Art Dealers Association Fair Returns: Hounds to High Art

Key Takeaways

ADAA’s comeback showcases museum-quality art, rediscovered talents, and overlooked masterpieces, without admission fees.

’T is the season for buying and selling and looking and being seen, so I visited the opening extravaganza of the on Thursday with red-letter curiosity. It’s always good, and I’ve always reviewed it for NR except last year, when it was canceled in July, booth deposits returned, and it went missing from the art season for the first time since 1989, the year that the 200-strong national group, the art-dealer trade association, had its first splashy fair.

“A strategic pause,” the ADAA’s board said in an email, meant to give it time to “reimagine” The Art Show — the fair’s formal name — “with long-term sustainability and member value in mind.” They said it wasn’t money, though it’s nearly always about money, and in 2025 the mid-level art market seemed grim. Well, the fair’s back, at the Park Avenue Armory as always, and the booths seem smaller and more modern in content.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

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Key Takeaways

ADAA’s comeback showcases museum-quality art, rediscovered talents, and overlooked masterpieces, without admission fees.
Regional galleries reveal genuine American diversity rooted in place, craftsmanship, and individual vision.

’T is the season for buying and selling and looking and being seen, so I visited the opening extravaganza of the on Thursday with red-letter curiosity. It’s always good, and I’ve always reviewed it for NR except last year, when it was canceled in July, booth deposits returned, and it went missing from the art season for the first time since 1989, the year that the 200-strong national group, the art-dealer trade association, had its first splashy fair.

“A strategic pause,” the ADAA’s board said in an email, meant to give it time to “reimagine” The Art Show — the fair’s formal name — “with long-term sustainability and member value in mind.” They said it wasn’t money, though it’s nearly always about money, and in 2025 the mid-level art market seemed grim. Well, the fair’s back, at the Park Avenue Armory as always, and the booths seem smaller and more modern in content.