Artefacts

Readers considering a trip to Paris to visit the Nabis exhibition at the Grand Palais (reviewed on this page last week) are advised not to book their tickets too hastily. Last weekend an unidentified piece of masonry fell from the roof of the museum, which was immediately closed to the public until further notice. Although the show's scheduled closure date of 3 January would not seem to bode well for a re-opening, it is just possible that an extension will be arranged. In the meantime, those whose appetites have been whetted might find consolation at Agnew's in London's Old Bond Street where, until January, they can see works by Bonnard, Vuillard and other artists featured in the Paris show, in an exhibition of turn-of-the-century French prints, none of which, we are told, are priced at over pounds 10,000.

Collectors with a more meagre budget are directed to the Gift Supper to be held by the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries, London on 14 December. Having made a donation to the Artists General Benevolent Society (minimum pounds 40, tickets from the ROI on 071-930 6844), every guest is promised a gift of a 'small original work of art'. By the end of the evening you could be the owner of a work by such Institute members as Gillian Ayres, Paula Rego or Carel Weight. Not bad for pounds 40. And that includes dinner and a view of the Institute's annual exhibition. With only 80 tickets left, though, you need to book early.