Enfilade

From the press release (28 October), with press reports suggesting a $30million estimate (as noted at the Art History News blog). . .

Canaletto, Venice, the Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day, oil on canvas, 60 × 54 inches.

This monumental, theatrical masterpiece is unquestionably the most spectacular view of Venice painted by Canaletto in England (1746–1755). When the painting last appeared at auction at Christie’s 20 years ago as part of the Champalimaud collection, it justifiably broke all previous auction records for the artist. Venice, the Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day will lead the 4 February 2026 Old Master sales in New York, with a pre-auction view in New York 29 January – 3 February 2026. Daring in composition and dazzling both in its brushwork and colourful palette, the painting was commissioned in around 1754 by the King family (later Earls of Lovelace), in whose possession it remained for almost 200 years. Other canvases from the same decorative scheme are in private collections and museums, including Washington (National Gallery of Art) and Boston (Museum of Fine Arts).

The present picture shows the Feast of Ascension Day, a key date in the Venetian calendar and a subject to which Canaletto frequently returned as it enabled him to bring the pomp and ceremony of the Venetian lagoon to life. This is Canaletto’s last known rendition of the theme from this viewpoint—his first was painted for Britain’s first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole (1676–1745), 1st Earl of Orford, sold at Christie’s, London, in July 2025 for a world record price of £31,935,000 ($43,851,545).

The Global Head of Christie’s Old Masters Department, Andrew Fletcher, said: “It is thrilling to handle the sale of Canaletto’s theatrical masterpiece which, through its scale, colour, and composition, is one of the most visually powerful paintings he ever produced. That it is so impeccably preserved—its paint surface almost as pristine as when it left the artist’s easel—makes it all the more exciting for today’s collectors, who increasingly seek the very best of the best.”

Venice, the Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day will be the leading lot in what promises to be an especially strong Classics Week at Christie’s Rockefeller Center in February. This series of sales will include a number of important single-owner collections coming to the market for the first time, as well as a strong various-owner sales series, in total offering paintings, sculptures, drawings, and antiquities.

The painting will be on on view at the following locations:
• 7–12 November: Christie’s Rockefeller Center, New York, during 20/21 Marquee Week
• 20–21 November: Christie’s Henderson, Hong Kong, during Luxury Week
• 27 November–2 December: Christie’s King Street, London, during Classic Week

This neoclassical bust from Elliot Davies Fine Art offers a good chance to highlight Frieze London and Frieze Masters:

Frieze Masters London

The Regent’s Park, London, 15–19 October 2025

Attributed to Bartolomeo Cavaceppi, Bust of the Young Emperor Nero, after 1734, white carrara marble, 53 cm high (Offered by Elliot Davies Fine Art).

Elliot Davies Fine Art makes its debut at Frieze Masters London with a newly discovered bust of the young Emperor Nero, attributed to Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (ca.1716–1799). Rome’s leading 18th-century restorer and sculptor, Cavaceppi worked closely with Cardinal Alessandro Albani at the Villa Albani, where he restored and made fine copies of the classical antiquities in his collection. The bust is a version of an ancient work in the Albani collection and corresponds to entries in Cavaceppi’s posthumous studio inventories of 1799 and 1802, which record busts of a young Nero in both marble and plaster.

The work will be presented in the fair’s Reflections section, as part of a display inspired by the Sir John Soane Collection in Lincoln’s Inn Fields and curated by Abby Bangser, founder and creative director of Object & Thing. Alongside the Cavaceppi bust, Elliot Davies Fine Art will show a group of Roman, medieval, and Renaissance architectural fragments, as well as paintings and drawings ‘inspired by the antique’—evoking Soane’s eclectic interiors and reflecting Frieze Masters’ ethos of bringing six millennia of art history together under one roof.

More information on the bust is available here»

A leading international dealer and advisor in the fields of European sculpture and antiquities, Elliot also regularly sources British pictures, works of art, and antique furniture for clients and enjoys combining these aesthetics at exhibitions and art fairs. As a writer and researcher, Elliot has published work on important European sculpture, particularly renaissance bronzes and has made numerous major discoveries in these fields. Recently, he has authored the catalogue for the Ömer Koç collection of British art—one of the greatest private collections assembled in recent times. Elliot is available by appointment in York or London.

From the general press release:

Frieze announces the highlights of the 23rd edition of Frieze London and the 13th edition of Frieze Masters, returning to The Regent’s Park from 15–19 October 2025. At Frieze London, audiences will encounter must-see solo projects, artist-led initiatives, and curated sections that bring new perspectives to contemporary practice. Frieze Masters brings together 137 galleries spanning 27 countries, staging rediscoveries, rare masterpieces, and curated sections that open dialogues across centuries. Together, the two fairs will once again transform London into a meeting point for global perspectives and cultural exchange.

