Fortnum & Mason’s selloff

London's Fortnum & Mason’s must be feeling the pinch, because it's flogging a "highlight" of its "prestigious" art collection: Alexei Alexeevich Harlamoff's The Little Seamstress. Russian art tended to languish behind the Iron Curtain, but it has emerged; much of it is excellent and is fetching high prices, so now is a good time to sell. This little gem is up for grabs at £300,000. It's touring the UK for a while with the rest of Fortnum & Mason’s art collection before heading to Bonhams in the USA for auction. Click the title link for venues, but be warned: the Bonham website is incredibly s l o w to load and hasn't had its ink colour set. No CASSFA award here! (Steve McQueen's motorcyles are up for sale too.) Have you noticed that when Western art portrays children working, we think it's charming, but when Third World countries employ child labour we think it's appalling? A touch of the double standards.