LS Lowry painting that hasn’t been seen for 20 YEARS sells for record £5.6m at UK auction
Record breaker: LS Lowry's The Football Match sold for £5.6million at Christie's
A painting by LS Lowry which was not been seen in public for two decades has sold for £5.6 million.
The 1949 work, called The Football Match, was bought at an auction at Christie's in London yesterday, setting a new world record for the artist.
It is not known who bought the painting, which is one of the most eye-catching depictions of the sport by the Manchester City-supporting painter, famed for his depictions of Salford life.
Experts had predicted it would go for between £3.5 million and £4.5 million. Its final price of £5,641,250 includes the buyer's premium.
Hundreds of his signature stick figures can be seen gathered at a match on a washed-out looking pitch between terraced houses and factories with billowing chimneys.
Christie's described the painting as 'a modern masterpiece'.
Lowry, who died in 1976 at the age of 88, was known for his simple depictions of working-class life.
He painted largely in his spare time while working for the Pall Mall Property Company in Manchester, but still achieved recognition during his life.
He was the royal artist at the Queen's coronation in 1953 - the year after he retired - and nine years later became a Royal Academician. In 1967, his work featured on a stamp.
The sale outstrips the previous highest price for a Lowry, also sold by Christie's, when Good Friday, Daisy Nook fetched £3.8 million in 2007.
The auction house has sold 125 of his works since June 2006, together totalling £29.4 million.
The highest price for a Lowry football painting was £1.9 million when Going To The Match was sold in in 1999. Like the work to be sold on May 26, the canvas was 28 x 36 inches.
Philip Harley, head of 20th century British & Irish art at Christie's London, described the painting as 'the ultimate work for passionate connoisseurs of Lowry's work and of football'.
Rachel Hidderley, Christie's international specialist and director of 20th century British art, added: 'The large-format, panoramic, bird's-eye composite view of Lowry's own landscape perfectly captures the spirit and drama of a town gripped by the excitement of the Saturday football match.
The painting toured in London, the US and Paris shortly after it was completed before entering a collection in 1950.
Lowry was famously celebrated in the chart-topping hit Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats And Dogs by Brian And Michael in 1978.
Last year a private collection of Lowry's paintings belonging to bookmaking tycoon Selwyn Demmy fetched more than £5m at auction.
Source: Daily Mail
Historical post-war document bought at UK auction used as evidence to convict three Nazis of civilian massacre in Italy
Found: The papers were found hidden away in a cupboard in the Stoke on Trent home of a relative of Sgt Edmonson who died in 1985 and were sold by auction house Mullocks last year for £2,000
Witness statements taken by a British policemen 67 years ago following a Nazi wartime atrocity have helped convict three former German soldiers of multiple murder.
Sgt Charles Edmonson's papers relating to the war crime were sold by an auction house last year to a Chinese collector but Italian prosecutors managed to track them down and use them in their court case.
The chilling account led to life sentences for three former Nazi soldiers - captain Ernst Pistor, 91, Marshall Fritz Jauss, 94, and Sergeant Johan Robert Riss, 88.
Judge Giovanni Pagliarulo also ordered the German government to pay damages of £12million to the relatives of 184 civilians, mainly old men, women and children - including a two-year-old - gunned down in Fucecchio Marshes near Florence in August 1944.
Today prosecutor Marco De Paolis said: 'The statements from Charles Edmonson formed part of the case and helped bring these three war criminals to justice after 67 years.
The papers were found hidden away in a cupboard in the Stoke on Trent home of a relative of Sgt Edmonson who died in 1985 and were sold by auction house Mullocks last year for £2,000.
Enlarge Notes found: He made detailed notes and drawings that were sold by an auction house last year to a Chinese collector but Italian prosecutors managed to track them down and use them in their court case
In the account Sgt Edmonson wrote: 'Refugees, mostly women and children, were awakened by the sound of machine gun fire. The Germans knocked on the doors and ordered everyone outside.
'As the occupants walked out they were mown down by machine gun fire, some who were uninjured by the first burst had the presence of mind to throw themselves on the ground.
'They continued to fire at the dead and the dying until everyone lay still.'
He then went on to describe the killing of a two-year-old child who had initially survived being shot and wrote: 'German soldiers came upon a 27-month-old child who was crying in the arms of its dead mother ''One of them crashed his rifle on the baby’s head. The baby then went quiet.'
The military tribunal in Rome heard how German soldiers from the 26th Panzer tank Division had carried out the massacre in retaliation for the death of two comrades by partisans.