Alongside the fairs, Frieze Week will animate the city with a dynamic programme of exhibitions, performances, and events across London’s leading institutions and galleries, reaffirming the capital’s position as a major centre of the international art calendar. . . .

Attributed to the architect Bullet de Chamblain, La Malouinière du Bos, 1715–17, on the River Rance, near Saint-Malo.

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From the press release for the sale:

La Malouinière du Bos: Une Passion Française, Sale 6370

Artcurial, Paris, 23 September 2025, 2.30pm

On September 23rd, 2025, alongside FAB Paris, Artcurial will host the auction of the collection from La Malouinière du Bos, an elegant 18th-century residence nestled on the banks of the River Rance, near Saint-Malo. Around 280 lots—including Old Master paintings, sculptures, furniture, and silverware—reflect thirty years of discerning passion. For over thirty years, the current owners have carefully restored both the interior and exterior of the Malouinière, showcasing their refined taste and incorporating treasures mainly acquired at public auctions. This sale reflects their desire to undertake major renovation work, after which they look forward to breathing new life into the house, redecorating and refurnishing it with the same elegance and attention to detail.

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Allegory of Poetry, oil on canvas 80 × 65 cm. Estimate: €80,000–120,000.

Reflecting a marked appreciation for French artists of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Old Master paintings collection includes several exceptional works. Among them, an Allegory of Poetry by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, destined for the 1774 Salon of the Académie de Saint-Luc, stands out for its delicate brushwork and luminous palette. The painting features a refined portrayal of a young woman, her graceful back subtly revealed as she gazes upward in a moment of inspiration. Equally striking is Une jeune espiègle painted by François-Hubert Drouais, exhibited at the 1771 Salon (no. 61). This tender evocation of the lightness of childhood was a theme cherished by 18th-century French painters from Antoine Watteau to Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

The fertile period of the early 17th century is represented by two remarkable paintings. An oil on canvas attributed to Paul La Tarte depicts a lively market scene, illustrating the influence of the Caravaggesque movement on painters from the Lorraine region. Meanwhile, a Magdalene with the Crucifix (French School, 17th century, workshop of Georges de La Tour) offers valuable insight into a lost original by Georges de La Tour and serves as an important stylistic milestone in the study of his series of Magdalene paintings.

Italian painting will also be prominently featured, with a large history painting by Andrea Casali depicting Moses Saved from the Water, and Madonna in busto by Sassoferrato. Among the works on paper, a charming portrait of Louise Vernet, born Pujol, delicately rendered in black chalk and watercolor by her father-in-law, Carle Vernet will also be offered for sale.

François-Hubert Drouais, La jeune espiègle, oil on canvas, oval format
54 × 46 cm. Estimate: €100,000–150,000

The selection of furniture reflects a sophisticated blend of the finest French craftsmanship of the 18th century and a distinct appreciation for English cabinetmaking of the same period. Noteworthy pieces include a set of four fauteuils à la reine stamped by Claude Chevigny, an elegant pair of monumental Louis XIV giltwood girandole chandeliers, and a restrained George III mechanical architect’s desk attributed to Gillows.

La Malouinière du Bos—built between 1715 and 1717, likely by architect Bullet de Chamblain for Pierre Le Fer de la Saudre and his wife, a member of the renowned Magon shipowners’ family—embodies all the defining features of the grand malouinières of the 18th century. Its classical façade, constructed in finely dressed Chausey granite, is marked by a harmonious and majestic symmetry, animated by a slightly projecting central pavilion. Noble and imposing, the residence overlooks a vast jardin à la française that unfolds toward a bend in the Rance River. All the essential elements of a traditional malouinière are fully preserved at Le Bos: an intact enclosing wall, a chapel, extensive outbuildings, and a landscaped park adorned with sculptures and architectural ornaments.

Built for the greatest shipowners of Saint-Malo, who amassed their fortunes through trade with the East and privateering wars, these pleasure residences served as austere yet majestic settings for their treasures. Jean Bart, Duguay-Trouin, and Surcouf conjure the romantic world of corsairs, where speed, cunning, and flair often triumphed over sheer firepower and heavy artillery. For three centuries, the scent of salt, the sun, and the wind have breathed life into Le Bos. The thunder of cannon fire is recalled by an early 19th-century naval gun brought back from the Far East, inscribed in Chinese characters with the evocative phrase ‘To Split the Mountain’. The clash of boarding and the ring of iron are revived through a group of ceremonial and boarding weapons, their mysterious past hinting at remote isles and marvelous forgotten treasures.

