Auction

In New York, excited bidders are shuttling between Sotheby’s and Christie’s for the annual May sales of post-war and contemporary art. And records are being set. Not one, but three Francis Bacon paintings go under the hammer. An Abstract Impressionist masterpiece by Hans Hoffmann gets the connoisseurs excited. But will Cy Twombly’s painting Leda and the Swan make the millions expected?

At Sotheby’s in London, two ancient Scottish families are having a clear out. Their treasures include a sword said to have been used at Culloden alongside Bonnie Prince Charlie. Meanwhile, Christie’s are selling the surrealist works that are making surreal, prices. The masterpieces include an iconic painting of cloud in a glass by René Magritte. But what will the sale price be?

A mega sale by Christie’s of contemporary art includes a work by Peter Doig originally bought for £15,000. It’s now expected to make many millions, but what will the final price be? Plus, a rare Rothko represents the moment when American culture became dominant in global art. But the estimated price for this incredibly rare and desired item is so huge, the auction house won’t even disclose it.

In London, Ingles & Hayday are selling a rare violin by the most famous maker of them all: Antonio Stradivari. But will it fetch over a million pounds? And will anyone actually play it? At Sotheby’s, they’re auctioning masterpieces by painters Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz and Jean Dubuffet. But will the bidders be put off by the multi-million-dollar price tags attached?

The experts nickname them the Imps and Mods. It’s the regular sale of Impressionist and Modern paintings in New York. At Sotheby’s, an extraordinarily rare 1897 painting by Gustav Klimt has surfaced after years in a private collection. And a bidding war is expected. There’s also a sparkling work from the later years of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and an Egon Schiele masterpiece.

The Harlech family are clearing out their Welsh manor house. In this sale at Bonham’s, there are military uniforms, swords from the English Civil War, furniture, photograph albums and, most surprisingly of all, letters that reveal the extent of the love affair between diplomat David Ormsby-Gore and Jackie Kennedy, the wife of the assassinated American president John F Kennedy.

Old Masters never go out of fashion. And the prices they reach reflects this. In London, Christie’s are selling an outstanding view of the Rialto Bridge in Venice by the eighteenth-century master Francesco Guardi. While at Sotheby’s, JMW Turner’s view of the fortress at Ehrenbreitstein is going under the hammer. It is expected to fetch over £15 million. But will it make the estimate?

For the person who has everything? The marble lions from the tomb of King Charles V of France are being sold at Christie’s. But how did they end up in London? Also in this exceptional sale is a locket given by George IV to his secret and illegal wife. And, at Sotheby’s an exquisite snuff box made by Johann Christian Neuber of Dresden in 1770 comes under the hammer.

Impressionist and Modern paintings are up for auction in London including a work showcasing Wassily Kandinsky’s new style of art, considered revolutionary in his day. And there’s a painting, Constellations, by Joan Miro that he carried under his arm as fled France ahead of the Nazi occupation. And an iconic Giacometti sculpture has invigorated the bidders.

A packed saleroom at Christie’s in London sees record prices paid for treasures from the ancient world, including a bronze dagger, an Etruscan mirror and a lion’s head carved from granite. In New York, Bonham’s are dealing in American art and there are, relatively speaking, bargains to be had. But will paintings by Marsden Hartley and Thomas Moran tempt the bidders?