News

Christie’s has raised its buyer’s premium, increasing the level at which its 25% threshold applies and adding an extra percentage point to its charges above £3m. The new schedule takes effect from February 1.

A life-sized portrait by Elisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) set a record for any female Old Master when it was knocked down at $6.1m (£4.67m) at Sotheby’s New York last night.

The Haughton International Seminar is to put the spotlight on historic collectors this summer with its third annual event ‘Great Collectors: Taste, Passion & Patronage’.

A large haul of vintage costume jewellery has been stolen from a car in Birmingham and its owner is appealing to the trade to help recover the items.

A sketch by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) that formerly belonged to the Dutch King William II and his wife Anna Pavlovna has set an auction record for a drawing by the artist at Sotheby’s New York.

Julian Trevelyan’s last painting, depicting Strawberry Hill against a pink sky, sold in the first hours of Connect Art Fair’s inaugural staging yesterday.

Big international art fairs are inevitably a showcase for the exhibitors’ showstoppers. At one level, these key pieces highlight the galleries’ specialities and rare finds that they have been saving up for the occasion.