Grosvenor House Antiques Fair Shuts Down

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jul 1st 2009 at 8:01PM

The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair recently celebrated its 75th anniversary but it appears that the recent week-long event was a swan song. The British Antique Dealers' Association has said the event will close because the fair is no longer financially viable. The event is held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Park Lane. This year more than 90 dealers exhibited works ranging from medieval sculpture to contemporary photographs. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attended the Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair Charity Gala on June 11.

To put on the event the Grosvenor House Hotel had to close down access to its Great Room for most of the month of June in order to get the room ready for the exhibits. The cost of the loss of revenue plus the increasing price of insurance and staging fees weighed down the fair budget. Also this fair, like many other art and antiques fairs, has suffered a lack of corporate sponsorship this year. As companies trim their budgets, sponsorships of the arts are often cut out.

The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair began in 1934 as a way of generating interest in art and antiques during the Great Depression. Over the years, the fair's popular gala opening event has been attended by royalty and celebrities. This year's fair was run under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra.

[via Bloomberg]

Tags: grosevenor house art and antiques, GrosevenorHouseArtAndAntiques, grosvenor house, GrosvenorHouse