They had been tasked with tracking down the culprits down but instead 'carried out a systematic destruction of houses in the village killing 94 men, many of them elderly, 63 women and 27 children.'
Prosecutor Marco De Paolis said: 'These three men contributed to the deaths of these innocent civilians who had nothing at all to do with the military operations taking place at the time.
Evil alllies: Mussolini greets Hitler in Venice in 1934 as he fell in behind the German leader but violence was wreaked across Italy by the Nazis
Partners in cime: Mussolini greets Hitler in Venice in 1934 as he fell in behind the German leader but violence was wreaked across Italy by the Nazis
'Bringing a case to court after 67 years was always going to be hard but at least justice has been brought as three people were found guilty. These men were able to enjoy the bulk of their lives with their families while dozens of others were not afforded that pleasure.'
A fourth man, former Lt Gherard Deissmann, died during the trial aged 100, and the case was heard in their absence with medical certificates being provided to the court explaining they could not attend.
Lawyers representing the three of them said they were innocent and would appeal while legal teams for the German government insisted they were immune from making any payments.
Today Fucecchio's mayor Rinaldo Vanni said: 'After 67 years at last finally we have justice for the victims of the massacre that happened.
'Deep down we know that these three people who have been convicted will never spend any time behind bars but at least the court has attributed guilt and ordered Germany to pay damages.'
Source: Daily Mail
Find historical documents at www.ukauctioneers.com
What do you get if you cross Dragon’s Den with Antiques Roadshow? An unmissable new programme that shows the British at our eccentric best…
Wouldn’t you be intrigued to know how much that Concorde nose section you found in the attic is worth? Or that bronze bust of Hitler? And would you gamble on it? That’s what happens in Four Rooms – a new series where members of the public offer their rare (and often gruesome) personal artefacts for sale to four po-faced experts.
The owner of the object visits a dealer in private, and is offered a price for their possession, which they must accept or reject on the spot. If they reject the offer, they move to the next dealer – but once they’ve turned an offer down, there’s no going back. It all adds up to a heady mix of drama and suspense, topped off with sheer jubilation or desperate regret at the end of each show.
Not everyone chooses to sell, as one of the experts, taxidermy dealer Emma Hawkins, reveals, ‘Somebody brought in an item that cost them £25 in a car boot sale, and then turned down an offer we made for more than £1,000.’
Emma’s colleagues are Andrew Lamberty, 41, who deals in rare and unusual antiques, Jeff Salmon, a flamboyant 57-year-old art and design dealer (already gearing up to be the show’s Mr Nasty), and Gordon Watson, 54, a leading authority on 20th-century design.
But the real stars are the outrageous, exotic and bizarre objects that find their way into the studio.
Source: Daily Mail
Painting Masters at Folkestone
CONSTABLE & STUBBS paintings are to be offered amongst others by Kent Auction Galleries Ltd at Folkestone. 
Even those uninterested in the art world have heard of these masters Saturday 4th June brings a rare opportunity to view and purchase two paintings by our British Masters in Folkestone. An oil on board panel entitled “Horse Frightened by a Snake” by Stubbs with an estimate of £3,000 - £5,000 along with a Seascape by John Constable RA from the collection of Sir Bruce Ingram estimated £2,000 - £4,000.
George Stubbs best known for his painting of horses and conversation pieces, his pictures of horses are among the most accurate ever painted due to his studies of the anatomy. Born in Liverpool, the son of a leather worker, and he spent his early career in the north, painting portraits and developing his interest in anatomy. In the later 1740s he lived in York and supplied the illustrations for a treatise on midwifery. Following a brief visit to Rome in 1754 he settled in Lincolnshire, where he researched his major publication, 'The Anatomy of the Horse', about 4 years later he moved to London, which remained his base. 
His paintings were purchased by many of the noblemen who founded the Jockey Club which regulates horse racing. One of his clients included Gainsborough and some of his paintings can be found in enamel on Wedgwood earthenware plaques.
Constable is famous for his landscapes, which are mostly of the Suffolk countryside, where he was born and lived. During his lifetime Constable failed to wow the British crowds instead he turned to Paris for customers, but today his paintings are loved by us Brits!
The paintings were brought into Kent Auction Galleries Ltd (a UK Auctioneer), by a lady from Deal who had inherited them from her father who had purchased them in the 1970’s
Source: Kent Auction Galleries Ltd at Folkestone
Titanic plan used in inquiry for sale at UK auction
The auctioneers said the plan could make anything from £100,000 to £150,000
A detailed plan of the Titanic used in the inquiry into the sinking of the ship in 1912 is to be auctioned in Wiltshire.
