What is happening in the market
Fairs, markets, auction houses and notes on the trade. The things that carry a date. No advertorials and no sponsored pieces.
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Four fairs in nine weeks, and only one vets what is sold
Estampa, Swab, Loop and Feriarte pack the Spanish art autumn into nine weeks. What you buy at each, what each guarantees, and what to ask at the stand.
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Buying from the artist pays 10; from a gallery, 21
Spain is the only EU country that has not cut VAT on art. What the directive says, why Brussels has taken Spain to court, and who the tax really penalises.
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Sixteen years do not launder a stolen piece
A 16th-century relief left a Navarrese monastery in 2010 and resurfaced at a Barcelona auction house. What happens to the man who bought it in good faith.
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Why another directory was needed
Directories of galleries and antique dealers exist. Almost all sell the order they list in. This one publishes its rules so they can be held against it.