Haughtons' International Fine Art Fair Canceled

The Antique Trade Gazette is reporting the Haughtons' International Fine Art Fair has been canceled. The New York based art fair was founded in 1994 and typically had 60 high quality art dealers.

I posted earlier on the AW Blog the 22 year old Works on Paper Show, promoted by Sanford Smith had also been canceled (click HERE to read the AW post on the Works on Paper Show). Both shows were held in the New York armory, which now has a $30,000.00 per day rental rate. Last year Haughtons' International Fine Art Fair was only able to recruit 35 dealers. If that trend had continued, with the rental costs of the Armory, I can certainly understand why the show was canceled. It would be hard making a profit with the high cost for the venue and half the normal amount of dealers. I am just sorry to see so many shows either closing or with declining numbers, fewer dealers and higher costs.

The ATG reports

in recent years the fair has lost numbers, including many of those big names, and last spring’s staging could muster no more than 35 exhibitors with a less than star-studded cast.

The Haughtons subsidised that fair themselves and doubts about its future were raised by the art trade at the time.

Before Christmas, the art world assumed the fair was finished, although a 2011 fair was scheduled for the Park Avenue Armory from April 30 to May 4 and the Haughtons maintained their staff in New York and London were still canvassing dealers on its future.

While no final decision had been taken, it will be remembered, that these same organisers said they were consulting their dealers about the future of their International Asian Art Fair, which they went on to abandon last March.

Another factor is the now enormous cost of renting the Armory, which is making it difficult to maintain events. It now costs $30,000 a day to rent the space.

To read the ATG article, click HERE.