tefaf

Fab Fair for Art Royalty

Filed under: Art

Louvre, hyperphoto by Jean-Francois Rauzier, Waterhouse & Dodd

Is it all about money or art? The answer is probably both but if you're in the Art 101 category, you can catapult up to PhD level at The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

TEFAF is the most sophisticated, highly vetted, and elegant art fair anywhere. All true, but it is also a place where the minute the doors swing open to VIP guests, there's a stampede to the jewelry booths where for the most part glitz not glamour dominates.

Collectors, museum curators often accompanied by their trustees, and general connoisseurs attend to browse, to see and be seen, and to bring home treasures. This year, some 73,000 visitors attended. Most are Dutch, followed by Germans and Belgians, English, French, Italians, Americans and an impressively growing numbers of Russians and Chinese. Among a handful of Arab sheiks, most prominent this year was Sheikh Saud al-Thani, the art-hungry collector who is a cousin of the ruling Emir of Qatar. He surely arrived on one of the 154 private jets that landed on the tarmac of the tiny Maastricht-Aachen airport.

Van Gelder Antique Indian Jewelry

At the blue chip opening one of the first pieces to be snapped up was by a Russian collector: a billowing tapestry made of beaten red and gold bottle tops by the Ganaian artist El Anatsui. The price was $965,532. You can see his aesthetically beautiful "Earth and Heaven" sculpture installed in the African art galleries at the Met. In another gallery in the modern section, a well-heeled collector bought Spanish artist Joan Miro's sculpture, "Oiseau Lunaire," or moon bird, a wooden surreal, bird-like figure for $5 million. A bronze version of a moon bird by Miro is in the Nasher Sculptural Center in Dallas. That same day, March 18, Russian TV didn't waste a minute filming at the booth of Van Gelder Indian Jewelry which showcased some fabulous South Sea pearls and antique jewelry.

Tickets to the private first day are distributed to dealers who then invite their most important clients. The next day, all are welcome at a tab of €50 or about $75.

Now if you don't fit into the curator or collector category, what would draw you to TEFAF? Without a doubt, it is a remarkable learning experience for anyone who loves art. As Michelin says, it's worth the voyage, merely to see some 5,000 years of impeccable art, exquisitely presented. It could be that some TEFAF director handed down guidelines to the presenting dealers insisting that they treat every inquiry with respect. You won't find any condescending brush offs here.

Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo, Rembrandt

One item that drew large crowds was a fragment of an Egyptian water clock depicting Alexander the Great from about 332 BC at Belgium's Harmakhis Galerie. Old Dutch masters, especially a portrait by Rembrandt, "Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo" from 1658 and Renoir's "Woman Picking Flowers," depicting Camille Monet in a field of flowers also gained a lot of attention. A major attraction was a Helmut Newton solo exhibition of 40 photos from London's Hamiltons Gallery. Other standouts were Joana Vasconselos sensual feminine crocheted canvases at Haunch of Venison, Secessionist furniture at Kolomon Moser, beautiful Chinese textiles from Jacqueline Simcox in London. Only a BMW art car designed by Jeff Koons looked as if it had driven in by mistake.

TEFAF, first organized in 1975, invites 260 dealers from 16 countries all of whom undergo tremendous scrutiny to assure the quality, condition, and authenticity of their objects. About 100 dealers apparently are on a waiting list hoping to make it another year. Think of it as an art melting pot presented in an aura of gentility. It's the most promising, sophisticated, and enjoyable fair for specialists and the general public.

Tags: art, Art Fairs, Maastricht, Netherlands, Rembrandt, Renoir, TEFAF, The European Fine Art Fair

The Big Deals TEFAF Didn't Mention

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

You know how it is in the art scene: big checks, big names and big egos like to stay under the radar. Anonymity is the norm, of course, and the buyers of Rothkos and Basquiats don't like to see their names in press releases. Yet, a look under the covers of the TEFAF Maasricht art fair shows that some pretty important pieces moved for some rather hefty amounts. The billionaires came out to play, and dealer and galleries were more than ready to accommodate.

Over 10-days, $2.7 billion of inventory was offered t dealers and museums from around the world. Prices edged higher thanks to a recovering art market, and impressive pieces found new homes. Jean-Michel's Basquiat's "Busted Atlas 2" was picked up for $2.4 million by a German collector, sold by Van de Weghe Fine Art, a gallery in New York.

Nonetheless, it's not like the art bubble. David Leiber, of New York's Sperone Westwater gallery, tells Bloomberg News, "Collectors are adjusting to the new values. We have to charge these prices because we can't replace these works." He adds, "There may be some people who went a little overboard at the auctions," a sentiment echoed by Paolo Vedovi of Galerie Odermatt-Vedovi. Vedovi observes, "Auctions are almost a separate market," continuing, "We don't see many of those people. Art fairs aren't as spontaneous. Buyers are cautious and they need to think."

