Auctions

Much of Paula Rego’s (b.1935) work is concerned with narrative, as seen in this limited-edition lithograph of a girl reading a book.

At annual competition hopefuls discover how connecting with bidders will be crucial to their career success

Original paintings by Abstract artist Nicolas de Stael (1914-55) rarely appear at auction outside the main salerooms in London, Paris and New York.

Chief marketing officer Marc Sands outlines his plans for online growth at the auction house.

Several records were broken when all 442 lots in the Glynn & Suzanne Crain science-fiction collection sold in a US auction on August 13-14.

Over three days, from October 22-24, Neumeister in Munich is holding a very special sale. Katrin Stoll, the daughter of Rudolf Neumeister (1925-2017), who took over the running of the firm in 2008, and her team will be selling her father’s extensive private collection.

A fine private collection amassed in the 1960s provided the base for the inaugural Russian Coins & Historical Medals sale held by Dix Noonan Webb (24% buyer’s premium).

Artist famous for his busy panoramic scenes also profited from intimate female portraits

In 1657, the 10-year-old Dutch orphan Christiaan Reijnaert was apprenticed to clockmaker Salomon Coster in The Hague. It was a momentous time for Coster: he is credited with building the first pendulum clock, incorporating the invention by Christian Huygens.

A missing Pugin parliamentary letter box has been returned to the Palace of Westminster more than 100 years after it disappeared.

Pitched at £200-300, this Russian diptych icon shown below triggered wide pre-sale Russian and East European interest ahead of Elstob & Elstob’s 20% buyer’s premium) sale at Bedale.

For a number of years, the Colchester-born artist Harry Becker (1865-1928) followed the conventional path of a professional artist, achieving significant success and exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy. But a growing disenchantment with London led to his ultimate departure in 1913 to Suffolk.

Munich auction house Quittenbaum is holding a specialist sale of works by René Lalique on November 12. One of the eye-catchers is an 11in (27cm) high table lamp with a bronze base, engraved with peacocks, and the opalescent figure of a naked young woman holding a translucent drape in her outstretched arms.