Fairs and Markets

Among the 150 dealers at the upcoming Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair (January 23-28) is newcomer of sorts, Nic McElhatton, former head of Christie’s South Kensington.

Brussels gears up for its major art and antiques fair this month with the latest edition of BRAFA.

Antiquities is one of BRAFA’s strong suits in terms of exhibitor volume. Around 10 specialists in this field are standing, plus a number of others that mix antiquities with, for example, Asian art.

The picture dealer element of BRAFA is substantial, but increasingly these days the emphasis is on works from the 19th century onwards, be they Impressionist and modern or post-war and contemporary art.

Work from 1880 returns to where it was made after it was offered at nearby antiques fair...

BRAFA has long been a fair with a speciality in early (medieval and Renaissance) works of art, which is something that dates back to the years when it was a Belgian National fair in the city centre. It thus serves a venerable collecting tradition drawing in buyers from the local area and further afield.

Alan Blakeman, lifelong rock climber and founder of niche business BBR Auctions in Elsecar, near Barnsley, had a good 2017.

Tribal art has long been a Belgian speciality due to the country’s colonial history in Africa. So it is not surprising to see this area well represented at BRAFA, with around a dozen participants in this field hailing from Paris, Brussels and as far away as Montreal.

Some of the works on offer at BRAFA are simply too quirky to fit into any time-honoured collecting category, but they are often responsible for creating an eyecatching draw to a particular stand.

A restored wall mask made by and indeed featuring the famed Art Deco ceramics designer Susie Cooper is one of the intriguing pieces for sale at Style 1900’s '20th Century Decorative Arts Fair'.

While BRAFA understandably dominates much of the cultural headlines during this period, it is not the only show in town.

This is Liza Minelli as you might never have seen her – in this Polish poster by Wiktor Górka for the film Kabaret, which was created in 1973 for the first year of the film’s release in Poland.

The annual London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA) returns to Battersea for the second time to run in conjunction with the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair from January 23-28. Taking place on the mezzanine of Battersea Evolution, the fair focuses on carpets, rugs and woven design.

Docklands event aims to attract fresh east London buyers in busy January calendar

A long-running biannual specialist fair has been renamed and will launch its first edition in London under a new organiser this month.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the London Art Fair (LAF), which has grown from 30 UK exhibitors in its first edition to its current 131-strong international line-up. They will fill the floor at Islington’s Business Design Centre from January 17-21.

Jane Alexander of Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fairs is doing so well with her 70-dealer monthly fairs at the Dorking Halls in Surrey that she is taking extra space at the venue.

Maxine Stonehill of Pop Up Vintage Fairs has launched a new vintage fair, this time at the Art Deco Grade II-listed Walthamstow Assembly Hall.

Venerable event has broadened out from Americana to offer an extensive range of items