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Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, basquiat, galleries, gallery, maastricht, rothko, tefaf

TEFAF Boasts of Art Market Recovery

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Plenty of art moved at TEFAF Maastricht 2010, and collectors were willing to deal with the prices ... and enjoy their stays in style. According to a statement by TEFAF, many international collectors took private jets to Maastricht/Aachen Airport, where 171 private aircraft landed during the fair. Eighty-two of them touched down in time for the Private View on March 11, 2010. U.S. collectors were back in the game, and the Europeans amped up the intensity, too.

TEFAF attracted 263 dealers and representatives from more than 150 museums from more than 17 countries, which contributed to the robust marketplace (along with the change in global economic circumstances , of course). TEFAF on Paper, a new section at the fair, featured a wide range of prints, drawings and photographs, among others. Parisian dealer Tanakaya moved two early prints, very rare, by Hashiguchi Goyô, entitled Kami sukero Onna, 1921 and Keshô no Onna, 1918. They sold for €32,000 and €30,000 respectively.

Over in the antiquities section, dealer Rupert Wace of London moved an Egyptian Wood Mummy Mask at an asking price of €150,000 (final price not announced) to a private collector. He also sold a Roman bronze statuette of Aphrodite wearing a silver diadem. The piece was from the first century and is headed for a private museum in France.

Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, kandinsky, maastricht, private jets, tefaf

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Chinese Export Porcelain On Display at Tefaf

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

My colleague Tom Johansmeyer recently mentioned the Tefaf show going on at Maastricht in the Netherlands from March 12-21. Among the many booths and displays at one of the world's top arts and antiques fairs you'll find the Cohen & Cohen Chinese Export Porcelain Gallery (Tefaf Maastricht Booth 246).

The Cohens are showing some very important examples of 17th to 19th century Chinese porcelain largely created for export on commission from Western clients. For close to thirty years the Cohens have provided major museums and collectors with access to the finest pieces entering the market, and have played a role assembling several world class collections. They often showcase things not seen on the market and recently exhibited at The Winter Antiques Show in New York.

Gallery: Cohen & Cohen Chinese Export Porcelain

Tags: antiques, chinese export porcelain, chinese porcelain, maastricht, tefaf

Continue reading “Chinese Export Porcelain On Display at Tefaf”

Tefaf Dealers Pricing Art Aggressively

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The action in Maastricht is expected to be hot. Two hundred sixty-three dealers will descend upon the Dutch city, bringing art inventory worth $2.7 billion to the world's largest art and antiques fair, Tefaf. Fingers are crossed that billion-dollar collectors will come out to play. The market has turned the corner, but the community mains reluctant to get its collective hopes up.

For the art market, this is the first chance to see how high demand for art is outside the auction houses. Private deals don't offer the transparency of the gavel scene, but the transactions can be far more interesting. By the end of Tefaf, we'll know just how deep the art market recovery is running. VIP guests will be allowed to visit tomorrow, ahead of the great unwashed.

The largest group of dealers at Tefaf this year will be those representing pre-20th century pictures, with more than 70 exhibitors. Sandro Botticelli's "Madonna and Child with the Infant Sant John," reaching back to the late fifteenth century, will be available for $15 million by Dickinson of London. Dickinson is also showing Paul Gauguin's "Deux Femmes," with a price tag of $24.4 million. Both are being sold by private collectors.

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Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art fair, art market, maastricht, Netherlands, tefaf

The Maastricht Fair: Art and Antiques from Around the World

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

The Maastricht Fair, also called the TEFAF (which stands for The European Fine Art Fair), has been nominated for a Luxist Award for the best antiques resource category.

Commonly called "Maastricht", the fair, which is held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, this is where some of the most distinguished dealers, academics, art critics and collectors in the world gather once a year.

Maastricht was once two separate international fairs until they were merged to form the The European Fine Art Fair. Here, visitors will have the opportunity to view and buy genuine masterpieces from Bruegel to Bacon in addition to some of the world's finest antiques and antiquities.

Perhaps no where else will you find such rigorous investigation of their quality, condition and authenticity. Indeed, there are no fewer than 25 different vetting committees, consisting of 150 international experts, specialized in the fields that are presented at the fair. Each object is examined for its quality, authenticity and condition. Works of art that don't meet the high standards of the The European Fine Art Fair are removed from the stands and locked away until after the fair. In addition, the Art Loss Register, the world's largest database of stolen art, checks the objects against their lists of reported art theft, thus enabling collectors to acquire works of art at the Fair with the highest level of confidence.

