The Palmbeach3 art fair tends to be an understated affair, particularly in contrast to the frenetic energy of Art Basel Miami Beach a month earlier. The Palm Beach patrons lend the fair a refined air, while the artworks and design objects on offer are decidedly more more conservative, decorative, and accessible than what you typically find at Basel. The fair’s leisurely, congenial character felt even more pronounced in 2009, its 12th edition, as the contents of the 70 booths seemed even safer than usual and the transactions less rushed amid America’s economic meltdown.

“The bubble that seems to have burst has helped the business,” said Gregg Shienbaum of Verve Gallery in nearby Fort Lauderdale. “This year, instead of the investor buying, we had more people interested in the art itself — looking at the artwork first, then the price tag. This year there was passion for the art; last year it was more for the game.” The collectors who bought two of the 10 serigraphs from Robert Indianas 1991 “Hartley Elegies” series [in homage to Marsden Hartley] that he brought (at $7,500 apiece, and from editions of 50 each) told Shienbaum they “laid low last year because prices were so high.”

While the fair’s January 14 preview reportedly was attended by about 1,800 VIPs (up from 1,500 in 2008), Shienbaum estimated that his sales were 25 to 30 percent lower than at the 2008 edition, Verve’s “best show ever.” Yet he noted that this year he made more connections with serious collectors that he expects will lead to long-term relationships. He was greeted by phone messages and emails from new contacts upon his return to the gallery on January 20, and is helping a glass collector segue into prints following an initial purchase at the fair of Jim Dines large hand-painted lithograph Black Robe for $60,000 (edition of 10, each unique).  

Tom Grotta of Browngrotta Arts, which has participated in Palmbeach3 since it moved into the Palm Beach Convention Center in 2005, believes the fair could do better if it tapped into the crossover potential of its unique three-pronged structure of exhibiting contemporary art, photography, and design.

“This show has always had the greatest potential that they’ve never reached,” said the frustrated Grotta, who also runs a small ad agency. “It’s the only true hybrid fair, and they don’t promote that well enough to make this a destination show [for collectors] outside Palm Beach. It’s not a must-see event.” He hopes to see strategic changes now that David Lester has bought back the fair he founded a dozen years ago and sold to dmg World Media in 2001.

Based in Wilton, Connecticut, Browngrotta, the largest U.S. dealer of art textiles, sells to an international clientele via its extensive Web site, www.browngrotta.com, which boasts images of more than 1,000 works, with new objects added daily. Browngrotta’s online preview of its plans for Palmbeach3 attracted a larger transaction than any of the small pieces sold on-site.

Before Grotta had even set up his booth, an established client who had seen the online preview contacted him to purchase Generations (2005-08), one of Judy Mulfords trademark gourds embellished with mixed media, for $30,000. Another work by the artist, a 2005 black figurative sculpture that is unusual for her oeuvre, went unsold at the booth despite its gentler price tag of $15,000. Still, Grotta accepts that “part of doing these shows is advertising to make sure your brand is still out there.”

Building name recognition was the primary goal cited by Hisham Samawi, a young Syrian dealer who launched Ayyam Gallery in Damascus in 2006, branched into Dubai in June, and plans to open a third space in Beirut this year. Samawi understands that collectors may be cautious about buying from an unknown gallery, and he was satisfied to give his artists from the Levant more exposure and “show another side of this culture that doesn’t get portrayed here.” Samawi gave out catalogs and tote bags to many receptive viewers before selling three paintings on Sunday. “People are looking at the Middle East as the next big growth market and trying to get a jump on it,” he predicted.

That may prove true, but in these uncertain times, cautious dealers seemed more likely to bank on Pop art stars like Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, and Takashi Murakami, who were all well-represented at Palmbeach3.

But there were some adventurous collectors out there, like Martin and Cheryl Turchin, Palmbeach3 regulars who began amassing glass and Latin paintings 25 years ago and expanded into outdoor sculpture as they acquired homes in Palm Beach, Aspen, New York, and the Hamptons.

Just back from a trip to South Africa, the Turchins were taken with a work a bit on the fringe of their chosen niche: a standing ceramic tribal figure guarding the booth of Cleveland’s Thomas R. Riley Galleries. The couple spotted Ohio-based artist Woodrow Nashs Rhaxma (2008) on Friday, but — like many collectors this season — they waited until Sunday to complete the $32,500 purchase.

“We’re still spending on art; the economy hasn’t changed that,” said Cheryl Turchin. “We never plan to buy, but we always bring our checks.”