The 33ft (10m) cross-section was commissioned by the British Board of Trade to assist in the 36-day inquiry.
The plan hung in the hearing room throughout proceedings and is marked in chalk to indicate where the iceberg is thought to have struck the liner.
Valued at £100,000, the plan will be auctioned on 28 May in Devizes.
The hand-drawn plan of the Titanic was prepared by White Star Line architects for the 1912 British inquiry into the sinking of the ship, just weeks after the disaster.
It allowed the 96 witnesses called to testify to indicate various parts of the ship using a pointer.
After the inquiry concluded that the loss of the ship had been brought about by "excessive speed", the unique plan was returned to White Star.
Since then it has been in private hands and, according to auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, not been put on public display.
'Holy Grail'
In April, ahead of the auction, the plan was placed in view for the first time in a century.
It was the centrepiece of an exhibition at Belfast City Hall to mark the centenary of the ship's launch.
"We had over 10,000 viewers in Belfast over three days," said auctioneer Andrew Aldridge.
"It's attracting a lot of interest - one expert has said it's the Holy Grail of Titanic memorabilia."
In 2007 the keys and chain of the postmaster of the Titanic mail room made £101,000, a record amount for Henry Aldridge & Son.
The Titanic inquiry plan is expected to fetch between £100,000 and £150,000.
Source: BBC News Website
Titanic captain’s cigar box sells for £25,000 at UK auction
The White Star shipping company emblem and the captain's initials adorn the cigar box
A cigar box once owned by the captain of the Titanic has been sold for £25,000 at an auction in Liverpool.
The walnut humidor was discovered gathering dust on a bedroom cabinet in the Merseyside home of Hilary Mee.
It was spotted by auctioneer John Crane when he was invited to value a number of antiques.
Ms Mee said she had no idea the item was connected to the ill-fated vessel, even though it had been lying around her home for 20 years.
Finest smokes
The box carries the distinctive emblem of the White Star Line shipping company and bears the initials of the master of the passenger liner, Edward John Smith, who was from Stoke-on-Trent.
At first Mr Crane could not work out what the initials stood for but he said a tingle went down his spine when he realised it belonged to the ship's captain.
Ms Mee said the box had been in her family for several generations. It is thought to have been given to her father by relatives of Edward John Smith's widow, Sarah.
The box is lined with camphor wood and was designed to hold 40 of the finest Havana cigars.
The RMS Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast and sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912.
Source: BBC News Website
Diamonds and pearls: Tiara of ’19th century Britain’s wealthiest woman’ to go under the hammer for £1.5m at UK auction
Well-to-do fans of Kate Middleton's wedding day tiara will be pleased to discover they can get their hands on a more extravagant version - for a cool £1.5million.
The pearl and diamond tiara, belonging to a 19th century woman once known as Britain's wealthiest, is due to go for auction next month.
The Victorian tiara was among the most important jewels owned by Hannah Primrose, a socially and politically active heiress whose husband Archibald Philip would eventually become prime minister.
Auctioneer Christie's says it is a rare example of 19th century aristocratic splendour
Born into the powerful Rothschild family, Hannah reputedly became the country's richest woman when her father died in 1874, leaving her the then immense sum of £2million, properties including a turreted mansion in Buckinghamshire, and a huge stash of jewels.
Hannah Primrose, nee Rothschild, was a socially and politically active heiress whose husband Archibald Philip became prime minister
She married Archibald four years later, at which point she acquired the title Countess Rosebery, and, Christie's believes, the tiara, along with a matching brooch and bracelet.
Keith Penton, the auctioneer's head of jewels, said that the three-piece set was 'at the heart of Lady Rosebery's vast array of magnificent jewels, which rivaled those of the crowned heads of Europe at the time.
'They are a rare survival of 19th century English aristocratic splendour, as so much ancestral jewellery has been sold anonymously, remounted or broken down.'
The tiara boasts 13 saltwater pearls - six button-shaped ones ringed with diamonds and seven pear-shaped pearls dangling from tear-drop diamond surmounts.
Christie's said that the jewels were handed down through the family and now form part of a private collection, but didn't elaborate on their current ownership.
It hopes the tiara will fetch £1.5million and the whole set up to £1.9million ($2.4 million) in its important jewel sale in London on June 8.
