New York Fairs

IT is no surprise that for many people, and not just committed aficionados of things Oriental, their favourite fair is The International Asian Art Fair. The event will be staged for the ninth time at The Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street, New York City from March 26 to 31, with a Gala Benefit for the Asia Society on the evening of March 25.

THERE will be even greater English trade interest in one of the big success stories of recent years on the New York fairs scene – The New York Ceramics Fair. The fair, which has expanded from four to five days and will run at the National Academy of Design Museum, 1083 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street, from January 14 to 18 with a preview party on the evening of January 13.

TO many Americans, Manhattan’s annual Winter Antiques Show is the most prestigious fair in the land. It is certainly the most venerable since from January 16 to 25 (after a charity party on January 15) it celebrates a half century at New York’s Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street.

THIS year’s New York Fall Fair has been cancelled but the owners, Florida-based International Fine Art Expositions, insist it will go ahead in October 2004. The New York Fall Fair was launched at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan last September and the second was scheduled for the same venue this year from October 14 to 20.

DOUBTS over the second New York Fall Fair have been fuelled by a delay in publishing the list of exhibitors. In early June when he announced that the opening night preview party for the October 14 to 20 event at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York would benefit Manhattan’s Frick Collection, organiser Lorenzo Rudolf, vice-president of Florida-based International Fine Arts Expositions, promised a roster of 100 international dealers to be announced on July 1.

MUCH to the relief of the international trade, international buyers and discerning New Yorkers, the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers’ Show returns to The Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street, New York from October 18 to 24.

THE Haughtons’ International is not the only fair in town in mid-October and very well worth a visit is the Gramercy Park Antiques Show from October 18 to 20 at the downtown 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue at 26th Street.

AFTER spending much of the summer in London trying to woo British dealers over to his Fall Fair in New York, it was back in America that more recently organiser David Lester achieved his biggest coup so far in launching this new event.

USA: California-based show organisers Caskey-Lees will manage the first annual show for the Art and Antique Dealers League of America at the Gramercy Park Armory, New York on November 22-24.

GOOD news for all those British dealers who are anxious to attend a fair in New York sooner rather than later. Back in February, David Lester, head of International Fine Art Expositions, organisers of the acclaimed Palm Beach fair, announced he was planning an autumn fair at Manhattan’s Jacob Javits Convention Center.

AS New York’s Asia Week came to a close last week, early reports suggest the market for Oriental work is internationally still very strong and that in this field at least business is back to normal in the American capital.

VICTORIA Borwick, until last autumn director of the Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fairs, has joined Florida-based IFAE (International Fine Art Expositions) as a fair director.

FLORIDA-based organiser David Lester launches his first New York fair next autumn with a broad-based event at the Jacob Javits Center from September 10 to 15.

First antiques event set for early February: Scott Sandman, media relations chief at the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, has confirmed that New York City’s armories are once again open for business.

USA: New York fair organiser Sandford Smith has cancelled the Decorative Arts Fair planned for January 18-20 as part of New York’s Americana Week.

US: NEW York financier Saul Steinberg is to sell his collection of 61 Old Master paintings through the New York art dealer Richard Feigen. With obvious carrots dangled by the leading auction houses for such an important collection, conservatively valued at some $52m, this is a major fillip for the fine art trade.

US: FLORIDA-based organiser David Lester is negotiating for a new fair in New York City, possibly to be launched as early as October this year.