English Heritage has published new research into the picture, supporting the fact it may depict Lady Jane Grey, but its sitter was also proposed in a 2007 exhibition
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Specialists at London's Wallace Collection have attributed an 18th-century work to Bernardo Bellotto, who would then have been aged just 15 or 16
Founder Nazy Vassegh plans to make a comeback but warns of difficulties for dealers and collectors doing business in the UK capital
Exhibitions are lasting longer, artists are reducing their output and more discerning collectors are all contributing to the change
The UK painter’s first major museum show, at the Hepworth Wakefield, offers recognition of a talent whose ambiguous works can shift between the humdrum of the ordinary and the ecstasy of revelation
The Portuguese artist mounts the first contemporary exhibition to be installed alongside the Duke of Alba’s fabled art collection
Emma Shapiro on the UK government's secret order to break end-to-end encryption and allow access to all citizens’ Apple iCloud data
Political uncertainties may be deterring organisations from funding the €260m worth of restoration work needed to repair and rebuild the Gaza Strip’s wrecked historical sites, but emergency interventions are already underway
The splendour of the Sienese Trecento at the National Gallery
From 8 March to 22 June 2025, the National Gallery in London presents the exhibition “Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300‒1350”
Source: National Gallery · Image: Duccio, ‘The Annunciation’, 1307/8‒11 © The National Gallery, London
The exhibition of approximately a hundred works will explore the evolving status of painting among the arts of Europe and show the central role that Sienese artists played in this story, at home, in other Italian centres, and in the cities and courts of Europe.
The exhibition will bring together several surviving panels from the monumental double-sided altarpiece known as the ‘Maestà’, painted by Sienese artist Duccio di Buoninsegna (active 1278, died 1319) for the city’s cathedral. This is the first double-sided altarpiece in Western painting, and marks a fundamental shift in narrative art. This remarkably complex work was dismantled in the 18th century. The National Gallery’s own three panels from the ‘Maestà’, will be reunited with other paintings from this ensemble detailing episodes from Christ’s life. These include ‘Christ and the Woman of Samaria’ from the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid and ‘The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew’ from the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
Another reunion will be the ‘Orsini Polyptych’ by Sienese artist Simone Martini (1284‒1344). This is a folding work of art made for private devotion, probably for Cardinal Napoleone Orsini, who belonged to one of the most influential princely families of medieval and Renaissance Italy. Today it is divided between the Louvre, Paris, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp and the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. All six panels – ‘Christ bearing the Cross’, ‘Crucifixion’, ‘Descent from the Cross’ and ‘Entombment’ (depicted on the front of the folding panting); and ‘The Archangel Gabriel’ and ‘The Virgin of the Annunciation’ (seen on the reverse), will be brought together for the National Gallery’s exhibition.
Other reunions include two triptychs by Duccio – The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea, and Patriarchs and Prophets, (about 1312–15) from the National Gallery, London; and ‘The Crucifixion’; ‘The Redeemer with Angels’; ‘ Saint Nicholas’; ‘Saint Clement’, (1311–18) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. They seem to have been conceived as a pair for an individual, possibly Cardinal Niccolò da Prato, and they have matching decorations on their exterior wings.
In a historic moment for bibliophiles and collectors, Bonhams New York achieved a white glove result—100% sold—at its December 17 auction of The Complete Kelmscott Press Collection of Joseph Mark Van Horn. The auction marked the first time in half a century that a complete collection of books from the renowned Kelmscott Press, founded by 19th-century designer and visionary William Morris, had been offered at auction. The collection included all 53 works published by the press during its seven-year existence, a remarkable feat of artistic craftsmanship and fine printing.
The undoubted star of the sale was the 1896 Kelmscott edition of The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, often hailed as one of the most beautiful books ever printed. Exceeding all expectations, the Kelmscott Chaucer soared past its estimate to achieve a final hammer price of $115,000. This landmark edition, with its elaborate woodcut illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones and Morris’s meticulous design, remains a pinnacle of the Arts and Crafts movement’s influence on book production.
Overall, the sale achieved an impressive total of $690,000, reflecting sustained appreciation for Morris’s commitment to the artistry of bookmaking. “Morris spearheaded a new era of fine book printing—taking inspiration and learning from the way that books were first printed in the 15th century,” remarked Ian Ehling, Bonhams’ Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts. “The sale demonstrated that his commitment to craftsmanship is still valued today.”
Among the additional highlights of the auction was A Note on the Founding of The Kelmscott Press, one of only 12 copies printed on vellum and the last book produced by the Press, which sold for $38,000.
Another rarity, Of the Friendship of Amis and Amile, an exceedingly scarce copy translated from the ancient French by Morris and one of just 15 copies printed on vellum, found a buyer at $22,000—marking the first time in 80 years that such an edition has appeared at auction.
Further underscoring the significance of the sale, The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, translated by William Caxton and inscribed by Morris to his close friend and collaborator Edward Burne-Jones, achieved $18,000.
Meanwhile, The Book of Wisdom and Lies, translated by Oliver Wardrop and inscribed by Morris to celebrated poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling, garnered $7,600. A rare title-page design by Morris for Ballads and Narrative Poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti added to the excitement, fetching $24,000.
The resounding success of the auction reaffirms the enduring legacy of William Morris and the Kelmscott Press. More than a century after their creation, these masterfully crafted books continue to captivate collectors and literary enthusiasts, standing as testaments to the timeless beauty of fine printing.
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