Emanuel von Baeyer gallery at 18 Cecil Court will have special displays during Classic Art London. On show will be a range of paintings, prints and drawings dating from the 18th century to the contemporary in perfect symbiosis. These will be joined by selected 18th century pieces of European porcelain from Meissen and Nymphenburg creating a conversation between one dimensional art and porcelain. The exhibition is a collaboration with Munich based trias Art Experts. Throughout the period the gallery will have extended opening hours and host several talks and events, including a discussion on a showcased work, The Turtle Race, an allegorical painting by an American Symbolist living in Italy at the time.

Opening hours: daily from Monday 23rd June - Friday 4th July, 12 - 6pm.

On Monday 30 June, one of our institution-focused talks will take a deep dive into private museums in Latin America: how they balance a position between being an institutional entity and the forces of the art market. The talk, The Rise of Private Museums: The intersection of public and private in Latin America, is presented by Lassla Esquivel, a UK-based historian, researcher and curator currently focused on emerging art markets who is investigating private museums' models and their role within the art market. Organised in collaboration with The Society of the History of Collecting, the talk will finish with a Q&A session.

30 June, 11:30-12:45 at The Society of Antiquaries.

A work by Paul Sandby (1730-1809), “the father of English watercolour”, with a highly unusual subject has recently been discovered. Dating from Sandby’s early stay in Scotland when he was working on the military survey following the defeat of the Young Pretender’s rebellion in 1745, it is a great rarity in the artist’s work. The festivities depicted could be a traditional quarter-day celebration such as Beltane (a fire festival in spring), Imbolc, or Lughnasa, the latter featuring the sacrifice of a bull. It seems possible that the scene represented is Lughnasa, since a bull’s head is shown being carried. 

The exact location of this scene has so far defied identification, but among the many notable features are the apparent horror of the nobleman in his carriage, his footmen ignoring the event, the inn sign with the image of the devil and the brilliantly captured variety of individuals in the procession. The work will be shown by James Mackinnon at his Classic Art London exhibition, to be held at 6 Duke Street, St. James’s from 26 June to 4 July.

On Tuesday 1 July join us for a panel discussion, , in partnership with Country Life magazine : The Piece I’d Never Part With. If you could only keep one single work of art from your collection, which would it be? If you could acquire a work of art at this moment, regardless of budget or availability, what would you choose? If you had a second chance to purchase a work of art, which was the one that got away?

Join Country Life contributor Patrick Monahan and a group of distinguished panellists to answer this and other pressing art collecting questions! Media partner Country Life magazine is supporting this entertaining evening. Tickets cost £25 p/p with proceeds from sales going towards The Society of Antiquaries of London's 'buy a square foot of Burlington House’ fundraising campaign.

Tuesday 1 July, 17:30-19:00 at The Society of Antiquaries

Rountree Tryon Galleries and Fine Art Commissions are delighted to present The New English Look for Classic Art London. This collaborative exhibition brings together a collection of art one might find in a quintessential English house: family portraits through the ages to sporting and landscape views and favourite pets. The exhibition includes a full length portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II in robes of State (a similar version of the portrait is now in the Throne Room, Buckingham Palace), a charcoal drawing of HM King Charles III and a superb equine study of a racehorse and rider by Sir Alfred Munnings.

Images: Gareth Reid (b. 1974), Working drawing of HM King Charles III, 2019 with Fine Art Commissions and Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1878-1959), Davy Jones with the Hon. Anthony Mildmay up, oil on canvas with Rountree Tryon

Our hotel partner St. James’s Hotel & Club in Park Place, just off St. James’s Street, is offering a special two-night rate at 20% off with a complimentary glass of Champagne when you book quoting Classic Art London. This historic hotel started life in 1857 when English aristocrat Earl Granville and Marchese d’Azeglio, a Sardinian Minister, decided to found a new club as a London base for travelling diplomats, with past members being Winston Churchill, Henry James and Ian Fleming. This five-star hotel is for those in search of a luxurious, discreet bolthole. The hotel is also offering 20% off their Summer Afternoon Tea; mention CAL when booking or show printed map on arrival.

You can also enjoy a splendid Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason, with a complimentary glass of Champagne, when you book via their Concierge Service. Call +44 (0)20 7465 8668 or email concierge@fortnumandmason.com and mention Classic Art London when booking.