The esprit malouin, a spirit resolutely turned toward the open sea and the discovery of the world, is evoked through a selection of scientific instruments designed to measure space and time. Among them, a mid-19th-century English pair of globes, one terrestrial, the other celestial and a Scottish telescope by Thomas Morton from the same period. The memory of long voyages is suggested by a group of Chinese porcelain plates from the East India Company, as well as by striking imagery such as Eugène Isabey’s During the Storm (1849), where the air, saturated with iodine, conveys the unleashed fury of the elements. In gentle contrast, the painter Arthur David McCormick offers a full-length portrait of a serene sailor, reading a letter, perhaps a romantic one on the quay, moments before setting sail aboard the Invincible.

Exhibition
September 19, 20, and 22 | 11am–6pm
September 23 | 11am–2.30pm

Lot 63: Pair of Louis XVI ormolu-mounted Japanese Kakiemon porcelain pique-fleurs vases (17th century), mounted last quarter of the 18th century, 11 inches high (estimate: €60,000–80,000).

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From the press release for the sale:

Madame Simone Steinitz: The Legacy of Taste, #24067

Christie’s, Paris, 19 June 2025

Christie’s presents the sale Madame Simone Steinitz: The Legacy of Taste, on the 19th of June in Paris, which will be dedicated to the role and influence—still too little acknowledged—of Simone Steinitz, wife of the renowned antiquaire Bernard Steinitz, founder of the eponymous gallery. The sale offers Benjamin Steinitz, now at the head of the gallery, an opportunity to pay tribute to his mother, who throughout her life was much appreciated by leading art historians, collectors, and decorators, such as François-Joseph Graf, Jacques Grange, Peter Marino, Daniel Alcouffe, and Juan Pablo Molyneux. The 130 pieces of furniture and works of art—part of her world and carefully chosen for this auction—are a testament to her unique and elegant taste, as well as well as her discerning eye. They also reflect the talent and refinement with which Simone and Bernard brilliantly combined the expert’s eye with irresistible flair, in the purest tradition of the greatest 18th-century Parisian marchands-merciers.

Since its foundation, the quality and rarity of the pieces presented by the Steinitz gallery in Paris, now on the Rue Royale, have earned a reputation internationally among major art collectors as well as the most prestigious museums. United under one roof, the talents, skills, and expertise of the antiquaire, the art historian, and the master craftsmen have been composing, reinventing, and renewing, since 1968, what is now referred to as the magical ‘goût Steinitz’. The total pre-sale estimate of the sale is €3.3–5.2million.

At the source of the ‘gout Steinitz’ lies the relation with works of art nurtured by Simone Steinitz, which enabled her to develop and cultivate an aesthetic and an innate sense of refinement. She appreciated the materials, the colours, the memories and souvenirs evoked by these objects, making their spirit tangible, evoking a home, more than a gallery. An exceptional residence, the hôtel on the Rue Royale offers the ideal setting to pay tribute to this elegant taste and sense of décor, both intimate and magnificent. The mise-en-scene of the items in the sale, arranged specially at this hôtel for this occasion, is an invitation to engage with the essence of classical beauty and art-de-vivre. It is a celebration of decorative arts from the 17th to the late 19th century, with special focus on the 18th century, the true golden age of French savoir-faire. The result of unwavering rigour, the quality of the pieces echoes the words of Hubert de Givenchy: “Fashion changes, but 18th-century style will endure.”

As with this great collector, the selection of furniture and works of art in this collection reflects a fascination with highly architectural pieces, with a perfect sense of balance, harmony, and a certain nobility. The chosen works convey simplicity and elegance directly derived from the façades of the most beautiful hôtels particuliers. The beauty and richness of the materials, the refinement of the execution, reflect the talent and skills of the greatest French artists of the 18th century—such as Jean-Henri Riesener, Pierre-Philippe Thomire, Jean-François Leleu, and Georges Jacob, to name just a few. Superb examples of seat-furniture are also represented in the collection; herein the 18th century expresses all its refinement and creativity, illustrating the unparalleled talent of great chair-makers.

Numerous royal and other prestigious provenances can be discovered, such as three vases made by King Louis XV himself and his relatives, after a model by his intendant, Pierre-Elisabeth de Fontanieu, as well as a collection of porcelain objects mounted with gilt bronze mounts, reunited by the marchand-mercier Claude-François Julliot for King Louis XVI—not to forget the extraordinary vase mounted by the bronzier Pajot, from the fabled Rothschild collections. In the Age of Enlightenment, the marchand-mercier also became an important innovator in the development of taste. By coordinating the creation of hybrid, sometimes exotic, pieces of furniture and works of art, these pioneering dealers were at the heart of a new dialogue between crafts and creative processes, as well as between East and West.

