Modern and Contemporary Art and Sculpture

As we navigate the complexities of 2023-2024, the art market reflects the broader economic landscape, marked by caution and reassessment.

Frank Auerbach (1931–2024) transformed contemporary art with his raw, emotive portraits and textured cityscapes. A Kindertransport refugee, his work reflects resilience, humanity, and a timeless pursuit of truth, leaving a legacy that will inspire generations to come.

The December Old Master Sales were rather lacklustre with the three major London salerooms, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams reporting combined totals for their five sales of £55.8M, just less than December 2022’s feeble total of £56.3M. One can hardly blame consignors for not wishing to offer great paintings at auction in the current geo-political climate. […]

2023 in the Art Market has been one of readjustment and realignment, but thankfully not collapse – a market correction rather than the much talked about free-fall of the market. 2022 ended on a fever pitch high, with a slew of blockbuster auctions and record-breaking auctions – the Macklowe Collection brought in $922m at Sotheby’s, […]

Much of what we associate with Christmas today, with the exception of After Eights and Christmas jumpers, stems almost entirely from the Victorian era (1837-1901). Prince Albert introduced all of his German family’s Christmas traditions to the Royal household following his marriage to Queen Victoria in 1840. Christmas trees, cards, turkeys with all the trimmings […]

The poem ‘To Daffadills’ beginning ‘Faire Daffadills, we weep to see/You haste away so soon’ graces many an anthology. It is often mistakenly thought of as by Wordsworth. But the author was Robert Herrick, a 17th-century country vicar who made a speciality of lyric verse in short lines. Although Herrick’s life was a quiet one, […]