International

About 80% of the global art market by value takes place outside the UK. The largest art market in the world is the US with China in third place (after the UK) followed by France, Germany and Switzerland.

Many more nations have a rich art and antiques heritage with active auction, dealer, fair, gallery and museum sectors even if their market size by value is smaller.

Read the top stories and latest art and antiques news from all these countries.

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'Prismatic Cubism' painting by Romanian artist to be offered in Germany

17 April 2026

The Romanian artist Arthur Segal spent much of his career in Germany among the avant garde.

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Strong contest for Arita vase Augustus admired

17 April 2026

Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was known as a monumental collector.

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Manhattan’s Schoelkopf Gallery focus on collector Robert A Ellison

17 April 2026

Collector Robert A Ellison was obsessively acquisitive.

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German industrialist's collection of bronzes shine at auction

17 April 2026

Thuringian auction house enjoys more success with collection of local industrialist

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Arms of Prussia Chinese export tureen emerges at Lempertz sale

17 April 2026

Founded in 1751 at the behest of the Prussian king Frederick the Great, ‘The Royal Prussian Asiatic Company in Emden to Canton and China’ aimed to profit from the trade between Europe and China.

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Criticism of father of Art Nouveau taken with pinch of salt

17 April 2026

The Flemish designer Henry van de Velde excelled in many fields, working as a painter and architect, before he devoted himself to creating a multitude of designs, from cutlery to furniture, from wallpaper to porcelain.

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Threshing out a deal for the rarest tin play toys

17 April 2026

Collectors with a keen eye for rarities saw to it that unusual pieces of Märklin offered by Antico Mondo (21.5% buyer’s premium) in Bornheim went for multiples of their estimates.

Tête de femme by Pablo Picasso

Paris art enthusiast wins €1m Pablo Picasso portrait in charity raffle

16 April 2026

A gouache on paper by Pablo Picasso, Tête de Femme from 1941, was won in a charity raffle this week.

French sciatère designed by Jean Sarrazin

New French museum buys 17th century scientific instruments at auction

15 April 2026

A new museum currently under construction just outside Paris has made two purchases at Hôtel Drouot this month.

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Hemingway’s fishing flag of triumph reels in $170,000

10 April 2026

The legend of author Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is forever linked with sport fishing.

Pocket watch

Second watch said to have been found on body of Titanic victim John Jacob Astor emerges at auction

10 April 2026

Two years after a Wiltshire auction house set a record for Titanic memorabilia with “the watch recovered from the body of John Jacob Astor”, another timekeeper making precisely the same claim is coming to market.

Mickey and Minnie motorcycle

Pick of the week: Mickey and Minnie get on their bike to a German auction

10 April 2026

The Mickey and Minnie Mouse motorcycle made by Tippco, c.1932, is the most desirable of all the German tinplate clockwork toys from the immediate pre-war period.

Miss Vernon

Rediscovered portraits by Romney and Raeburn emerge at auctions this spring

10 April 2026

Mark the diary for the appearance of two notable British portraits at auction in Paris and in Cambridge.

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Corkscrews and much more in a town surrounded by vineyards

10 April 2026

An interview with antiques dealer Jeremy Astfalck of The Old Corkscrew, Franschhoek

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Cape Town connects the world

10 April 2026

Single-owner collection reflects both the port’s position linking trade routes and the artisans it attracted

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Market that relies on a stand-out selection of South African Modernists such as sought-after Stern

10 April 2026

The South African auction scene is heavily dependent on the work of the handful of painters who played a key role in shaping the nation’s art in the first half of the 20th century.

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The trick is to keep it original when it comes to magical content

10 April 2026

Magic books library reflects obsession of collector who prized exceptionally clean examples

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Ehret record price grows as magnolia blossoms in the US

10 April 2026

An original Georg Dionysius Ehret illustration of a magnolia blossom hammered for $330,000 (£242,000) at Arader Galleries (20% buyer’s premium) on February 7 in New York.

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Gallery visit showcased in art sells at auction house after international bidding contest

10 April 2026

Nine potential buyers from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and the US engaged in a bidding battle for a 17th century Dutch genre painting in Lille.

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Battle of the bookcase Old Master

10 April 2026

Bidding competition breaks out in south London for Mannerist work discovered in a west London house

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