Summer Show Preview

By: Georgina Adam

June 2007

June is when the London “season” gets into full swing. Between horse racing at Royal Ascot, rowing at Henley and tennis at Wimbledon, the social calendar is chock-a-block with smart events. For the art connoisseur, a great lineup of fairs and events awaits. From the venerable Grosvenor House Fair to the tiny specialist Ceramics Fair, there’s something for almost everyone, from art to antiques and decorative arts.

GROSVENOR HOUSE ART AND ANTIQUES FAIR
JUNE 14–20
www.grosvenorfair.co.uk

It is fashionable to carp about “GroHo,” as some in the trade dub it. Certainly, the location (in the downstairs ballroom of the grand Grosvenor House Hotel) is cramped and claustrophobic. Then,
Norman Adams Ltd., London.

Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair: George III tambour writing table, c. 1770, at Norman Adams Ltd.

say critics, it is too British, too traditional.

And yet each edition of this flagship of the British trade manages to impress visitors with the range and quality of work on display, from exceptional walnut and mahogany furniture to fine paintings and exquisite jewelry. “This is still one of the leading fairs in the world, and I meet people there who I don’t see anywhere else,” says London-based Japanese screen dealer Gregg Baker, who is returning for the third time.

Grosvenor House brings together 89 exhibitors, and this year’s newcomers include tapestry specialist Simon Frances and Moretti Fine Art Ltd., a Florence- and London-based dealer in Italian Old Master paintings. Then there are the don’t-miss London-based stalwarts Norman Adams and Apter-Fredericks for 18th- century furniture, Johnny van Haeften for Dutch and Flemish Old Masters, S.J. Phillips for silver and jewelry, Wartski for Fabergé and Paris-based B.B. Steinitz for lavish French furnishings.

As well as traditional antiques, there are also more modern offerings: the Queen’s nephew, David Linley, who has forged a successful career designing and making furniture and accessories, is an exhibitor, while The Metal Gallery will bring modern flatware. (For more on David Linley, see “Discerning Eye” in A&A Update, June 2007.) Modern British paintings will be on show at Richard Green, Ofer Waterman & Co. and Osborne Samuel, among others. Complementing this is a radical redesign of the fair, which will have a far more modern look than in the past. Starting this year, each edition will feature décor inspired by a country house or historic building, and first to be chosen is the architecture of the glorious Palladian mansion Stowe House in Buckinghamshire. THE SUMMER FAIR OLYMPIA
JUNE 7–17
www.summerfairolympia.com
If GroHo is a grande dame, Olympia is her frisky younger cousin. The fair always has been a favorite with American decorators, who come for the huge variety of works offered by the 300-odd dealers—in particular the quirky and unusual pieces. Look out for a vast carved eagle on
Jorge Welsh Porcelain & Works of Art, London
Summer Fair Olympia: famille rose cider jug, Qianlong period, c. 1740–50, porcelain, at Jorge Welsh Oriental Porcelain & Works of Art; Charles Boyton,
Mallett’s stand and a pretty Anglo-Indian sewing box at Guinevere.

The location is agreeable: a large and light-filled exhibition hall with broad alleyways, and the fact that it is not particularly easy to get to (the access road is often jammed) does not stop a lively crowd of socialites and collectors from attending. Last year saw visits from Irina Abramovich (ex-wife of London’s super-rich Russian resident Roman Abramovich), artist Damien Hirst and socialite Jemima Khan. Sadly, the carpet and textile fair Hali, held concurrently with the Summer Fair in previous years, has been cancelled for this year, but has promised to return in 2008.

INTERNATIONAL CERAMICS FAIR & SEMINAR
JUNE 14–17
www.haughton.com
This was a trailblazing event when it started in 1982, offering not only a commercial platform but
Brian Haughton, London.

International Ceramics Fair & Seminar:
zoomorphic tureen and cover
in the form of a duck, c. 1755, porcelain.

also a scholarly lecture program. Since then, the number of dealers in this field has declined, as reflected in the small number of stands: just 15.

But, says dealer Adrian Sassoon, “More exhibitors wouldn’t necessarily mean better quality.” He points out that the those who participate, including Dragesco-Cramoisan, Robyn Robb, Sampson & Horne, Christopher Sheppard, John Whitehead and John P. Smith are the best specialists in this field. Sassoon will be bringing contemporary works, including studio ceramics by Kate Malone priced from about £5,000 ($9,500), while Brian Haughton is showing a very rare Chelsea tureen and cover in the form of a duck. ABA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR
JUNE 7–9
www.olympiabookfair.com
This antiquarian book fair, which runs alongside the Summer Fair Olympia in the same exhibition
David Brass Rare Books.

ABA International Book Fair: illustrated letter from Sir Edward Burne Jones to Violet Maxse, Viscountess Milner, from a group of 50 unpublished letters.

complex, is the British book trade’s main fair as well as one of the top such events in the world. (Tickets to the book fair also allow entry to the Summer Fair Olympia.) “There is quite a lot of overspill from the antiques fair, and it gives us the opportunity to introduce books to a new audience,” says Lucinda Boyle of the noted dealer Bernard Shapero, while Pierre Lombardini of Adrian Harrington Rare Books says, “The combination works very nicely for both.”

The range of offerings from the 140 international dealers is enormous—from illuminated manuscripts through the earliest printed books (incunabula) to modern first editions such as the highly popular James Bond books by Ian Fleming.


LONDON WEEK EVENTS
Because an increasingly large part of most dealers’ business is conducted at fairs, collectors visit their actual premises less and less often. And yet the gallery is where dealers are best able to put on in-depth shows and get to know potential clients’ tastes. The solution is for galleries to put on special “event weeks,” and London is offering two in June: London Sculpture Week (June 15–23, in which seven top Mayfair dealers hold special exhibitions and a joint vernissage on June 13) and Master Drawings in London Week (June 29–July 6), which brings together drawings dealers offering everything from Old Masters to modern works. For more information, visit www.londonsculptureweek.com and www.masterdrawingsinlondon.co.uk.

Georgina Adam is the Art Market Editor for The Art Newspaper and served as Art & Antiques’ Tokyo correspondent. She reports on the new breed of young British artists in this issue.