Maastricht — 11 March 2024: TEFAF’s exhibitor community unveiled an impressive array of artworks as the celebrated Maastricht fair commenced its proceedings on Thursday, 7 March. Maintaining its venerated status as the premier fair for museum-quality works of art, TEFAF treated collectors to two previews, attracting thousands eager to explore and acquire 7,000 years of art history. The event featured presentations by 272 exhibitors hailing from 22 countries.
TEFAF continues to uphold its reputation for fostering strong ties with museums, as evidenced by the attendance of esteemed guests during the opening days. Notable attendees included 300 museum directors, 650 curators, and 40 patron groups from renowned institutions such as the British Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Louvre. Representatives from institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art Washington also graced the occasion, reflecting TEFAF’s global appeal and influence in the art world.
Several exhibitors were reported to have sold the majority of their stands, including Pauline Pavec (stand 707), which was taking part in the new Focus section of the fair and sold to major European and American institutions; Ben Hunter (stand 495), which sold to British and American private collectors; and A Lighthouse called Kanata (476) which made 19 sales in the opening two days. The inaugural JP Morgan Private Bank Showcase Prize was presented to Olszewski | Ciacek Gallery (stand 908), which also had strong opening sales, including a work by Karol Hiller Heliographic Composition (XXVI) for €50,000. Reported sales from the preview days have so far included the following:
Modern & Contemporary Art and Design
A Lighthouse called Kanata (stand 476) sold The Path to Spring, 2024 by Satoru Ozaki for €150,000 to a private foundation.
First-time exhibitor Sarah Myerscough Gallery (stand 494) sold a remarkable grown willow tree chair by Full Grown to a US private collector for approximately £85,000.
St. Moritz’s Galerie Karsten Greve AG (stand 410) reported multiple sales on the opening day, including three pieces by artist Kathleen Jacobs, which were sold to European private collectors for between €30,000 and €500,000.
The Paris-based Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois (stand 450) sold its hyperrealistic sculpture titled Adam and Eve by John DeAndrea to a European Museum and Pink by Peter Stämpfli to a private collector for between €250,000 and €300,000.
David Tunick, Inc. (stand 436) sold six works in the opening days, including Edvard Munch’s Madonna lithograph for an upper six-figure sum, sold unseen at the opening bell to a Scandinavian buyer, and an etching by Jean Morin, after Philippe de Champaigne, Still life with a pocket watch, skull and vase of roses, sold to a dealer for his collection for a five-figure sum within the opening hour of the fair.
Ben Hunter (stand 495) sold a critique of drawings by Phoebe Boswell with an asking price of $100,000; a painting by Cedric Morris for around £195,000; Self-Portrait by Frank Auerbach; and a painting by Ithell Colquhoun for an undisclosed sum to British and American private collectors.
First-time TEFAF Maastricht exhibitor Geoffrey Diner Gallery (stand 459) sold two Tiffany Studio pieces and a set of modernist Scandinavian chairs to European private collectors.
Tina Kim Gallery (stand 462) saw some notable sales, including a Ha Chong Hyun for $200,000-$250,000, a Kwon Young-Woo for between $150,000 and $200,000, and a major Park Seo-Bo work.
Paintings
First-time exhibitor, New Orlean’s gallery MS Rau (stand 334), reported several significant early sales, including its highlight, Van Gogh’s Tête de Paysanne à la Coiffe Blanche, a private museum outside the EU.
Zebregs&Röell Fine Art (stand 140) sold the only signed painting by Gesina ter Borch, Portrait of Moses ter Borch as a Two-Year-Old, to the Rijksmuseum with the support of the ‘Women of the Rijksmuseum’ Fund.
Madrid’s Caylus Gallery (stand 364) reported selling several pieces ranging from low five figures to mid-six, including Christ on the Cross by Francesco Buoneri, known as Cecco da Caravaggio, acquired by a major American museum for €280,000.
Carlo Virgilio (stand 369) sold a painting by artist Carl Glotz to Luxemburg’s National Museum of Archeology, History and Art (MNAHA) along with Il Pescatoriello Marvasi (The Marvasi Fisherboy) to a major American museum.
Dutch Old Masters specialists, Bijl-Van Urk Masterpaintings (stand 370) sold Study of a Youth by Michaelina Wautier and A Calm with a Kaag and Smalschip Ashore by Willem van de Velde the Younger for in the region of €500,000.
Kunsthandel P. de Boer (stand 339) sold A Council of War on the Dutch fleet and The Gouda, Flagship of admiral Issäc Sweers at sea, before the fore days battle as a set for €3 million to a Dutch private collector.
Kunstgalerij Albricht (stand 326) sold View on Veere, Zeeland, by Jan Toorop for an asking price of €375,000 to a young Dutch collecting couple.
Van der Meij Fine Arts (stand 377) reported the sale of Forest Ferns by Bertha Wegmann to a Dutch Museum, thought to be the first Wegmann in a Dutch public collection.
The Beheading of the Baptist was sold to a Dutch private collector for around €100,000 at Caretto Occhinegro (stand 372) in the first 30 minutes of the fair’s opening.
Salomon Lilian (stand 308) sold a Still Life with a lute, globe, sash, sword and a portrait print of Ingo Jones, an Anglo-Dutch school oil on canvas, to a private collector, which had an asking price of around €350,000. Other sales include The Triumph of Phoebus Apollo and Prometheus’ Gift of the Arts of Humanity by Jacques Jordaens, Merry Company by Dirck Hals and Erysichthon Selling his Daughter Mestra by Jan Havicksz Steen to a private European collection.
