Sometimes even international art fairs must yield to local customs. At Art Dubai‘s ladies VIP preview in March, male dealers were allowed to keep, well, manning their booths. But when news came that the Sheikha of Abu Dhabi was soon to arrive, fair organizers did a quick sweep to clear the floor of men. Some gallerists were caught off guard, and New York’s Max Lang graciously loaned an extra female staff member to a nearby colleague. For other dealers, the ladies-only policy wasn’t a huge issue. “Our gallery is largely run by women,” says New York–based Sundaram Tagore, whose staff of 25 includes only a handful of men. “It gave me a chance to hang out with the other guys at the bar.”

"Damsels in Demand" originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2008 Table of Contents.