Master Paintings Return to the Stage this Summer
Following the success of London’s first Master Paintings Week in 2009, this year’s event will be held from Saturday 3 to Friday 9 July 2010. This year the auction house Bonhams has joined Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and three new galleries: Deborah Gage (Works of Art) Ltd, Piacenti Art Gallery and Stair Sainty Ltd, swell the numbers to twenty-eight.
Master Paintings Week is a collaboration between leading galleries and auction houses, offering a wonderful selection of predominantly European paintings dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, and coinciding with another dealer initiative, Master Drawings London (3 to 9 July). In addition to the auctions: Old Master Sales at Bonhams (8 July), Christie’s (6 and 7 July) and Sotheby’s (7 and 8 July), each gallery will stage a special display or event. Many of the paintings have an untold story, a fascinating history or an important and newly discovered provenance. Master Paintings Week appeals to collectors, curators and enthusiasts from all over the world and highlights the unrivalled expertise that is to be found in London.
Last year’s event saw up to 100 visitors a day at each gallery – not only private collectors and curators from major institutions in the UK and around the world but also art historians, conservators and restorers, other dealers and auction house representatives. Significant sales resulted not only during the week itself but also in the succeeding months, and contacts were made which will benefit all for years to come.
The 2010 participating galleries are: Thos. Agnew & Sons, Verner Åmell, Charles Beddington, P&D Colnaghi & Co. Ltd, Simon C. Dickinson, Ben Elwes Fine Art, Deborah Gage, Richard Green, Johnny Van Haeften Ltd, Fergus Hall Master Paintings (exhibiting at Air Gallery), Derek Johns, John Mitchell Fine Paintings, Moatti Fine Arts, Moretti Fine Art, Philip Mould, Piacenti Art Gallery (exhibiting at Asian Art Gallery), Robilant & Voena, Sphinx Fine Art, Stair Sainty, William Thuillier, Michael Tollemache Fine Art, Trafalgar Galleries, Rafael Valls, The Weiss Gallery and Whitfield Fine Art. The three auction houses are Bonhams, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. All these galleries are in the heart of London’s Mayfair and St James’s, a short walk from one another, and will be open during Master Paintings Week on Monday to Friday 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday 12 noon to 5 pm. The auction houses will be open from 9 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday and 12 noon to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday.