27th August 2008
This year, the 20/21 British Art Fair, the only fair specialising in modern and contemporary British art, celebrates its 21st anniversary. It takes place 10 - 14 September at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 and will be opened by Nick Ross at 5pm on the 10th.
Background: When it started - as the 20th Century British Art Fair - the market for Modern British art was comparatively small and work by most of the artists represented could be bought at a fraction of the prices they now command. Few would have predicted the enormous rise of interest - not only in British art but in art worldwide - which has occurred in the last 15 years and today this market has grown beyond all expectation.
At the Royal College of Art, which can justly be called the spiritual home of modern and contemporary British Art, all the great names of the 20th century British art will be found: Bacon, Caro, Freud, Frink, Frost, Hepworth, Hockney, Hodgkin, Lanyon, Lowry, Moore, Nash, Piper, Riley, Scott, Sutherland, Spencer etc. alongside a large selection of work by contemporary artists such as Hirst, Emin and Grayson Perry plus others waiting to be discovered.
Highlights: 'Affordable' (in relation to the records set earlier this year for works in oil) prints and drawings by Bacon and Freud (£14,000 and £18,000 respectively), historic busts of Sir John Gielgud and TE Lawrence by Jacob Epstein and Eric Kennington; work by self-taught artists Joash Woodrow and James Lloyd; a striking portrait by Mark Gertler 'Iris Bruce, the landlady's daughter, 1928, which was owned by Mark's son Luke. Gertler was a highlight of the recent Camden Town exhibition at Tate Britain and other Camden Town artists are featured in the Fair.
Back the Dealer: The dealers are without doubt the backbone of the art trade. If you look into the archives of some of the oldest established participating galleries, you will find evidence of their early support for many of today's most sought after names. In fact, without the years of nurture and support spent by dealers building up an artist's career (by mounting and curating exhibitions, organising print editions, publishing catalogues etc), it would be difficult for an artist to establish a reputation.
Reasons to visit: Fairs offer a great 'one-stop' opportunity to view the market and meet 60 of the UK's leading dealers. Whether your taste is for the earlier work, Scottish Colourists, pop art, original prints or the contemporary, the breadth and depth of over a hundred years of British art may well surprise. With prices from the low hundreds to hundreds of thousands, it is not to be missed.
The fair is owned and run by Gay Hutson and Angela Wynn with the help of an Advisory Committee. This year, it is kindly sponsored by Stuart Alexander, Art Insurance Specialists, and AXA Art.
ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART, KENSINGTON GORE, LONDON SW7 2EU
DATE: 10 - 14 SETEPMBER 2008 TIMES OF OPENING: Wed: 3-9pm; Thurs: 11am-8pm, Fri/Sat: 11am-7pm, Sun: 11am-6pm. ADMISSION: £8, CONCESSIONS £5 TEL: 44 (0) 208 742 1611. www.britishartfair.co.uk
