Art Market

An art adviser, Graham Reid, examines a painting (Les Deux Soeurs) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir before its auction at Sotheby’s in London in 1963.

‘The role of the art adviser is undergoing radical revision’

The line between dealing and advising on purchases of art is growing increasingly blurred – so can we still expect advisers to act solely on their clients’ behalf?

29 Jul 2019
Our House (House in Davos-Wiesen), (c. 1920), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Galerie Henze & Ketterer

The best of Masterpiece 2019

A Romano-British mosaic, a rococo coffee pot, and Robert Rauschenberg are among the highlights of this year’s fair

24 Jun 2019
The court casket from Newbattle Abbey (1565), Master of Perspective, Nuremberg (£750,000).

It’s the last chance to save this rare Renaissance casket for the nation

Modelled on the form of an Italianate palazzo, and adorned with trompe l’oeil polygons, this object is one of the earliest of its kind

19 Jun 2019
Conjunction of Opposites: Woman of War and Lady of the Wild Things (1983–86), Liliane Lijn. Rodeo (price on application).

Highlights from the 50th edition of Art Basel

Galleries from around the world are bringing some of their biggest-name artists to the fair this month

6 Jun 2019
Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Playing the currency markets – with art

Fluctuating exchange rates have made for tidy profits in recent years for those who know their way around the art market

3 Jun 2019
From Graffiti de la série VIII, La magie (series 1935–50; prints, c. 1956 and 1960), courtesy Waddington Custot

How Parisian graffiti made its mark on modern art

Brassaï’s eerie photographs of the city’s walls inspired painters including Jean Dubuffet, Antoni Tapiès and Cy Twombly

20 May 2019
Untitled (1950–55), Seydou Keïta.

Frieze, 1–54, and more – what’s in store in New York this month

A large slice of the Big Apple is given over to the two contemporary art fairs this May

1 May 2019
Comptoir amoncellement (Laden Counter) (1968), Jean Dubuffet. Pace Gallery (price on application) Photo: Tom Barrett; © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Galleries and collectors flock to TEFAF New York Spring 2019

The fair at the Park Avenue Armory focuses on modern and contemporary art and design

30 Apr 2019
Detail showing three man at the Seder table, with wine glasses and mazzot, from the Lombard Haggadah (c. 1390–1400), circle of Giovannino de Grassi (Master of the Paris Tacuinum?), Milan

A chance to see a rare Hebrew manuscript made in medieval Milan

The Lombard Haggadah is a precious relic and the earliest known Italian guide to the Passover Seder

10 Apr 2019
Fruit Harvest (September) (1670), Herman Saftleven. Onno van Seggelen (€55,000)

What not to miss at this year’s Salon du Dessin

A bucolic Dutch scene and a paper cut-out poppy are among the highlights of the fair in Paris

26 Mar 2019
The Shield of Achilles (1823), designed and modelled by John Flaxman.

The best of TEFAF Maastricht 2019 – part three

Renaissance saints, Louis XVI vases and a silver gilt shield – the final instalment of what not to miss in Maastricht this year

14 Mar 2019
Merli Futuristi (Futuristic Blackbirds) (detail; c.1924), Giacomo Balla

The best of TEFAF Maastricht 2019 – part two

Italian Futurism, handmade furniture and a fertility figurine – more works not to miss in Maastricht this year

13 Mar 2019
(c. 1942–45), Kakunen Tsuruoka. Scholten Fine Art (price on application)

What not to miss at Asia Week New York 2019

From ancient Buddhist sculpture to mid 20th-century painting, the city is full of exceptional Asian art

13 Mar 2019
At the Lakeside, Moonlight, Grimshaw

The best of TEFAF Maastricht 2019 – part one

Buddhist art, Belgian Symbolism and an exotic goblet – some of the works not to miss in Maastricht this year

12 Mar 2019
Judith and Holofernes, (c. 1607), attributed to Caravaggio, photo: © Cabinet Turquin

‘It is for art historians to decide who painted this picture’

This Judith and Holofernes may or may not be by Caravaggio – but the strategy for its sale is refreshingly straightforward

8 Mar 2019
Finch College Project, Robert Morris

What’s in store at the Armory Show 2019

A tribute to Robert Morris stands out among the displays of modern and contemporary art at this year’s fair

5 Mar 2019
Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Have printed auction catalogues had their day?

As auction houses and galleries branch out into magazines, videos and other media, is the traditional catalogue becoming obsolete?

20 Feb 2019
The Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881 (1881–83), William Powell Frith.

This who’s who of the Victorian elite is a genuine market rarity

William Powell Frith’s panoramic view of the Summer Exhibition is up for sale – for the first time since its debut at the RA in 1883

8 Feb 2019
The Little Girl in Blue (detail; 1934), Amrita Sher-Gil. Sotheby’s Mumbai, INR18.7 crore

The market is hot for modern Indian art

Work by post-Independence artists is increasingly hard to find, with prices surging – in India and abroad

31 Jan 2019
Saint Andrew (Portrait of Abraham Grapheus), Jordaens

The best of BRAFA 2019

The fair in Brussels returns with a wide-ranging edition offering tribal art, modern Belgian painting and more

23 Jan 2019
Le serpent, Graham Sutherland

What not to miss at London Art Fair 2019

This year’s edition of the fair presents modern British works inspired by the Sussex countryside alongside global contemporary art

16 Jan 2019
Sports d’Hiver (1933), Erté. Stephen Ongpin Fine Art (£18,000)

Highlights from London Art Week’s winter edition

The exhibitions and events not to miss in Mayfair and St James’s this year

4 Dec 2018
Double portrait of George Villiers, Marquess and later 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592–1628) and his wife, Katherine Manners (1603–1649), as Venus and Adonis (detail; 1620–21), Anthony van Dyck. Estimate £2.5m–£3.5m

A rare chance to see Van Dyck’s racy portrait of a radical courtier

The marital portrait of George Villiers and Katherine Manners has no parallel in English or Flemish painting

3 Dec 2018
Wood and Rock (11th century), Su Shi.

The 11th-century Chinese scroll set to break auction records

A vast price is expected for this rare work by the Song-dynasty polymath Su Shi – billed as China’s Leonardo

16 Nov 2018