Bring On Autumn Hunting

As masterpieces become harder to locate, London’s October fairs offer rarities aplenty

IF they ever existed, the days when art and antiques dealers could, between long holidays, sit serenely in their shops and expect the world to come to them, are long gone. Changing fashions, globalisation and the development of the international fair circuit have all played a part. The last, in particular, demands a great deal of thought and energy.

There are so many fairs, many of them clustered together in the same months, that it’s difficult to decide which are most likely to attract the ideal clients for one’s stock. It may be still more difficult to find and keep back exciting things time after time. There are fewer and fewer masterpieces to be discovered in the traditional collecting fields and not every merchant has the skills to develop new areas without alienating valuable old customers.

Even if you close your shop to deal by appointment and stand at major fairs, the pressures and costs are great. Between September and January, it would be possible to show at the Paris and Florence Biennales, PAD, LAPADA, Olympia, Frieze and Frieze Masters in London, Fine Art Asia in Hong Kong, TEFAF New York, the Winter Antiques Show, also in New York, and BRAFA in Brussels. All that with Maastricht to come in March. There are also Asian Art in London, with its gallery shows over the first fortnight of November, and smaller or specialist events everywhere.

At the time of reading, PAD London Art & Design in Berkeley Square and the two Frieze shows in Regent’s Park will be well under way, all running to October 8. It’s too soon to say how they might be doing, but here I feature a few items from PAD and Frieze Masters that have caught my eye with dealers beforehand.