Milton Avery John Singer Sargent Edward Steichen Carolus-Duran Drivier Manet Rodin Miami’s Silver Lining

Send a letter to the Editor

Save to Del.icio.us Digg this

Most dealers reported good attendance, particularly on Friday, even though one commented that there seemed to be fewer European collectors around than in previous years. But talk centered on the opening night, which this year benefited New York's Frick Collection. Mark Brady of W.M. Brady of New York, who sold a Manet lithograph and a Corot painting, among other things, told Artinfo.com he thought the Frick benefit brought in the right crowd. Even after the gala opening, dealers reported visits from many museum curators.

This year saw some alterations in both the fair's composition and its look. Several dealers present last year, including New York's Achim Moeller, did not return, but the fair saw new additions in Trinity Fine Art, a London Old Masters dealer, Thomas le Claire of Hamburg, Galerie Dumonteil from Paris, London's Sladmore gallery, as well as American dealers Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts, Berry-Hill Galleries and Hill Stone. (This year there were 54 dealers, while the fair has hovered around 60 dealers for the past three years.) Improvements included a switch to three aisles instead of four, larger booths and a red carpet in the aisles that set off the booths nicely.

Sculpture played a larger role this year, though at least one dealer commented that the fair still needs more Old Master sculptures. The Greenwich Gallery sold a c.1912-13 monumental bronze relief, Harmonie, by the Rodin-trained Leon-Ernest Drivier, priced at $265,000, to a New York private collector on opening night. Commenting on the sale, Brett Holster of Greenwich Gallery tells Artinfo.com that he considers the fair a great place to "bring forward important things that need to be seen."

Tony Neville of Frost and Reed, a London and New York based gallery that sold a glamorous Kees van Dongen watercolor, Portrait de Femme , at the fair, commented that this fair is "Better than [the fair in] Palm Beach. And it looks better this year, more open."

Other notable paintings included a Lucas Cranach The Elder Portrait of a Bearded Man, possibly a Duke of Pomerany (1534) at Haboldt & Co. The picture, which has an unusual robin's egg blue background, was on offer for $1.65 million. Carlo Van Oosterhout of Haboldt told Artinfo that he had seen a steady stream of museum curators and collectors, and thought the fair was looking better than last year.

David and Constance Yates sold two works in plaster by Rodin a small model in a glass vitrine, of Nijinsky dancing, and a rare portrait medallion. The dealer also sold a painting by Carolus Duran. From Flavia Ormond's drawings-packed booth, collectors snapped up two works by John Singer Sargent and other choice items. Unusual for this dealer who works mainly with drawings was the presence in the booth of a painting, by Josef Theodor Hansen, 1912, depicting the interior of a Franciscan church. It, too, sold.

The esteemed Hollis Taggart Galleries was highly successful at the fair, selling two paintings by Milton Avery, one for around $200,000, and the other for around $40,000, as well as a painting of a misty landscape by Edward Steichen, who is better known for his photographs. The Steichen went for a six figure sum.

Attracting the notice of New York Times critic Grace Glueck in her report on the fair was a large, previously unknown painting by Zurbaran, The Flight Into Egypt, in the booth of London-based Agnews. It was on offer for $3 million and, according to Agnews, a number of museums showed interest.

There were many more sales at the fair, and dealers generally seemed happy with the results.