UK

George Sandeman works at The Armoury of St James’s, which specialises in works of art with a naval or military flavour. The three-floor shop is in London’s Piccadilly Arcade.

Born in Paris, now based in Falmouth, Michel François trained as a sculptor but switched to ceramics, becoming artist in residence at the Bernard Leach Studio.

Fair organising runs in the family for Gary Sheridan and his daughter Emma.

Two leading regional auction houses – Lyon & Turnbull and Dreweatts – are trying new format sales this autumn in the hope of increasing demand for traditional European art and antiques. Both are creating room sets for viewing works.

British studio pottery, once the preserve of a small number of devotees, currently ranks among the strongest subsets of the art and antiques market. In the first element of a two-part feature, ATG considers the London market.

Three modestly valued works in regional sales, all sold below £900 including a view of St Peters in the Vatican by Scottish architect Basil Spence.

They won’t show it on the rostrum and probably not with clients but auction house professionals do have a likeness for particular artists.

Gerard Sekoto (1913-93) is cementing his place as one of the most bankable names in the field of South African art.

A portrait of a young Stuart woman, below, attributed to the Hungarian painter Johannes Priwitzer (fl.1626-35), topped the picture section in a two-day sale at Cheffins (22.5% buyer’s premium) of Cambridge.

An American library on the history of computing formed by the late Erwin Tomash provided the new season’s first major sale.