The rough estimate for the total value of the objects presented at Maastricht exceeds $1 billion, which doesn't even include the magnificent contemporary jewelry section. All works of art shown by exhibitors at the fair are for sale (apart from stand furniture). The fair is 30,500 square meters, which is roughly the size of six football (or soccer) fields. Typically, there are 240 art and antiques dealers from 15 countries who exhibit at the fair; approximately 82% of the participants are non-Dutch.

Tags: antiques, decor, decor-awards, luxist-awards, maastricht, tefaf, winners-decor

Laurence Graff Buying and Selling at Tefaf

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Another year of The European Fine Art Fair (better known as Tefaf) in the Netherlands and diamond kingpin Laurence Graff is already buying and selling. Bloomberg reports that he sold an emerald-cut white diamond, of about 30 carats for $5 million to a U.S. client. Not bad, although last year bang Graff sold a 70-carat yellow diamond out of their booth for around $11 million. Graff also spent some money at Tefaf picking up one of Jean-Michel Basquiat's boxer paintings for 3.5 million euros ($4.5 million).

This year there are a record 239 dealers offering over $1 billion worth of art ranging from Old Master paintings to silver, ceramics and contemporary art. The sale runs from March 13 to March 22. All the works are of the highest quality, Art Daily reveals that there are 25 committees made up of 155 experts who ensure quality, condition and authenticity. The entrance hall in the exhibition is decorated with thousands of flowers for an impressive display. Many are hoping that after the huge results earned by the Yves St. Laurent sale in Paris, collectors are once again in a spending mood.

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Tags: basquiat, diamonds, laurence graff, LaurenceGraff, tefaf

Tefaf Finishes with a Yellow Diamond Flourish

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Events

Tefaf, the world's largest art and antiques fair, closed Saturday with a bang as a 70.12 carat yellow diamond was sold for about $11 million! The enormous emerald cut stone was sold by London jewelry dealers Graff to a European client. Of course there were stunning pieces of art and other jewelry to be found at the exclusive fair and even with financial markets in a downward turn Tefaf experienced a 3.3% increase in attendees compared to 2007. When one buys a diamond that large, do you actually wear it or just keep it in a glass box to show your dinner guests...personally I think it would seriously weigh down my hand, not to mention completely keep me from ever putting that hand in a pocket. Click through for more exciting sales and a thief's prize.

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Tags: diamond, jewelry, Tefaf, yellow diamond, YellowDiamond

Where to Buy $1 Billion in Art

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

If you're looking to buy beautiful pieces of fine art you don't always have to battle it out in the auction world. TEFAF, or "The European Fine Art Fair," is scheduled to start this week and will run from March 7th - 16th. Last year the fair sold more than $500 million in fine art, and this year they hope to not only meet but exceed that number.

TEFAF is geared towards the "highest caliber of collector," and they are actually looking to avoid big crowds because they "threaten the fair's reputation of quality and exclusivity." Among many valuable items that will be available for sale is the 1890 "The Child with an Orange" by Van Gogh for $30 million.

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Tags: art, European Fine Art Fair, EuropeanFineArtFair, fair, sale, TEFAF

Rembrandt Painting at TEFAF

by Matthew Collins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Events

New York Gallery, Salander-O'Reilly is bringing home some Dutch art to Dutch soil at TEFAF 2006. The painting, a dark portrait of the Apostle James. The artist, Rembrandt van Rijn. Completed toward the end of Rembrandt's life in 1661, this work is decidedly moody and filled with the things that make us love Rembrandt. While I confess that I'm no art critic, I'm certain that this painting would look really good in my library. TEFAF is like the Louvre, except the art has a price tag.

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Tags: art, rembrant, tefaf

Fragonard Sketch at TEFAF

by Matthew Collins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Events

As promised, here is an item that is going to be up for grabs at TEFAF Maastricht in a couple of weeks. This pen and ink drawing by French artist Jean-Honore Fragonard is entitled "Ruggiero Blinds The Orc." This drawing is being brought to TEFAF by the distinguished Agnew's Gallery of Old Bond Street. Agnew's will also be displaying works by Lord Leighton Frederic and Francois Boucher.

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Tags: art, maastricht, Tefaf

TEFAF Maastricht 2006

by Matthew Collins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Events

Europe's most important flea market is coming up soon, so make your reservations to get to the oldest city in the Netherlands, Maastricht. From March 10-19, TEFAF is the European Fine Art Fair and features over 200 of the world's best antique and art dealers plying their wares before the most discriminating customers on earth. At over 300,000 square feet and with between $500 million to $1 billion in art and antiques on the floor, it is well worth the 40 euro admission fee. Everything on display is for sale and I'm sure you could haggle if you wanted. I'll bring you some other special items from the fair as we go along so stay tuned.

This etching by James McNeill Whistler will be among those exhibited by The Fine Art Society of London.

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Tags: antiques, art, tefaf

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