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THE received wisdom of the art market tells us that heavily restored paintings attract little demand from the trade at auction. But sometimes a subject is just too commercial for dealers to pass by, such as this Arthur Wardle (1864-1947) canvas, right, of four terrier puppies, Mischief in Quadruplet, which came up for sale at the Nottingham rooms of Mellors & Kirk (15% buyer’s premium) back on April 23.

WOW! The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is really different this year. Well, the colour scheme is, anyway.

AN 18-strong offering of Chinese jades at Woolley & Wallis' (17.5% buyer's premium) May 25-26 sale, including this pale green, reticulated vase and cover, right, had emerged from an old South-of-England collection consigned via a fine art agent in Chichester.

Pictured right is the highlight of what turned out to be London’s Asia Week’s most successful auction.

IN these time-strapped days of TV dinners and takeaways, grand dining is something of a rarity.

GAZETTE journalist Scott Reyburn will find himself the subject of scrutiny rather than being the scrutineer for a change thanks to his contribution to So This Is London, an exhibition that forms part of Art Fortnight London.

BIDDING was noticeably selective at Adam's (15/12.5% buyer's premium) May 19 outing, with an unusually high unsold rate by lot and relatively little to tempt buyers in the pictures, silver and ceramics sections. Furniture, and particularly Irish furniture, was a different matter, with wealthy Irish private buyers battling with both the home and London trade for a handful of high-quality pieces, coming fresh to market from different local sources.