Source:: Daily Mail
£12,000 for news snap of Queen Victoria for sale at UK auction: 1855 image captures monarch with Napoleon III
One of the first-ever news photographs – showing Queen Victoria and French president Napoleon III – is expected to sell for £12,000 at auction.
The image captures Victoria, her husband Prince Albert and their guests, Napoleon and his wife Empress Eugenie, on stage during a diplomatic ceremony at Crystal Palace.
The black-and-white picture, printed on a metal sheet, was taken in London on April 20, 1855 by famous photographer Philip Henry Delamotte.
Its aim was to show the two military leaders united as allies during the Crimean campaign.
A foreign owner has had the picture for the past two decades.
Bloomsbury Auctions, which is selling it on Wednesday, expects it to reach between £9,000 and £12,000.
Sarah Wheeler, of Bloomsbury, said: ‘Photography had been invented 19 years before this but was mainly used for artistic purposes.
‘This photo is one of the very first examples of news photography.’
Four months after Napoleon III's visit to London, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert travelled to meet with the French president and took trips to the Exposition Universelle and Napoleon I's tomb at Les Invalides.
The royal couple were also guests at a 1,200-seat ball at the Palace of Versailles.
Source: Daily Mail
At last: Buyer pays £2m deposit for Chinese vase bought at UK auction (with £51m more to come)
Sold for £43 million at Bainbridge's
The buyer of a Chinese vase who refused to pay its £53million price for six months has finally put down a £2million deposit and promised the rest within days.
The auction of the 1740 Qing vase in Ruislip, West London, made headlines worldwide last November but the winning bidder, whose identity remained a mystery for months, failed to pay up.
That led to speculation that retired solicitor Anthony Johnson and his mother Gene were the victims of a Chinese government protest against the sale of treasures looted from their country.
The theory was that Communist Party officials were sending bidders to sabotage auctions by ‘buying’ art but not paying for it.
Those fears were heightened when the buyer was eventually identified as Wang Jianlin, 56, a Chinese billionaire with close links to high-ranking members of his country’s government.
In an attempt to get their money, Mr Johnson, from the Isle of Wight, and auctioneer Peter Bainbridge flew to China last month – but returned empty-handed.
According to sources in the antique world, a £2million deposit has now been paid and the Johnsons have been told to expect the rest within days.
One said: ‘The buyer is keen to complete the deal without any further delay.’
The Johnsons discovered the vase last year when they were clearing the house of 85-year-old Gene’s late sister, Patricia Newman, in Pinner, North-West London.
It was said to have been brought back from China by an ‘adventurous uncle’ of Patricia’s husband Bill, having been stolen from an imperial palace by British troops during the 19th Century Opium Wars.
A spokesman for Wang Jianlin has previously said he did not attend the auction or ask anybody else to attend.
Source: Daily Mail
Magical Mirrors
It always feels like we are trying to make rooms in our home feel larger. Mirrors are a great way to give the illusion of space. They enlarge the room and they trick the human eye into feeling an expanded living area and they are affordable too. especially if you buy at auction. Antique and vintage mirrors can be found at auction houses all over the UK for a fraction of the cost of a new one.
If gilding is damaged, you can touch this up easily with a gilt cream and don't be afraid to paint a frame if it is in poor condition.
Use these helpful tips to enlarge your space using mirrors.
If you want to add a visual focal point to your space, try adding an oversized mirror to your room. Dramatic mirrors will reflect the room, but also add the illusion of height. If your room has low ceilings, try adding a floor to ceiling mirror. You will instantly feel the room dynamics change.
If you have a dark accent wall in your space sometimes it will feel closed in and in turn make the room feel small and cold. Use a mirror on this wall to reflect the lighter side of the room and to “hide” a portion of the dark colored wall. For added interest choose greenery, or water elements to reflect back into the room. Your room will feel more spacious and more balanced with the nature features.
Mirrors are simple, yet effective ways to make your space feel larger than it really is.
A selection of mirrors coming up for auction this week on www.ukauctioneers.com
Lot 107 Capes Dunn
Lot 44 Barnes Auctions
Lot 45 Barnes Auctions
Lot 1645 Adam Partridge
Lot 1729 Adam Partridge
Lot 64 High Road Auctions
Lot 151 High Road Auctions
Lot 169 High Road Auctions
Lot 485 Thomas Watson
Lot 487 Thomas Watson
See All Mirrors on www.ukauctioneers.com