British Art Fair Highlights Hockney, Endures Market Cycles

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The British Art Fair, co-founded in 1988 by Gay Hutson and Angela“Bunny” Wynn, is underway this week at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. The fair, which runs from September 24 to 27, is notable for retaining Hutson as its director throughout nearly four decades of operation and ownership changes.

Hutson and Wynn initially sold the fair to Robert and Johnny Sandelson in 2018. It then moved to the Saatchi Gallery, having previously been held at The Cumberland Hotel and, from 1991, the Royal College of Art in Kensington. In 2022, Ramsay Fairs, parent company of the Affordable Art Fairs, acquired the event. Wynn passed away in 2018. Hutson notes that while organizational aspects remain consistent, attendee expectations have shifted, demanding“something grander now, more smart receptions and less institutional catering.” The larger Saatchi Gallery accommodates over 70 galleries this year, drawing both established Modern British collectors and local residents.

Several galleries, including Austin/Desmond Fine Art, Messums, and Duncan R Miller Fine Art, have exhibited since the fair's inception in 1988. Other long-term participants include Crane Kalman Gallery, Abbott & Holder, Osborne Samuel, Pangolin London, and The Redfern Gallery. Works at the fair primarily span the middle market of Modern and contemporary British art, with most pieces priced between £1,000 and £100,000.

Reflecting on past sales, Hutson told The Art Newspaper,“We did sell a Henry Moore for £300,000 last year, and a Ravilious for over £100,000. Abbott and Holder had a wonderful Stanley Spencer collection and sold one of those for £90,000, so it does attract that sort of money.” She also recalled challenging market periods, such as the early 1990s when interest rates reached 17%, leading to only 25 exhibitors in 1993. The early 2000s saw a strong Modern British market before the 2008 global financial crash. Regarding the current market, Hutson stated,“The market is quite difficult, obviously, with the war in Iran and our economy. It's tricky.” She admitted to pre-fair nerves, adding,“We will sell, we always do. But I'm nervous, I think you'd be lying if you said you weren't...one always wants [every exhibitor] to have their piece of the cake.”

This year's fair includes a special tribute to the late David Hockney, featuring a loan exhibition of 12 works curated by artist Eleanor Ekserdijan. Hockney's art is also showcased by galleries such as Tanya Baxter, Blond Contemporary, and Christopher Kingzett. Kingzett is exhibiting three Hockney works, including two 1986 prints: a self-portrait from actress Lily Tomlin's collection, priced at £65,000, and “The Red Pot,” priced at £60,000. Also on display is a 1981 pen on paper portrait of poet and essayist Stephen Spender, a gift from Hockney to his friend, priced at £45,000. Kingzett noted,“Hockney inadvertently tore the drawing of Stephen Spender, and had to apologise in the inscription,” which reads,“For Stephen sorry I tore the corner off by mistake love David x,” with additional handwritten annotations by Hockney on the back.

Other highlights include John Swarbrooke Fine Art's solo presentation of British Surrealist John Banting (1902-1972), featuring works from the 1920s to the 1960s. Pangolin London, specialists in sculpture, is showing pieces by Lynn Chadwick. Rebecca Hossack is focusing on Op artist David Whittaker, while Jonathan Cooper's stand is dedicated to the paintings of Ruralist David Inshaw.

We previously reported:

David Hockney's exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London drew nearly 300,000 visitors, making it the most attended in the gallery's history.

London's Somerset House Studios marks its 10th anniversary, maintaining artist support amidst significant gallery and art institution closures across the

Source: The Art Newspaper

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