Punctuate your peregrinations between Mayfair and St. James’s with a treat at one of the area’s leading restaurants. Whether it’s breakfast at Franco’s, London’s oldest Italian dining institution at the heart of the St. James’s community, lunch at Café Murano, Angela Hartnett’s renowned establishment, or supper at Wiltons, world-famous for the finest seafood and game, when you pre-book quoting Classic Art London or walk-in with one of our maps, savour a complimentary drink with your meal. Check our website for more details and plan your visit.

Head West to Belgravia and Chelsea for more art, antiques and galleries! Our partner event Treasure House Fair takes place from 26 June-1 July in the grounds of the historic Royal Hospital Chelsea, close by Pimlico Road and Belgravia. It brings together a curated blend of art, antiques and design from 70 of the world’s foremost dealers offering their finest works. Treasure House Fair is on the Classic Art London map.

Nearby is Haynes Fine Art, specialists in European Impressionists, at 70 Pimlico Road, Belgravia, just a few minute’s-walk from Treasure House Fair. At Haynes Fine Art you will discover works by Renoir, Degas and a panoply of the leading lights of impressionism. This oil on canvas of late summer fruits, 'Pommes, Coing et Grenade sur un Linge' circa 1903-05, was exhibited in Paris in 1955, and will be included in the online catalogue raisonné of the work of Pierre-Auguste Renoir currently being prepared by the Wildenstein Plattner Institute.

Image: Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Pommes, Coing et Grenade sur un Linge, c.1903-05, oil on canvas, 8 5/8 x 12 7/8 ins

William Kent (1685-1748) is today recognised as the “most versatile British designer of the 18th century” whose “artistic ingenuity and inventiveness” helped define Georgian taste. Alexander Clayton-Payne, showing at 6 Ryder Street, St. James’s from 28 June to 4 July, offers this rare discovery of an unrecorded watercolour made by Kent whilst he was studying, travelling and working in Italy (1709-1719). It joins a small group of about ten surviving drawings which date from this early developmental period; all but two are held in public collections. Alexander Clayton-Payne’s catalogue is available to view online. 

Image: William Kent(1685-1748), A Study after Titian’s fresco ‘The Miracle of the Jealous Husband’ in St. Anthony’s Church, Padua, 29 August 1714, pen and ink & watercolour on paper, 44x29cm

Thomas Jones (1742-1803) is now regarded as one of the most significant, original and innovative of all eighteenth-century British artists. His postcard sized ‘Wall in Naples’, featuring a washing line, is one of the most popular works in the collection of the National Gallery, London.

Karen Taylor Fine Art, showing at 8 Duke Street, St. James’s from 25 June-4 July, presents an exceptional group of five works on paper by Jones, three oils on paper and two watercolours, which are offered for sale for the first time. They span his journey through Italy to Rome, his exploration of the Roman Campagna, and his stay in Naples, and encapsulate the inspiration he first yearned for and then found in Italy from 1776-1783.

Karen Taylor says: “Drawn to crumbling masonry and quiet corners, and with an eye for the unexpected, combined with an innate ability to capture light and shade, Jones’s timeless work delights the modern viewer with its immediacy. It is rare pleasure to offer, for the first time, five works by this sought after artist”.

Image: Thomas Jones (1742-1803), In the Campagna, near Rome, 1783 , signed T. JONES/1783, pen and ink and watercolour over pencil on Dutch writing paper, 24.7x34.7cm; 9 3⁄4 x 13 5/8 in

Panel Discussion: WAAW x The Society for the History of Collecting
10 June, 10:00-12:00, hosted by CAL participant Colnaghi

This talk will foreground the often overlooked work that women collectors, patrons and curators played in driving the art world both in London and in New York at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Speakers Dr Isobel Muir (formerly Royal Collection Trust and National Gallery) has recently written a research project on Jewish collectors and cultural philanthropists, 1824–1945. Dr Irene Walsh, art historian, has just published a book on Lillie P. Bliss, founding figure of MoMA, NY. Dr Marie Tavinor leads the Executive Master in Cultural Leadership at the Royal Academy of Arts and is Co-Chair of the Society for the History of Collecting. Introduction by Annya Sands, Founder of WAAW. Seats are very limited for this talk so please don’t delay in booking.

