Fairs and Markets

“SWINDERBY goes it alone, a week before Newark,” was the headline in the ATG’s October 23 issue last year. With dmg’s Newark ditching their Monday and Tuesday slot in favour of a Thursday to Saturday event (February 3-5) this put Swallow Fairs’ at RAF Swinderby a full week ahead with their Thursday to Sunday show on January 28-30.

The number of stands at the Summer Olympia will be almost halved by June 2010 in a bid to make it one of the world’s top art and antiques events.

“FAIRS here are not as big by any means as those in the UK. The biggest regular fairs would have between 30 and 45 dealers and even the annual equivalent of a LAPADA fair would only have about 40 dealers or so.”

IT is never too early for some advance news of the world’s top fair, TEFAF Maastricht, which will run in the Dutch city from March 4 to 13 with the private preview on March 3. So here is a sample of what to expect on the stand of Dutch Chinese specialists Vanderven & Vanderven, who have been with the fair since its inception.

Atlanta, Georgia will have a twice-yearly vetted antiques fair to be launched by dmg World Media in October 2006.

Whether you are an aficionado of antiques, Contemporary art, photography, antiquarian books or all of the above, Cologne aims to cater for your needs later this month. The Rhineland city mounts a trio of fairs running concurrently at the city’s Rheinhallen from February 23-27.

Following the lead of The Fine Art Auction Group, Fernhurst auctioneers John Nicholson are to increase their buyer’s premium from 15 to 17.5 per cent.

Centre Exhibitions, best known as the organisers of the Antiques For Everyone fairs at the NEC in Birmingham, have announced the cancellation of this year’s equivalent event at Earl’s Court.

ELR, Sheffield, December 10, Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent Changing fashion was the talking point at ELR’s recent quarterly antiques sale. While the market for traditional furniture remains difficult, collectable names from the 20th century were in high demand.

FOR its seventh London staging, The Watercolours and Drawings Fair leaves its long-time home at the Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, and moves deeper into Mayfair to The Royal Academy, 6 Burlington Gardens, W1 where it will run from February 3 to 6 with a charity preview on the evening of February 2.

SOME weeks ago, I wrote about the immense variety in the quality of stock and presentation to be found in antique centres up and down the country.

UK Trade & Investment, the export directorate of the Department of Trade, has offered, through the British Art Market Federation, a grant of £25,000 to be shared among 19 UK dealers showing at the eighth annual Chicago Antiques Fair from April 29 to May 2.

ANTO CARTE (1886-1954) has emerged as the darling of the Belgian auction scene in recent years, and was again responsible for the country’s top saleroom price in December.

The Talbot Walk Antique Centre in Ripley and Wellers Auctioneers in Chertsey are holding a special auction in aid of the Tsunami appeal at Ripley Village Hall, Surrey this Sunday, January 30, at 5pm.

SOTHEBY’S have launched a new international craft award by choosing two winners.

GOING further afield, The South African Antique Dealers Association hold their national fair in Cape Town on February 19 and 20 with a gala opening on the evening of February 18.

AFTER 50 years at Manhattan’s Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue at 67th Street, it is little wonder that the Winter Antiques Show is the favourite fair of many New Yorkers – and, increasingly, for many others.

THE international art fair to be launched by Florida-based International Fine Art Expositions at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington Gardens next June has been titled The London Fine Art Fair.

SOME changes are planned for this year’s Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair. Britain’s top fair opens with the private preview on Wednesday June 15, thereby reverting to the historically successful Wednesday preview after seven years opening on a Tuesday.

There is a mistake in the Sotheby's Furniture and Interior Decorator sale advertisement in the 8th January issue of the Antiques Trade Gazette (No. 1671). The sale and view is being held at Olympia and not New Bond Street as stated.