A couple of weeks ago, I confided to you my hope never to cover another virtual art fair. With the COVID mass hysteria abating, I crave communal events like theater, opera, and especially art fairs. There, connoisseur dealers, art lovers, and great art mix a liberating cocktail of aesthetics rather than booze. I’ve never covered the Masterpiece art fair, though. It’s London-based and a peer in quality to the great TEFAF fair in Maastricht, which I’ve written about many times. It’s running online until June 29th, so one more . . .
A fair’s not just a fair. They’re all different, in works, obviously, but also in philosophy. Masterpiece has, like Maastricht, the top dealers and a robust vetting process. Craftsmanship, good condition, and piquant design are everywhere and a passion at both fairs. It’s different, though, and refreshing, in that it promotes crosscurrent collecting. At Maastricht, for example, prints and drawings, Old Master paintings, ancient art, Asian art, and jewelry have their own areas, or regions, since the fair is like a small city in size. It’s not segregated in fact, but it does promote focused shopping by specialist buyers sticking to specialist dealers.
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