Charles Beddington (stand 367) made ten sales over the preview days, including a work by Giovanni Battista Bertucci for €400,000 and The Piazza San Marco during the Feast of Saint Stephen by Francesco Guardi and Michele Marieschi for an asking price of €450,000.
Antiques
London-based Thomas Coulborn & Sons (stand 175) made several sales on the preview days, including a Chinese Export Carved Huang Huali Armchair and a pair of side chairs. The chairs originate from an important group of Huang Huali furniture made in China in the 18th century for export to England, based on designs produced in England in the late 1730s.
Runjeet Singh (stand 186) sold a significant piece to a US private collector and several more pieces to clients he met at TEFAF when he last exhibited in 2022.
Koopman Rare Art (stand 166) sold a set of eight salt cellars made for the Earl of Grosvenor by Rundell, Bridge & Rundell for £270,000 to a private collector.
Vanderven Oriental Art (stand 104) sold a pair of sizeable Buddhist lion figurines to a Swiss collector and a scarce porcelain figure of a Preening Goose to an Italian private collector for over €40,000.
Prahlad Bubbar (stand 180) sold A View of Shalimar Bagh, attributed to Mihr Chand and calligraphic by Hafiz Nur Ullah Lucknow, to an American Museum for a six-figure sum.
Dr Jörn Günther Rare Books (stand 114) reported sales of six manuscripts, including a Book of Hours illuminated by the Master of Philippa of Guelders, for between CHF 50,000 and CHF 400,000.
Debora Elvira (stand 243) had a strong start on the opening days, including selling a Capezzale depicting Mary Magdalene to the Wawel Royal Castle State Art Collections.
Arms and armoury specialist Peter Finer (stand 222) reported record sales, including a seven-figure purchase of a valuable gilded Augsburg helmet by the most prominent New York collector.
Works on Paper
Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books (stand 600) sold Jazz, bon à tirer, a remarkable collection of plates by Henri Matisse to a private American collector.
Agnews Works of Paper (stand 609) sold multiple pieces during the preview days, including Tête et épaules de face avec range by Amedeo Modigliani and pieces by Alberto Martini, Mela Muter, and Georges Rouault to private collectors and museums.
William Weston (stand 606) sold The Virtues, Mercy, 2021 Damien Hirst for around €35,000, along with works by Miro, Chagall, and Haring.
Colnaghi Elliott Master Drawings (stand 613) made several sales to European buyers on the first day, including Visage, 8 June 1990, by Leonor Fini to a Greek collector based in the UK for €12,000.
Ancient Art
Within the first 10 minutes of the fair, Galerie Chenel (stand 503) sold a Roman marble sculpture from the 1st—2nd century AD, titled Head of Athena, to a private European collector.
London’s Kallos Gallery (stand 502) reported good sales, including a six-figure sum for a Roman Marble Torso of a God from the 1st century AD and a miniature portrait head of Emperor Lucius Verus for more than £50,000
Charles Ede (stand 501) sold several works over the opening days, including an Egyptian serpentine torso of Thutmose III, a Roman bronze figurine of a stag and a Roman marble head of Bacchus.
Returning to TEFAF after a six-year hiatus, Rupert Wace (stand 502) sold well on the opening days, including a basket and an elegant South Arabian head to a private collector and a Roman-Egyptian offering table acquired by a Japanese collector for a five-figure sum.
Sculpture
London-based gallery Stuart Lochhead Sculpture (stand 112) sold multiple pieces over the preview days, including Giustiniani’s Portrait Bust of Vincenzo Bellini to a private collector for the asking price of €76,000; Joseph Chinard’s Portrait of Alexis Guiffrey to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, in the region of $90,000; and Giambologna’s Striding Mars, to a significant American museum for $4 million.
Parisian sculpture specialist Galerie Sismann (stand 177) sold Cristo Vivo by Alessandro Algardi to the SKD Museum in Dresden.
Xavier Eeckhout (stand 162) sold a pair of Rembrandt Bugatti figures, Chameau apprivoisé, to a Dutch private collection for €400,000.
Ben Houston of London-based Peter Harrington said of the gallery’s first year at TEFAF Maastricht, “Our experience has been positive. Seeing the level of visitors from museums and institutions has been exciting. We have made a lot of new connections during the opening days and have connected with current and former clients. We’re confident that TEFAF is a great platform to present our works to a diverse, international collecting audience.”
TEFAF President Hidde van Seggelen added, “It is gratifying to hear of such important sales made by our exhibitors in the opening days of TEFAF Maastricht 2024. This fair has been a barometer for the international art and antiques market since its inception in 1988, and we are proud to receive the world’s leading museums, institutions and private collectors who continue to see it as the most important global fair for acquiring the finest works of art, antiques and design.”TEFAF Maastricht runs until Thursday, 14 March, at the MECC, Maastricht. For information, visit tefaf.com
TEFAF is a not-for-profit foundation that champions expertise and diversity in the global art community. This is evidenced by the exhibitors selected for its two fairs, which take place annually in Maastricht and New York. TEFAF acts as an expert guide for both private and institutional collectors, inspiring lovers and buyers of art everywhere.
ABOUT TEFAF MAASTRICHT
TEFAF Maastricht is widely regarded as the world’s premier fair for fine art, antiques, and design. Featuring over 270 prestigious dealers from some 20 countries, TEFAF Maastricht is a showcase for the finest artworks currently on the market. Alongside the traditional areas of Old Master paintings, antiques, and classical antiquities that cover approximately half of the fair, you can also find modern and contemporary art, photography, jewellery, 20th-century design, and works on paper.
TEFAF Maastricht fair (March 9-14)
Top Photo credit: Maison Row