LONDON.- Fourteen pre-eminent British art and antique dealers will cross the pond with a veritable treasure chest of paintings, jewelry, rare maps, sculpture and furniture - all for the purpose of enticing buyers attending the 25th edition of the
International Art and Antique Dealers Show, the 7-day extravaganza that opens on October 25.
Among the participants are Apter Fredericks, Daniel Crouch Rare Books, Finch and Co., Hancocks, Koopman Rare Art, Macconnal Mason, Michael Goedhuis Peter Finer Ronald Philips, Shapero Rare Books, Somlo Antiques, Thomas Coulbourn, Trinity House Paintings, and Wartski.
"We love coming to America," says Daniel Crouch, proprietor of the eponymous Bury Street rare books and maps gallery. "It's extremely gratifying to discover and find homes for our American documents."
This year, Crouch will feature a very rare set of four manuscript maps, including one that is the earliest identified view of any Texan town, and another that is a detailed map of the site of Houston prior to its foundation, dated 1829-30, printed by Jean Louis Berlandiers, an anthropologist, geographer, historian, meteorologist and naturalist, who was one of the first scientists to explore northeastern Mexico and southeastern Texas. Four ink-and- watercolor-wash manuscript maps on wove paper each describe a separate section of the Texas coast, and together form a virtually contiguous mapping of the coast from Galveston Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
Steven Beale, director of Trinity House Paintings, specialists in Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern British and 19th-century works, has taken his love for New York City a step further by establishing a satellite gallery on East 64th Street. "It didn't take us long to realize that we had to have a presence in the U.S.,"says Beale. "It's essential to our international branding." Taking center stage at their stand is Henry Moore's 'Reclining Figure Cloak' (1967), a bronze with brown patina that is signed, numbered and stamped with the foundry mark 'Moore 3/9 Noack Berlin'.
Says Stephen Burton of Hancocks, the venerable purveyor of rare jewelry in the storied Burlington Arcade, "We look forward to our time stateside. The U.S. is one of our strongest markets." According to Burton, Hancock's will present the European masters Suzanne Belperron and René Boivin, sought-after because of their sophisticated use of gemstones.
Of particular note is an exceptional sapphire and diamond 'Modele a Pois' ring by Belperron, circa 1945, and a magnificent yellow gold and diamond clip brooch by Boivin. Despite beginning her career during the height of the Art Deco period, she quickly established her own inimitable style of jewelry design, which was more organic and sensual in form.
The International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show opens on October 25 and runs through October 31 at the Park Avenue Armory, 67th Street and Park Avenue. Show hours are: 11:00 am to 7:30 pm (except for Sunday and Thursday when the fair closes at 6:00 pm). General Admission: $20 (Tickets available on the door).