THE ART SHOW 2006
ORGANIZED BY THE ART DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (ADAA)
TO BENEFIT HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT
REPORTS BOOMING SALES
MOST SUCCESSFUL GALA PREVIEW EVER RAISES RECORD BREAKING $1.1 MILLION FOR HENRY STREET SETTLEMENT
New York, March 3, 2006 ? The 18th annual Art Show, organized by the Art Dealers Association of America to benefit Henry Street Settlement, concluded on Monday, February 28, reporting record sales and garnering glowing reviews. The Art Show gala benefit preview was the best-attended, highest-grossing event ever, raising $1.1 million for Henry Street Settlement. The annual five-day fair, which draws 70 of the nation's leading art galleries, offered an outstanding selection of museum quality contemporary and Modern paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photography.
The gala benefit preview, held Wednesday, February 22, by Henry Street Settlement, a pioneering social services and arts agency located on New York's Lower East Side, drew a record crowd of 2,300 luminaries from the worlds of art, business, entertainment and media. During the run of the show from February 23 through 28, overall attendance was strong at 11,000 visitors.
"It was a resounding commercial and critical success and one of the most outstanding Art Shows in history," noted Richard Solomon, President of both the ADAA and Pace Prints. "In addition, dealers agreed it was one of the most stunningly arranged exhibitions ever done."
"As Ken Johnson wrote in his review for The New York Times, '...there is excellence to be found in any given booth,'" said Roland Augustine, Chair of The Art Show committee and partner in Luhring Augustine.
As with last year's fair, The Art Show 2006, was memorable for the increased inclusion of museum quality contemporary art, which was a hit with reviewers as well as collectors. Outstanding solo exhibitions of works by James Rosenquest, Alex Katz, Gregory Crewdson, Thomas Scheibitz, Teresita Fernández, Norman Bluhm and Claes Oldenburg were particularly notable.
Celebrities are regularly sighted at The Art Show and this year was no exception: Among the boldface names that attended from the entertainment world were Oprah, Glen Close, Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin, Jerry Stiller and Fran Drescher. Art world notables included: Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Leonard and Evelyn Lauder, Ronald Lauder, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, Donald Marron, Gregory Crewdson, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn and Nicholas Rhatyn, Aby Rosen, Lisa Dennison, Thelma Golden, Adam Weinberg, Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour, Louise and Leonard Riggio, Alberto Mugrabi, Anne Tennenbaum, Jonathan Farkas, Lillian Vernon, Janine and J. Tomilson Hill, Laurie Tisch, Jane Holzer, Anh Duong, Isabella del Frate Rayburn, Sandra Hamburg, David and Danielle Ganek, Kim Heirston, Liz and Kent Swig and many more.
Verona Middleton-Jeter, Executive Director of Henry Street Settlement, said "This year's Art Show was a tremendous artistic and financial success. We are indebted to all who helped us exceed our goals -- the ADAA, our friends who supported the show and Henry Street Settlement staff and volunteers -- and we are delighted with the ever-increasing success of the show which helps us to meet the increasing needs of our Lower East Side neighborhood."
In total, Henry Street raised an unprecedented $1.3 million, which included a silent auction of works by Louise Bourgeois, Nathan Slate Joseph, Ross Bleckner and Graham Nickson as well as a special limited print edition by Jim Dine, entitled, The Henry Street Robes, published by Pace Prints.
Sales Highlights
Excellent sales results were reported across the board. PaceWildenstein, New York, presenting their seventh solo show at the fair, reported outstanding results of their exhibition of paintings by Alex Katz. Four sculptures by Claes Oldenburg were sold in the $400,000 to $2 million price range by David Zwirner Gallery, New York. Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, reported a sold-out show, which included work by Sol LeWitt, Kiki Smith, Richard Serra, Michael Beatty, Fred Sandback, Julian Opie and Jenny Holzer.
First timers, Weinstein Gallery of Minneapolis, were pleased with a "phenomenal" fair and "powerhouse" crowd. Sales were so terrific that the gallery staff stopped counting after the sale of more than 20 photographs by such artists as Alec Soth, Mike and Doug Starn and Robert Mapplethorpe. Collectors from Minneapolis traveled to New York City to support the gallery. More than 20 works were also sold by Susan Sheehan Gallery, New York, which reported working with "high end" clients. A set of 10 woodcuts by Donald Judd from 1990 went for $75,000.