Edmund Joy, ‘Mr. Joy’s Surprise’ (child’s wardrobe in the form of a doll’s house), 1709, 66 × 58 × 26 inches (Thomas Coulborn & Sons Ltd, UK). A similar piece, also made by Edmund Joy and dated 1712, is part of the V&A collection. The façades of both houses bear a considerable resemblance to Kew Palace in West London, a building formerly known as ‘The Dutch House’.

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From the press release:

The Treasure House Fair

Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, 26 June — 1 July 2025

Next month, Treasure House Fair returns to the historic Royal Hospital Chelsea for a festival of art and culture. Taking place from 26th June until 1st July, London’s much anticipated summer art fair will bring together 70 internationally renowned exhibitors in the fields of fine art, furniture, jewellery, watches, design, and classic cars. From a 50,000-year-old mammoth tusk and a childhood drawing by His Majesty King Charles III to one of the last surviving Union flags of the Battle of Trafalgar and masterpieces by titans of art history, Treasure House Fair reflects the new eclecticism of today’s collectors.

A ‘treasure house’ of the rare and the beautiful, the historic and the cutting-edge, the handpicked works and objects to go on view—all vetted by independent experts—also boasts prestigious provenance, from John Paul Getty to legendary Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard. Alongside the exhibitors’ presentations, the fair will stage a series of talks and special displays, including a landmark exhibition on the Bugatti family, a thought-provoking Sculpture Walk and a room at London’s annual showhouse WOW!house, in collaboration with acclaimed British decorator Daniel Slowik.

Thomas Hudson, Portrait of a Finely Dressed Gentleman, ca. 1750, oil on canvas, 50 × 40 inches (Philip Mould & Company, London).

Harry Van der Hoorn, co-founder of the Treasure House Fair and owner of the leading stand building company Stabilo said: “We are proud to carry the baton of our forebears and be part of the long tradition of summer fairs in London. With over a third of international exhibitors and a quarter of newcomers, this third edition corroborates the importance of London for the global trade and the strength of its local market.”

Thomas Woodham-Smith, director and co-founder said: “We like to think of ourselves as a festival rather than an art fair. People come to enjoy the art, meet up and spend time at the restaurant and the bar. It is altogether a social, sybaritic and scholarly experience which in just two years, has become integral to the London Summer social season. A bit like Prince Albert’s 1851 Great Exhibition and the 1951 Festival of Britain, the fair is a celebration of the greatest art and craftsmanship gathered from all four corners of the world.”

From the jewellery house that crafted Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla’s wedding rings to Wahei Aoyama, the young Tokyo gallerist breaking new ground in the international art sphere, the fair will showcase galleries, working at the apex of their disciplines. The fair will see the return of some of the world’s leading antique dealers, including Ronald Phillips, Richard Green, Osborne Samuel, Wartski, Adrian Sassoon, Butchoff Antiques, MacConnal-Mason, Godson & Coles, Koopman Rare Art, Frank Partridge, S.J. Phillips, Adrian Alan, and Frank Partridge. Together, these galleries will present a spectacular selection of furniture, silver, decorative arts and jewellery, boasting extraordinary provenance and the aura of the greatest makers of their time.

They will be joined by internationally renowned galleries, including three New York institutions: the antique jewellerÀ La Vieille Russie, silver specialists S.J. Shrubsole, and the leading authority in antique porcelain Michele Beiny. Bringing her curatorial flair for merging treasures of the past with contemporary pieces, celebrated interior and furniture designer Rose Uniacke will also unveil her most recent antique and vintage finds.

As per last year, Fine Art will feature strongly, showcased by a roster of internationally renowned specialists in the fields of painting and sculpture. Fourth-generation Mayfair specialists in Old Masters, Impressionist, and Modern art, Richard Green and MacConnal-Mason will be present alongside Sladmore Gallery, specialists in animalier and monumental sculptures, the eminent art dealer and BBC ‘art detective’, Philip Mould, and Willow Gallery, London-based specialists in 15th- and 20th-century European paintings. They will be accompanied by an impressive contingent of modern British art experts, notably Osborne Samuel, Piano Nobile, and Christopher Kingzett.

Also returning are American galleries, such as Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, specialists in early-20th-century art and Rhonda Long-Sharp, a former US attorney turned art dealer who represents young British sculptors. They will be joined by SmithDavidson whose galleries in Amsterdam and Miami renowned for their offering of Australian First Nations Art.

The full press release is available here»