London’s major modern and contemporary sales
Auction highlights in October include a dramatic Jenny Saville painting, a late Philip Guston work, and rich Islamic textiles
Urs Fischer’s bonfire of the vanities in Florence
Two wax sculptures of art impresarios were ceremonially lit today in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria
Florence’s art and antiques fair is on fine form
The Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Firenze has upped its game under Fabrizio Moretti’s leadership
Small auction houses move in on Christie’s old turf
When Christie’s announced the closure of its South Kensington saleroom, it was inevitable that rival auction houses would start circling
Celebrity collections kick off the autumn auctions
The personal collections of Edward Albee, Vivien Leigh and Mario Testino come to the block this month
A preview of Parcours des Mondes
This year’s event explores links between traditional African art and contemporary art practice, while galleries around Paris present their best items
Sir David Tang (1954–2017)
Tang was well known as an entrepreneur, a socialite, and a columnist; he was also a leading art collector and patron of the arts
Narrating the past, collecting for the future
For Inti Ligabue collecting tribal and oceanic art is a way of telling stories about the cultures the objects come from
A token of love from a besotted prince
A portrait jewel commissioned by the future George IV for his secret wife, Maria Fitzherbert, is up for auction
Turner’s golden landscape and other auction highlights
Venetian vedute, Tuscan cassone panels, and a masterpiece of British painting all feature in London’s upcoming Old Master sales
Find the time to look longer and harder at art
Art demands close attention. The new ‘Slow Art Workshops’ provide unique opportunities to study and even handle objects of great beauty
The best of Masterpiece 2017
There’s something for all tastes at this year’s art fair, from ancient statuary to bright abstract paintings
These French firedogs have an impeccable pedigree
The firedogs made for the French couturier and collector Jacques Doucet are the epitome of art deco style
In London’s salerooms, bigger is no longer better
Auction highlights this month include a dramatic plaster relief in Paris, and a diminutive but vibrant Van Gogh in London
As visceral a painting as you will ever encounter…
Max Beckmann’s ‘Bird’s Hell’, a terrifying vision of cruelty painted after he fled Nazi Germany, is to be sold at auction for the first time
Gilded glass from the world’s most glamorous ship
The legendary S.S. Normandie was lost to fire in the 1940s, but relics from its luxury interior survive – including these verre églomisé panels
Modern masters lead the way in New York
Auction highlights this month include a Twombly masterpiece that has never appeared at auction before and a striking portrait by Picasso
Early maiolica has it all – even humour
These supposedly ‘primitive’ ceramics from late medieval and early Renaissance Italy are fresh, inventive and fun
The unsung beauty of Chinese cinnabar lacquer
Lacquer is an extemely difficult material to work with, but the results can be extraordinary
Rare Asian art comes to the block at Sotheby’s
Auction highlights this month include an outstanding example of early Ming porcelain and a rare Nicholas Lancret painting
The Della Robbia that escaped disaster
This glazed terracotta roundel by Andrea della Robbia was made for a palace that was promptly destroyed
Picasso’s printmakers step into the spotlight
The Crommelynck brothers worked with the greatest artists of the 20th century to produce extraordinary prints, some of which will soon come to auction
The Virgin and Child who went under cover
The bizarre story of how an altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes was transformed into a marriage portrait of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
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Something has gone very wrong at Christie’s
The auction house’s decision to close its South Kensington saleroom and scale back operations in Amsterdam smacks of corporate short-termism