The Olympia Art and Antiques Fair in London, a fixture on the International art and antiques scene for 36 years, has seen various identities over its run of three and a half decades. Always a quality and highly anticipated event in the industry, the fair has had its share of changes in size, name and ownership. While never having a full blown identity crisis, Olympia has experimented with various formats, resulting in it being described in many ways †from superlative to shrinking, and almost every adjective in between.
At its June 4‱4 run, “less is more” seemed the best description and with the show’s change in management and name announced post-show (reported here July 24), it is also the best prediction for the show’s future.
With all the considerable intercontinental conversations spinning around Olympia, until now a distinctly British institution, it is fitting to remember that the phrase “less is more” usually associated with Twentieth Century architect Mies van der Rohe, actually originated with the Nineteenth Century English author Robert Browning in a poem from 1885.
In its usual slot on the summer calendar, opening in early June and running for ten days (not including preview), the 2009 Olympia was far from usual. From a high of more than 400 dealers in the 1990s to 300 two years ago, this year’s count was less than 220, a result of current market conditions along with a new strategy by management to focus on only the best and therefore fewer dealers.
Yet the fair didn’t seem smaller. In the magnificent glass-domed Olympia grand exhibition hall, itself a masterpiece of Victorian design and a perfect showcase for the signature freestanding double height stands, it seemed as rich and bountiful as ever.
With an attendance of almost 35,000 visitors, a ten percent increase over last year, and several exhibitors reporting consistent sales of higher priced items, the fair was successful for some and worthwhile for most †at least in the optimistic long-term way dealers have of seeing things. All those we spoke to after the show were relieved to have at least covered costs, even if it took until the end of the last long day to do so, and potential new clients were made. Watercolor dealer Kaye Michie of Surrey spoke for many with the Churchillian comment, “I have done better than I feared but not as well as I had hoped.”
A major talking point at the fair was Mayfair dealer Adrian Alan’s dramatic display of three monumental pieces by French furniture maker Francois Linke. Comprising a grand bureau, a bibliotheque and a bed, it was the first time they had been shown together since their original presentation at the Paris Exhibition Universelle of 1900. The bed, priced at more than $1 million, sold to a private American buyer.
Other buzz on the floor, accompanied by a general background hum of relief that significant business had indeed taken place, was about Beedham Antiques of Berkshire. Specialists in Elizabethan furniture, the dealers had an exceptional fair, having to completely restock after preview day. Arts and Crafts jewelry dealer Van den Bosch of London’s Gray’s Market was also very pleased, reportedly selling as much in the first three days as during the whole fair last year and Edward Barnsley of Petersfield who had a booth filled with modern and custom designed furniture, sold out of stock in the first few days.
Asian works proved popular; Dutch dealers Vanderven & Vanderven sold several ceramic pieces from the Xangi period in the $50,000 range to private English clients and found a buyer for a pair of blue and white ewers priced at more than $100,000. There was a great deal of interest in ethnographic items with London’s Finch and Co. selling well, while interior designers accounted for many of the sales of Joss Graham’s dramatic African prestige hats and mounted beadwork. Also popular with decorators, was the contemporary feel of African tribal art offered by Owen Hargreaves and Jasmine Dahl.
Jewelry of every period was well represented and generated consistent sales. Twentieth Century modern designer pieces attracted the most attention and the finer, more unusual examples of all periods found the most buyers. Didier Antiques of London, a specialist in artist-signed Twentieth Century jewelry and a frequent show exhibitor in America, reported strong sales every day across the board, including a piece by Picasso and six items to a single customer. Greens of Cheltenham found a client for a recently acquired emerald and diamond necklace, circa 1918. Priced at more than $500,000, it sold for an undisclosed sum.
The Englishman, personified by American Brad Ketelhut of Colorado, had a very successful debut at Olympia, after signing up for the show for the first time with only 11 days notice. Featuring its signature selection of Eighteenth⁎ineteenth Century European genre paintings, the US gallery was well received across the pond, selling 12 paintings by show’s end. Four works went to new collectors from America, others found homes in Britain, and a large Russian sleigh scene sold to a new client from the Middle East.
Offering a different perspective to anglophiles, and others, was international antiques dealer Carlton Hobbs. Based in New York City in the restored former Vanderbilt Mansion, his firm acquires, researches and exhibits rare historic furniture and objects. Examples of the best were displayed on his stand near the entrance at Olympia, framed by a trio of Eighteenth Century Austrian allegorical maritime oil paintings, incorporating polychrome carved relief hinged panels, that reflect aspects of the Hapsburg dynasty.
Hobbs’ highlight piece, a metamorphic secretaire veneered in cork to resemble a stone ruin and transformed by a trigger mechanism revealing a gleaming mahogany surface, was awarded the Patron’s 2009 award by Sir Timothy Clifford for the finest work of art at the fair. Thought to be the only existing example of its kind, it belongs to a rare group of mechanical furniture designed as architectural structures. Often called “fictive architecture,” these fascinating works were prized by European royalty.
This remarkable item edged out competing objects, all exceptional, chosen from the 216 fair exhibitors. Among them, an amazing pair of Seventeenth Century Nubian black marble busts shown by Bernard Steinitz and from Butchoff Antiques, a Nineteenth Century ebony and marquetry cabinet built in the form of the cathedral at Rheims which reportedly took the ebeniste 17 years to complete. With other such rare and beautiful objects in the running, the winning item had to transcend historical, functional and aesthetic boundaries.
London in June is a destination for the antiques industry. Olympia ran alongside its rich, glamorous, older cousin, the now-defunct Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair, followed by relative newcomer, The Ceramics Fair from The Haughton roster. It is a city with a long tradition of showcasing many of the world’s finest works of art, and all three fairs underscored that reputation in 2009. With the upcoming changes, perhaps less and more best describes their future.
Shortly after the Grosvenor House Fair announced its own demise after a run of 75 years, a dealer-organized replacement to be named The Masterpiece Fair has already been announced. The newly announced Clarion/Lester management partnership with its far-reaching international goals gives Olympia a different frame of reference. It will be keenly watched.
The more things change the more they stay the same&⁷ell, more or less.