Another gallery showing for the first time, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, noted that they sold seven works, by Thomas Scheibitz, a Berlin-based artist who represented Germany in the 2005 Venice Biennale. His paintings and sculpture were available in the range of $15,000 to $45,000 and the gallery was pleased to show his work in the context of more established artists at The Art Show.
Cheim & Read, New York, was delighted by strong results including sales of work by Joan Mitchell, Lynda Benglis, Jenny Holzer and Louise Fishman. They noted that numerous clients were inspired by their booth at the fair and then headed to the gallery and bought additional work. At Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, two small editions of photographs by Vic Muniz sold out. The gallery also noted that two collages by Leonardo Drew sold, and it was the first time his work was represented at The Art Show.
L & M Arts, New York, reported a successful show with sales of a 1988 Gerhard Richter painting, a 1964 Andy Warhol soup can painting, a 1952 Willem de Kooning drawing, and a 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat drawing. The black and white hover series of photographs from 1996-97 by Gregory Crewdson sold out at Luhring Augustine, New York, for $175,000 in addition to several other works by the artist that sold for up to $60,000.
A drawing of a female nude by Oskar Kokoschker from 1908 was purchased for more than $100,000 at Galerie St. Etienne, New York. The gallery also sold a self portrait by Ludwig Meidner for under $50,000 as well. James Graham & Sons, New York, reported that the fair was "amazing" and praised the sophisticated audience which included museum curators, trustees and prominent artists. The gallery sold a number of Norman Bluhm works on paper in the $20,000 range as well as a late oil for $25,000 and expects follow-up business. Ten works were sold by Linda Hyman Fine Arts, New York, including a 1964 Milton Resnick oil and a Michael Goldberg painting from 1955. The gallery noted that: "This has been the most successful year ever!"
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, reported they had a very successful fair and that the level of collectors was excellent. Work sold by Richard Misrach, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Irving Penn, Diane Arbus, Robert Adams and Lee Friedlander.
A Diego Rivera drawing sold for $50,000 and a watercolor by Wilfredo Lam from 1949 went for $55,000 at Mary-Ann Martin/Fine Art, New York. In addition, four sculptures from 1950 to 1970 by Mathias Goeritz sold from $20,000 to $40,000.
Kraushaar Galleries, New York, raved about their great sales to new clients. Eleven works were sold, including an Oscar Bluemmer study for a painting now in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington D.C. They also sold a rare early Stuart Davis watercolor. Seven works were purchased at Allan Stone Gallery, New York, which was pleased with their excellent results, and saw an increased interest in younger and mid-career artists.
In a rare exhibition in which many of the works were for not for sale, Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago and New York, mounted a museum quality show entitled Portraits and Self Portraits, with work by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Lucian Freud, Matthew Barney, Jim Dine and Roy Lichtenstein.
Future of the Seventh Regiment Armory
ADAA members received good news about the future of the Seventh Regiment Armory, which will be transformed into an institution for the visual and performing arts. Rebecca Robertson, President and CEO of the Park Avenue Conservancy, told Henry Street and the ADAA during the run of the Show, "I wish to assure you of the Conservancy's commitment to retain The Art Show as part of our future plans. The Conservancy believes that the great art and antique shows, such as The Art Show, and the organizations they benefit, such as Henry Street Settlement, are an essential part of the Armory."
The Art Show 2007
The 19th annual Art Show will be held from Thursday, February 22 through Monday, February 26, 2007 at the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue at 67th Street, New York City. The Art Show Gala Preview will be held on Wednesday, February 21, 2007, to benefit Henry Street Settlement.
Art Dealer Association of America
All Art Show exhibitors are members of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), a non-profit membership organization of the nation's leading galleries. Founded in 1962, ADAA seeks to promote the highest standards of connoisseurship, scholarship and ethical practice within the profession. More information on the Art Dealers Association of America may be found at www.artdealers.org.
Henry Street Settlement
Founded in 1893 by social work pioneer Lillian Wald and based on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Henry Street Settlement delivers a wide range of social services and arts programming that improves the lives of more than 100,000 New Yorkers each year. Distinguished by a profound connection to its neighbors, a willingness to address new problems with swift and innovative solutions, and a strong record of accomplishment, Henry Street challenges the effects of urban poverty by helping families achieve better lives for themselves and their children.
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