Blog Post

How to Buy at an Art Fair Without Overpaying

Reading Time: 3 minutesFairs are engineered to compress decisions. What to settle before you arrive, what is actually negotiable, the costs that follow the price, and the one-hour rule.

Art Basel Paris 2026: Dates, the Grand Palais and Paris Internationale

Reading Time: 3 minutes21-25 October at the Grand Palais, the first edition under Karim Crippa. Preview versus public days, why Paris is eclipsing Basel, and the satellite worth your afternoon.

African Art at the Autumn Sales: What Changed When the Department Closed

Reading Time: 3 minutesSotheby's dissolved its dedicated African art department in April 2025. What integration means for buyers this November, and where the specialist room still exists.

How Auction Estimates and Reserves Are Actually Set

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe low estimate is often set below expected value on purpose. How specialists arrive at a range, where the reserve sits, and what a result reveals.

African and Latin American Art Markets: Untapped Potential and Diaspora Collecting Patterns

How to Register and Bid at a Major Auction House

Reading Time: 3 minutesRegistration is a credit process, not a form. How long it takes, when a deposit is required, the four ways to bid, and why the absentee bid is underrated.

Frieze London 2026: Dates, Tickets, Hours and What to See

Reading Time: 3 minutes14-18 October at The Regent's Park. Day-by-day hours, the no-re-entry rule that catches people out, Ibrahim El-Salahi's solo stand, and the free sculpture park.

Autumn 2026 Art Fair Calendar: Frieze, 1-54, Art Basel Paris and What Follows

Reading Time: 4 minutesEleven days in October absorb the entire international market. Confirmed dates for Frieze, 1-54, PAD and Art Basel Paris, what each fair is for, and how to plan around them.

Auction Psychology: Bidding Strategies That Win Without Overpaying

Selling at Auction: The Fees, the Timeline and the Clauses That Matter

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat you net on a $40,000 hammer, why settlement takes four to seven months, which commission is negotiable, and the five contract clauses to read closely.

Buyer’s Premium Explained: Why $40,000 Costs You $56,000

Reading Time: 3 minutesHow the premium tapers, why sales tax applies to it, the charges nobody mentions, and how to set a bidding limit that survives contact with the saleroom.

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