DESPITE the weather, it was a great pleasure to be back in Maastricht earlier this month as the TEFAF fair returned to its traditional place in the calendar. Last year’s catch-up summer edition was somewhat underwhelming, but, this time, the confidence of the exhibitors and splendour of many exhibits reaffirmed the fair as the art world’s most important forum.
By an unscientific test—the numbers of well-dressed wheelchair users with attendant retinues —very serious money was attracted to two days of previews before the public opening. Representatives of 250 museums and institutions were also there, apparently, with Americans much to the fore; some of their groups were 10- strong, despite all claiming to be short of funds. Both the London and Edinburgh National Galleries were observed, but other British institutions less in evidence.
The truncated 2020 fair was something of a super-spreader, 2021 was cancelled and 2022 became notorious for the jewel robbery, which must have provided one of the most shared video clips of the year. The Dutch police recently announced that they are concentrating on a Balkan criminal group. One stolen item has been recovered, but the greatest mystery remains: who was that remarkable elderly gentleman sitting unmoved on a bench next to the sledgehammering smash-and-grabbers?
Most people assumed that the hammer and weapons must have been secreted in the hall during set-up, but I have been told that the gang had them strapped to their backs, thus their unseasonable coats. In any event, security was much more in evidence this time, with some professional-looking dogs and new gate scans at the entrance.
Denne historien er fra March 29, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 29, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
