Colin Gleadell provides a little perspective on last week’s Impressionist and Modern sales in London where the market (at least denominated in sterling) rose back to its 2014 heights. Will this set off a new wave of expectation and competition?

Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams all reached the higher end of their pre-sale estimates to amass a total of £392 million. That’s an impressive 59 per cent increase over last February’s £246.3 million. Last week’s figure was not quite a record; in 2014 this series reached £414 million.

Asian interest and pre-sale guarantees help London’s Impressionist and Modern art sales reach £392 million (Telegraph)