NEW YORK, NY.- The Art Show, organized to benefit Henry Street Settlement by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), closed its 2019 edition on Sunday with ADAA members, collectors, museum leaders, and visitors alike voicing enthusiasm for the fair’s thoughtfully curated presentations, intimate scale, and welcoming atmosphere. Mounted annually at the Park Avenue Armory by the ADAA, a nonprofit membership organization of the leading art dealers from around the country, The Art Show 2019 matched its unparalleled reputation as a distinct fair experience that encourages active conversations with gallerists and close looking at works of the highest quality by artists from the 19th century to today.

Kicking off the spring art season in New York, The Art Show opened with the annual Gala Preview on Wednesday, February 27, welcoming some of the nation’s top collectors, museum leadership, New York City philanthropists, and other national figures in the creative and business communities. Together, proceeds from the Gala Preview and The Art Show admission throughout the week raised a total of approximately $1.2 million for Henry Street Settlement, bringing the total amount raised for the nonprofit to more than $32 million over the past three decades. AXA ART Americas served as Lead Partner for The Art Show for the eighth consecutive year, marking the insurer’s 11-year relationship with the ADAA.

“The Art Show has always represented the collaborative spirit of the ADAA and the connoisseurship of our membership, as well as the deep connections of art galleries to the community served through our enduring relationship with Henry Street Settlement,” remarked Andrew Schoelkopf, ADAA President and Co-founder of Menconi + Schoelkopf. “The fair’s 2019 edition illustrated this exceptionally well with engaging joint presentations and curated exhibitions that offered new insight into both under-recognized and established figures. We are extremely pleased with the strong attendance by top collectors, museum leaders, and patron groups, as well as arts professionals and the general public.”

“Henry Street’s unique and rare partnership with the ADAA, the Park Avenue Armory, event sponsors, our committees, and supporters goes back 31 years and

allows us collectively to open doors in many ways,” said David Garza, Henry Street Settlement Executive Director. “It’s immensely rewarding to see our supporters and friends enjoying a constellation of the world’s greatest art and knowing that their presence is sending a student to college, housing a homeless family, or ending an older adult’s isolation. As our single largest source of flexible funding, The Art Show significantly furthers our 125-year commitment to identifying the most challenging social conditions and responding through programs in health and wellness, education, employment, transitional and supportive housing, advocacy, and arts and humanities.”

“As a specialist dedicated entirely to protecting art and collectibles, AXA is proud to continue our support of The Art Show for the eighth consecutive year as Lead Partner and celebrate a total of 11 years of partnership with ADAA. We very much value this partnership and the creativity, expertise, and relentless energy the ADAA team brings to the fair. We are also extremely proud to be part of an event that contributes so generously to the Henry Street Settlement,” added Patrick Drummond, AXA’s Senior Vice President and Head of the Americas - Fine Art, Specie & Bloodstock.

Leaders and patron groups from museums across the country visited the fair, from institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Contemporary Austin, Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, SFMOMA, Bass Museum, Tate Americas, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Parrish Art Museum, Addison Gallery of American Art, and Whitney Museum of Art, among others.

Private and institutional collectors responded with ardent enthusiasm to The Art Show for its high-quality presentations and navigable scale; while ADAA members boasted strong sales, including many sold out booths, and meaningful engagements with collectors, museum professionals, and scholars. Members noted that The Art Show continues to provide an important platform for public and scholarly engagement with a wide range of artists, genres, and periods.

Susan Inglett, Founder of Susan Inglett Gallery remarked, “We are proud to be a part of the storied history of The Art Show, a fair crafted to appeal to the serious collector and connoisseur. The care and time devoted to each presentation is matched by the attention paid by visitors resulting in a truly successful fair, both in terms of business as well as the important personal connections made with collectors and curators.”

Sean Kelly, Founder of Sean Kelly Gallery added, “The gallery had an extremely positive experience at The Art Show this year with our solo presentation of new work by Sam Moyer. The fair is an extremely intimate event and we are able to engage with visitors and collectors alike on a relaxed yet profound level. The response to Sam’s work has been fantastic, we sold out the entire booth plus some, and she is very happy we participated!”

Todd Hosfelt, Founder of Hosfelt Gallery commented, “We are thrilled to have placed every work we brought to The Art Show, but we love participating in the fair for so many reasons beyond sales. The fair is very collegial and civilized and always draws a sophisticated and engaged audience, which makes it the perfect platform for our artists, like Marco Maggi, who created work especially for this presentation, drawing from his 2015 Venice Biennale project for the Uruguay Pavilion.”

Casey Kaplan, Founder of Casey Kaplan Gallery said, “The Art Show offers us a platform to feature a distinct body of work, in this case Jordan Casteel’s subway paintings, highlighting the significance of this series within her practice.”

For the 2019 edition, The Art Show featured an expanded program of panels and conversations with major collectors, museum leaders, and industry experts across the U.S., including collectors Pamela Joyner and J. Tomilson Hill; museum directors Amy Sadao (ICA Philadelphia), Martha Tedeschi (Harvard Art Museums), and Richard Aste (McNay Art Museum); as well as Vivian Ebersman (Director Art Expertise, AXA ART Americas Corporation), Sandra Amann (Co-Principal, Amann and Estabrook Conservation Associates), Michele Heinrici (Associate Director, Registrar, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum), and Steve Novenstein (CEO, UOVO).

The fair experience was enhanced by an updated look and feel, designed by Bade Stageberg Cox Architects, an inventive, award-winning firm with wide experience and a longstanding focus on the design of art galleries, museums, and spaces for private collections. Extending programming beyond the fair, the ADAA organized the inaugural Upper East Side Gallery Walk, a collaboration between over 25 ADAA member galleries in the fair’s surrounding neighborhoods on Saturday, March 2.