DAVID McCLURE
Mirror I
£1,000 - 1,500
McClure might be a highly celebrated member of the Edinburgh School but his paintings don't fetch massive sums at auction, unlike some of his contemporaries. It means you can still pick up good examples of his work for relatively little. This is a subtle self-portrait disguised as an interior. Charming.
PETER RANDALL-PAGE R.A.
Memory of water
£1,200 - 1,800
Randall-Page is an internationally renowned sculptor with works in many major public collections. This study on handmade paper is full of texture & rhythm. Mesmerising.
JIM PARTRIDGE
Footed bowl, scorched oak
£600 - 800
Partridge is a highly celebrated woodworker and furniture maker. His furniture can set you back big sums, so have a pop at this large, statement bowl for a more achievable price. It uses one of his signature techniques of scorching. An ancient method that naturally preserves and protects the wood.
SIR WILLIAM GILLIES
Spring flowers
£3,000 - 5,000
Here is a gem of a still life. Gillies was a hugely influential painter at the forefront of bringing modernist painting to Edinburgh in the 20's. Beautiful brushwork.
Last weekend two of America's biggest celebrities went head to head at a charity auction. Tom Brady eventually won the battle against Kim Kardashian with a bid of $2M.
The work was a large drawing by George Condo entitled Standing Female Figure.
When Condo heard news of the auction he agreed to create a matching work for Kim. Only if she was willing to put up a matching $2M.
English School, Portrait of a Man with a pickaxe and a spade.
Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000. Sold for: £400,000!
A very unusual Elizabethan portrait with ambiguous meaning. An inscription reads: "Why should the father have believed his wife". The auction house suggests the sitter was a noble who was disinherited because of his dubious parentage.
🐂What to watch: Picasso, Beauty and the Beast. Watch the new 3-part documentary on BBC iPlayer.
📰Hot off the press: New Harland Miller edition published by Manifold. Enquire here.
🎭Dodgy dealer: An elderly couple sold an African mask to a dealer for $157. It just sold for $4.4M and now they want compensation.
✨Restored: Rediscovered Artemesia painting gets a clean.
👀What to watch: Portrait Artist of the Decade, watch on Sky Arts.
📦Cure boredom: Play Google's art handler game.
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Affordable art that's worth buying. Get industry professionals' tips on what’s coming up at auction. PLUS news, events, books, exhibitions and everything arts & culture.
The Friday F.U.N Email (Factoid, Under 2k, Nuggets) Factoid: Why Buying Affordable Art Is Harder Than You Think Buying affordable art might seem straightforward, but it’s often trickier than investing in high-end pieces. Here’s why. In the first half of 2024, 91% of auctioned artworks were priced under $10,000, with 61% under $1,000, according to ArtPrice data. This segment, driven by the boom in online sales, is the fastest-growing part of the market. It’s easier than ever to buy affordable...
The Friday F.U.N Email (Factoid, Under 2k, Nuggets) Factoid: Relax, It’s Only 0.22% A banana duct-taped to a wall selling for $6.2 million is, admittedly, tough to digest. Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian ignited both outrage and existential despair after its sale. “If that’s art, then it’s the end of art, isn’t it?” lamented Bendor Grosvenor. Well, “some people don’t realize when they’re being played” said Marion Maneker of Puck. So who's holding the peel? Enter Justin Sun, the 34-year-old...
THIS WEEK: The green fairy, a fantastic foot, books, exhibitions & more. Keep on scrolling... Absinthe is making a comeback—or so says The Observer. Once banned for nearly a century, the emerald elixir has reclaimed its place in London’s trendiest bars. At Soho’s Three Sheets, for example, you’ll find the “Sazzaquack,” a zesty mix of rooibos-infused lemon absinthe. For generations of artists, though, absinthe wasn’t just a drink—it was a muse. Gauguin, Picasso, Degas, Manet, and Van Gogh not...