An initiative launched by the British Antique Dealers’ Association, BADA Week 2021 runs nation-wide from October 11-17.
Louise Phillips, BADA chairman, says the aim of the event is to show “the hugely diverse range of art and antiques” offered by members in galleries as well as online.
Among the exhibitions running concurrently with the event is Isaac & Ede’s showcase celebrating the reign of King George III through 60 mezzotint portraits of Georgian personalities – one for each of the 60 years he was on the throne.
The show, which the gallery’s David Isaac describes as a “light-hearted scamper” through his reign rather than “a definitive who’s who”, covers the years 1760-1820 and features an intriguing list of characters from aristocrats and military heroes to courtesans and politicians.
It runs until November 5 at Reindeer Antiques in London’s Kensington Church Street.
Georgiana Countess Spencer and her daughter Lady Georgiana, a mezzotint by James Watson after Sir Joshua Reynolds, London 1770. Priced at £1800 in 'Mad about Mezztotint at the Court of George III' at Isaac & Ede.
Joint show
Lincoln dealer John Hansord is sharing Anthony Outred’s Pimlico Road gallery in a joint assemblage of eclectic gentleman’s library objects.
“Set in Anthony’s showrooms with his super collection of furniture and objects, the exhibition will be a feast of the unusual and scientific that was the forefront of the interest of science and nature in the 18th and 19th century”, says Hansord.
Meanwhile, London furniture dealer Butchoff focuses on the Parisian master craftsmen of the Belle Époque period, offering works by François Linke, Henry Dasson, Paul Sormani and Barbedienne among others.
Karen Taylor, a specialist in British art, offers a digital exhibition of the work of Luke Elwes, the only contemporary artist she handles. Titled Turning World, the show encompasses two connected groups of 14 works on paper made over the last year and a half.
“Luke’s work is an interesting development of the tradition of British watercolours”, says Taylor.
“The immediacy and necessity of complete control of his medium, which nevertheless celebrates the unexpected, has echoes of the extraordinary technique developed by the major practitioners of the art in 19th century such as Peter de Wint, David Cox and JMW Turner, who used wet washes to achieve extraordinarily beautiful images.” Prices start at £1300.
Away from selling shows, Mayfair jeweller Wartski offers a tour and talk on its collections, including works by Carl Fabergé, and Serhat Ahmet delves into his extensive inventory of Meissen to discuss how the famous factory used mythology and satire in its figural groups. (Spaces for both are still available as ATG went to press.)
Another addition this year is The BADA Art Prize, a £1000 grant launched to promote “the antiques of tomorrow” and awarded to an emerging contemporary artist whose work “exemplifies the enduring ingenuity and quality” illustrated by BADA members’ objects.
Finalists will be selected by a panel of industry experts, including artists, art critics and curators, with the winner announced at the BADA Week Reception in central London on October 15.