Widely considered to be among the finest of the more than 40 operas written by Handel, Rodelinda was composed at his home at 25 Brook Street in London and was first performed at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket on 13 February 1725. To mark the tercentenary of this extraordinary opera, Handel Hendrix House is staging a special exhibition until 6 July. In addition to a portrait of Senesino, the celebrated castrato Francesco Bernardi, the exhibition includes an early libretto of the opera, portraits of other cast members and objects illustrating opera-going culture from the 18th century. The exhibition is included in the general admission ticket price. Visit the whole of Handel's House as well as Hendrix's apartment.
handelhendrix.org

Leading authority on antique frames, Paul Mitchell Ltd, has worked with virtually every major museum in the world to reframe important works of art. Their studio in Avery Row, Mayfair is a trove of all styles and periods of frame imaginable. A recent example of their work involved an oil painting by Cezanne, Portrait of Antony Valabrègue (1869-71) for The Getty Museum. The portrait had been framed in a gilded baroque Roman style that detracted from the presence of the sitter. Discover how this painting was transformed and completed in a most magical way by its new frame. Paul Mitchell Ltd is hosting exclusive curator workshops at their studio during Classic Art London. See website for details.

Image: Paul Cézanne, Portrait of Antony Valabrègue, 1869-71. Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum 

Ben Elwes Fine Art, in collaboration with Lund Humphries, hosted the UK launch of The Art and Life of Francesca Alexander (1837-1917) by Jacqueline Musacchio. This is the first book to examine the art and life of Francesca Alexander who moved with her parents from Boston to Florence in 1853. Largely self-taught, her portraits and nature studies and her translations of songs and stories were much admired by her contemporaries, including John Ruskin, who published three of her manuscripts and promoted her work to his following. In spite of this celebrity in her lifetime, Alexander and her work have largely been forgotten, until now.  

Image: Francesa Alexander (1837-1917), Dining room scene, pen and graphite on paper, sheet 20.32 x 31.75 cm. Courtesy of Ben Elwes Fine Art, London

Karen Taylor Fine Art has recently catalogued a group of 93 travel watercolours by the artist and travel writer Constance F. Gordon-Cumming (1837-1924), rediscovered in a descendant’s attic in an English country house. Born and brought up in the Highlands of Scotland, Gordon-Cumming’s mother Eliza also painted and Landseer, among others, was a regular visitor to the family home. Constance developed a love of mountaineering, and went on to travel extensively in Asia, America and the South Pacific. A group of 14 works have been bought by the National Library of Scotland and a further group of 11 Sri Lankan subjects are now with the British Library. There are still fine examples available which will be on view during Classic Art London.

Image: Constance Gordon-Cumming (1837-1924), Adoration of the Tooth, Kandy (Ceylon) recently acquired by the British Library

Colnaghi reported numerous sales at the Maastricht fair to European institutions and international collectors, notably of Southern European baroque pieces. Amongst these were a very rare still life of figs from the late 1640s by the female artist Giovanna Garzoni (Ascoli Piceno 1600-1670 Rome), whose great talent earned her the direct patronage of the Grand Duke Ferdinand II de' Medici, and a beautiful bust of Marcus Aurelius attributed to Giovanni Battista della Porta (Porlezza 1542-1597 Rome).  

Image: Giovanna Garzoni (Ascoli Piceno 1600-1670 Rome), Bowl of figs with a hazelnut, c. 1650-1670, tempera on vellum, sold by Colnaghi at TEFAF 2025

A work by Spanish Renaissance master Luis de Morales, known as El Divino, has recently undergone extensive restoration by the J. Paul Getty Museum, reports The Art Newspaper.  The painting, from around 1565, had been enlarged in the 18th century, work the Getty’s conservators had to painstakingly undo, and will go on view at the Los Angeles museum on 1 May. You can read the full article about the restoration in The Art Newspaper online. The painting was acquired in a private sale from Daniel Katz Gallery, which has traced the provenance of the work to the French Royal Collection, acquired by King Louis Philippe in 1836 in Madrid. It was later owned by Sir John Charles Robinson (1824-1913), first Keeper of the South Kensington Museum, and Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures.

Image: Luis de Morales, Christ Carrying the Cross, c. 1565. J. Paul Getty Museum. Acquired from Daniel Katz Gallery. Image via The Art Newspaper