OCTOBER is the busiest month in New York for London-based organisers Brian and Anna Haughton who, as Haughton Fairs, brought quality, vetted fairs to Manhattan in 1989 with the launch of their International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show at The Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue.
That fixture is now firmly established as one of the world's
top fairs and it runs this month from October 22 to 28. Lots more
on that in the coming weeks, but before that comes the Haughtons'
most recently inaugurated event, The International Art and Design
Fair, which will be held at the same venue from October 8 to
13.
The design fair was launched in 1999 under the name of The
International 20th Century Arts Fair, but, with the onset of the
new millennium, the name was changed to incorporate the most recent
contemporary work.
There is no doubt that of all Haughton events this most recent one
is the most problematical. With changing tastes over the past
decade Modernism has come to the fore and this fair was created to
meet that demand. But, whereas with their other events the
organisers could teach the Americans a thing or two, in this field
there were already, and still are, design fairs which were firmly
established in a market the Americans generally understand better
than the British.
This fair did not, therefore, experience the instant success and
acclaim that, for example, the Haughtons' March Asian art fair
achieved. But it has made its mark and this outing boasts 47
international dealers, 10 more than the same event last year.
The fact that 17 of them are new to the fair indicates a
considerable turnover of exhibitors, but, while, unlike the
International later in the month, dealers are not queuing up to get
a stand at this one, the places obviously get filled.
What's more, the fair does attract big names and certainly has
breadth.
It covers jewellery, furniture, much fine art and even areas like
ethnographica which, while definitely 20th century and a seminal
influence on modern design, does not readily spring to mind as
Modernist.
Whatever the medium, though, all items are strictly
vetted.
Naturally, Art Deco will be well represented, as will the later
decorative arts of the Italian, Belgian, French, English and US
designers. Contemporary Japanese work is covered to good effect as
is photography.
The exhibiting dealers come from the United States, Australia,
France, Italy, the UK, Denmark and Sweden. Prices range up to
$850,000, asked by New York's Robert Gingold for a monumental pair
of Art Deco bronze panels, designed and signed by Paul Jouve and
executed by Edgar Brandt.
Do not miss the stand of leading bronze sculpture dealers Sladmore
Gallery of London, long-time specialists in the works of that most
beguiling and gifted of animalier sculptors Rembrandt Bugatti
(1885-1916).
The stand will exhibit the work of Bugatti and celebrate the
American launch of the new excellent book Rembrandt Bugatti - Life
in Sculpture by Edward Horswell, a director of the Sladmore and an
authority on the sculptor.
This is the first truly comprehensive monograph on the artist and
is a welcome work, informative but also obviously a labour of love.
Featuring 275 illustrations, it costs $85 (£45). Details on
www.sladmore.com.
Admission to The International Art and Design Fair is $16.
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