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There is only one fair that specialises exclusively in modern and contemporary British art and that is the 20/21 British Art Fair, which is held at London’s historic Royal College of Art. In this age of globalisation the idea of a national art fair may seem parochial or anachronistic. But when it began in 1988 as the 20th Century British Art Fair, this fair served a need and provided a focus and its continued success proves that that focus is still relevant. |
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Tying it Together and Dragging it Up – Colin Gleadell
There is only one fair that specialises exclusively in modern and contemporary British art and that is the 20/21 British Art Fair, which is held at London’s historic Royal College of Art. In this age of globalisation the idea of a national art fair may seem parochial or anachronistic. But when it began in 1988 as the 20th Century British Art Fair, this fair served a need and provided a focus and its continued success proves that that focus is still relevant.
The fair was founded on the premises that Modern British art (with the exception of Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Ben Nicholson) was an undervalued commodity and needed a flagship. At that time the international market for modern art was booming and British art was gathering momentum in its slipstream. The age-old inferiority complex about the superiority French art and more recently, American art, was beginning to slip away. In the art schools, the YBA movement, headed by Damien Hirst and his contemporaries was being hatched.
The fair was created by a small group of dealers and an enlightened fair organiser, Heather McConnell and started in a hotel basement in Marble Arch (it is now run by Gay Hutson and Angela Wynn). Works that were not “in the spirit of the 20th century” were vetted off and there was a strong element of avant-garde post war British artists whose work was being reassessed. The fair’s focus was and always has been historical and modernist, with a taste of the contemporary. By 1991 it had moved to the redeveloped galleries of the Royal College. This was appropriate. The college boasts such internationally recognised alumni as Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney, Patrick Caulfield, Tony Cragg, Chris Ofili and Tracey Emin, most of whom have been represented at the fair over the years.
Having survived the depths of the recession in the early 90s, business has thrived. Between 12,000 and 15,000 visitors attend each year spending from a few hundred pounds to 100,000 pounds or more on a work of art. Dealers are selected by an advisory committee which seeks to ensure that the most significant artists and movements of the 20th century will be represented. In addition, galleries that promote lesser known or forgotten artists of merit, as well as emerging contemporary artists, are chosen to provide depth and variety. As a result the fair has earned a niche reputation combining scholarly approval, glamour and a sense of discovery. Amongst those opening the fair have been Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota, the actress and model, Jerry Hall and Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent.
This year the prospects for business could not be more auspicious. In June Christie’s realised £12.4 million ($23 million) for a sale of Modern British art—the highest total for such a sale by some £5 million. In the past few months auction records have tumbled across the chronological and stylistic spectrum for British artists. From the early 20th century are the English Impressionist, Philip Wilson Steer (£299,200 or $545,053) and the expressionist painter, David Bomberg (£926,400 or $1.7million.) From the 50s are the post war abstract painters William Scott (£366,400 or $674,542) and Patrick Heron (£327,300 or $596,000). The swinging sixties have been particularly popular. There has been an abstract sculpture by Sir Anthony Caro (£1.4 million or $2.45m), an Op Art painting by Bridget Riley (£1.2m or $2.2m) and works by ‘pop’ artists, Richard Hamilton (£500,800 or $871,400), Patrick Caulfield (£512,000 or $942,592) and David Hockney (£2.9m or $5.4m).
The Riley and Hockney were both bought by US collectors. Also attracting US competition is the School of London painter Frank Auerbach whose prices have risen dramatically to £456,000, not to mention the Indian born Francis Newton Souza whose rise above the million dollar mark has been even more meteoric. The last six months have also seen record prices at auction for younger British artists, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread, Peter Doig and Michael Raedecker.
Works by virtually all these artists, as well as hundreds of established and lesser known names in the market, will be shown at this year’s 20/21 British Art Fair. Sixty of the country’s leading dealers will highlight the astonishing range and quality from the rich history of British art over the last 100 years from Degas’ friend and student, Walter Richard Sickert, to the latest print by Lucian Freud. No other event covers so many aspects of British art—from Impressionism, abstraction, surrealism and pop to conceptual, outsider and contemporary figurative art—as this fair or provides such a bank of knowledge and advice for both experienced collectors and first time buyers.
