A CONTINENTAL PORCELAIN OVAL PLAQUE OF THE SISTINE MADONNA,

Recommended features

• • 

  • Studio visit: Michael S. Smith

    ​​The designer and decorator shows us around his Santa Monica HQ, and enthuses over the forthcoming Rooms as Portraits auctions in London and New York

• • 

  • The tastemaker: Martin Brudnizki

    The world-renowned interior designer selects favourite objects from our forthcoming Interiors sale in London on 13 September

• • 

  • The A-Z of furniture: Terminology to know when buying at auction

    From applique and back splats to veneering and wingbacks, an essential glossary of furniture terms

• • 

  • To gild or not to gild — that is the question

    Artists, patrons and critics have argued for centuries over the right way to frame a painting. Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal taste, says Andrew Graham-Dixon

• • 

  • 6 questions to ask when buying works on paper

    An expert introduction to the category, illustrated with works by Abts, LeWitt, Francis, Rama and more, offered from 12-20 September in First Open (Online)

• • 

  • ‘They always instinctively knew what I was looking for’ — the enduring legacy of Studio Prints

    The London firm whose founders pulled prints for many of modern art’s greats, from Lucian Freud to Leon Kossoff and Paula Rego ​