After months of anticipation, Masterpiece London, the new art and antiques fair from the organizers of the prestigious 75-year-old Grosvenor House Fair, received the permissions necessary to confirm that it will take place on 24-29 June 2010 at the Chelsea Barracks. In spite of the bureaucratic quagmires and delays that these permissions took, those in the know have bet strongly …
After Grosvenor
On the heels of its seventy-fifth anniversary last June, the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair announced that it would close. Only time will tell how its absence will shift the balance of European fairs in 2010. In the meantime, Europe’s organizers unveil their plans for the coming year. BRUSSELS Held at the same time as the Winter Antiques Show …
Holiday Sparkle
Keeping winter doldrums at bay during Europe’s darkest days, the Sun King lights up London and Versailles; the Magi gleam with baroque opulence in Basel; the stars illuminate the Vatican; and Dionysian ecstasies fire up Berlin. London A sumptuous Cucci cabinet on offer at Christie’s creates a splashy finale to the auction season. As 2009 draws to a close, the …
Blockbuster shows in London and Paris
Moctezuma The British Museum inaugurates a fall blockbuster season with a sweeping exhibition on the last Aztec ruler. Anticipating the 2010 bicentennial of Mexican independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, the British Museum completes its four-part series on great rulers with the first major show devoted to the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II. That the museum has chosen to …
Last shades of summer: first tones of fall
The month offers a last chance to catch some of summer’s notable exhibitions: Islamic ornament in Frankfurt; baroque splendor in Florence; and Dufy ceramics in Ghent. Europe’s big event in September is the Twenty-sixth Biennale in Florence. Ornament The Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt gets philosophical about the meaning of ornament. In a small but insightful temporary exhibition of approximately …
Hidden treasures
Those wishing to escape crowds this summer need not avoid Europe. With minimum planning, you can view some of the most spectacular but still privately owned properties and collections in Great Britain and France. Exhibitions in Arles and Barcelona explore intercultural exchange with profundity and elegance. Secrets of Great BritainSavvy travelers to Great Britain can visit nearly six thousand objects …
Summer Fare
London salerooms buzz through July with a frezy of activity. A more leisurely pace governs the rest of Europe at a string of exhibitions: Robert Adam landscapes in Edinburgh, medieval and Renaissance beauty in Paris, intercultural exchange in Vienna, and Böttger stoneware in Dresden. London sales When salerooms in the United States and on the Continent turn silent, London auction …
Paris Dealers
An introduction to some preeminent Parisian antiques dealers