Sotheby's

Works coming fresh to the market from British aristocratic sources were once a staple of London Old Master sales.

Strong results and supply boost the market but challenges remain with bidders highly selective

A recent Design sale at Sotheby’s (26/20/13.9/plus 1% overhead buyer’s premium) in Paris had stacks of post-war material by renowned names such as the Lalannes and Charlotte Perriand but the Art Deco period also featured.

A group of drawings which helped develop the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew have been temporarily blocked from export in the hope a UK buyer can step in.

Last month Sotheby’s announced it would be using the Dutch auction format – whereby the price starts high and is reduced until a buyer is found – for some sales of digital art, sparking a flurry of online media coverage. Its new Gen Art Program will start with an auction on July 26.

The latest Old Master auctions in London posted the highest total for a series in this category in the capital since 2017.

The flagship London summer sales were the first to take place since the major auction houses all raised their buyer’s premiums in the first half of 2023.

A Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) portrait that made a record for any work sold at auction in Europe helped lift the latest series of Modern and Contemporary sales in London.

A work by Rebecca Solomon (1832-86) originally offered at Sotheby’s and later blocked from export to the US has been bought by two UK museums.

Queen singer Freddie Mercury’s art and antiques collection is coming up for sale in September.

Sotheby’s is to offer the private collection of Hélène Leloup (b.1927), one of the major pioneering dealers in African and Oceanic Art.

Sotheby’s Asian Art sale in Paris on June 15 will include some rare jades with notable provenances.

Judging by the overall totals, the latest Modern and Contemporary art auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips in New York were something of a bump back to reality after the last two sales series posted the highest grossing totals on record.