NEW YORK.- The Art Dealers Association of America Art Show 2004 Gala Preview will take place today. The show will be open to the public from Thursday, February 19, through Monday, February 23 , at the Seventh Regiment Armory, Park Avenue. Admission is $15 per day. No advance purchase is required. Tickets will be available at the door. Seventy of the nation’s most prominent art dealers will exhibit paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, and photographs by artists of all periods at the sixteenth annual The Art Show. Organized by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), the proceeds from the The Art Show Gala Preview will benefit Henry Street Settlement, one of New York City’s oldest and most comprehensive social service agencies.

The Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) is a non-profit membership organization of the nation’s leading galleries in the fine arts. Founded in 1962, the ADAA seeks to promote the highest standards of connoisseurship, scholarship and ethical practice within the profession. The ADAA members deal primarily in paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and photographs from the Renaissance to the present day. Each ADAA member is an experienced and knowledgeable dealer in their field. The ADAA has 160 member galleries in more than 25 U.S. cities. The ADAA’s members function as an important component of the U.S. art community, providing the means by which artists reach their public and collectors gain access to works of art. Exhibitions by ADAA members provide the first view of new works by both young and established artists and present works by previously neglected artists as well as works by acknowledged masters. Membership in the ADAA is highly selective. New members are chosen by invitation of the Board of Directors after consultation with the entire membership. To be considered for membership, an art dealer must have been in the business for five years and must: Have a reputation for honesty and integrity in relations with the public, museums, artists and other dealers; Have expert knowledge of the works of the artists or periods in which he or she specializes, and make a substantial contribution to the cultural life of the community by offering works of high aesthetic quality, presenting worthwhile exhibitions, or publishing scholarly catalogues or other documentary materials.