Art Market

‘Anyone who is interested in the Renaissance should be interested in medals’

It may be a small and specialist market, but it is still possible to find exquisite portrait medals at affordable prices

Michael Garnette Sittin’. © Hassan Hajjaj. Special Projects, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair

The best of October’s international art fairs

A round-up of events, from Frieze London and its many satellite shows to a celebration of flower power in San Francisco

5 Oct 2017
Camp Forestia (1996), Peter Doig. Christie's London, estimate: £14m–£18m

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

2 Oct 2017
Inscribed Apis Bull, Late Period, 26th–30th Dynasty, c. 664–343 BC, Egyptian. Ariadne Galleries

Exhibitors get creative for the sixth edition of Frieze Masters

Highlights from this year’s fair, which encourages contemporary art buyers to cross over into older art

28 Sep 2017
An Allegory of Love (c. 1520), Bernardino Licinio. Robilant + Voena (€750,000)

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

21 Sep 2017
Christie’s in South Kensington in 2005.

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

14 Sep 2017
Self–portrait aged 59 in a grey coat (1793), Joseph Wright of Derby. The Parker Gallery at LAPADA

A quick tour of the autumn art fairs

LAPADA returns to London, Brussels gears up for its inaugural Fine Art Fair, and Fine Art Asia opens its doors in Hong Kong

12 Sep 2017
Jeune garcçon endormi, à mi–hauteur, profil gauche, (detail), Jean–Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805). Galerie Eric Coatelem (price on application)

The best of the new Biennale Paris

The Biennale des Antiquaires returns in its new guise as the Biennale Paris with an impressive showing of French fine and decorative arts

7 Sep 2017
Rob Weisberg, CEO of Invaluable

Why it’s time for auction houses to start talking to each other

Rob Weisberg, CEO of Invaluable, discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the auction sector

6 Sep 2017
Blue Sauna (2003), Adriana Varejão. Sotheby's London: estimate £400,000–£600,000

Celebrity collections kick off the autumn auctions

The personal collections of Edward Albee, Vivien Leigh and Mario Testino come to the block this month

5 Sep 2017
Club group (18th–early 19th century), Tonga, Fiji or Samoa, Polynesia. Michael Evans Tribal Art. Photo: Stephen Petegorsky

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

4 Sep 2017
Dog Head (ganabi), 19th century, Gogodala people, Papuan Gulf. Voyageurs & Curieux, price on request

The widening market for Oceanic art

Once championed by the Surrealists, Oceanic art is now achieving top prices at auction and attracting an increasingly diverse collector base

14 Aug 2017

A new initiative brings galleries to the Rhineland

An alternative to the art fair model, Okey Dokey’s collaborative project hopes to strengthen regional and international ties

26 Jul 2017
No. 695 Abraaj (2016) by Rana Begum, installed at Art Dubai 2017

How sustainable is the art scene in Dubai?

And does the city really have what it takes to become a global commercial hub?

10 Jul 2017

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

30 Jun 2017

The European art fairs worth visiting this summer

A quick guide to the upcoming events in London, Bamberg, Edinburgh, and Knocke

30 Jun 2017
Ehrenbreitstein, or The Bright Stone of Honour and the Tomb of Marceau, from Byron's Childe Harold (1835), J.M.W. Turner. Sotheby's London: estimate £15–£25m

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

29 Jun 2017
Mount Street Gardens in Mayfair. Photo: Benjamin McMahon, courtesy Mayfair Art Weekend

Dance of the London art dealers

Mayfair and St James’s are still at the centre of London’s art market, but the galleries themselves are constantly on the move

28 Jun 2017
Histoire ancienne jusqu'à César and Fait des Romains (c. 1370–80), Paris, Master of the Coronation of Charles VI and a collaborator. Les Enluminures, $4.5m

The best of Masterpiece 2017

There’s something for all tastes at this year’s art fair, from ancient statuary to bright abstract paintings

24 Jun 2017
A 'Hen and Chickens' tureen and cover (illustrated) with stand, c. 1755–56, width 35.5cm (tureen). Christie's London, £223,650

Now is the time to buy English porcelain…

English porcelain may not attract the same high prices of the past, but it could still be a lucrative opportunity for new collectors

23 Jun 2017
Deux bêtes affrontées, (1925), Gustave Miklos, image courtesy Sotheby's

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

16 Jun 2017
St Louis of France (1620s), Juan de Mesa. Colnaghi at London Art Week

Summer season kicks off in London and Brussels

London Art Week returns to St James’s and Mayfair, while Old Master fair Paris Tableau is revived – in Brussels

9 Jun 2017
The Martyrdom of Saint Victoria (1737), Nicolas-Sébastien Adam. Sotheby's Paris: estimate €200,000–€300,000

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

6 Jun 2017
Bird's Hell (1938), Max Beckmann. © Christie’s Images Limited 2016

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

2 Jun 2017