under the hammer in Las Vegas this summer.

Nearly 4000 artefacts smuggled into the US for shipment to the arts-and-crafts retailer Hobby Lobby were returned to Iraq this week.

Imperial Health Charity was awarded £8000 to add to its collection at the London Original Print Fair last night.

A look at the latest moves in the trade.

A card signed ‘I am Jack the Ripper’ that had been in police files until the case into the Victorian killer was eventually closed sold for £22,000 at Grand Auctions of Folkestone, Kent earlier this week.

A Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003) bronze from a local collection is among the lots expected to lead Gloucestershire auction.

Among the rich history of the British military is the story of regimental silver. As regiments are disbanded or amalgamated much of this history has been in danger of fading away, but these magnificent examples of silver help to keep memories alive.

A painting thought to be a copy of a Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) portrait when it was deaccessioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art will now be offered at Christie’s in London with a full attribution. It will carry an estimate of £3m-5m.

Sotheby’s is involved in a court case surrounding the dating of a bronze sold at auction two years ago.