The Art Dealers Association of America presented its eighth straight hit exhibition on February 22-27 at the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue in New York City. Called simply "The Art Show," the event consisted of works of art—paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and photographs by artists of all periods and from many countries—selected by 62 dealers from various parts of the U.S. who are members of the organization.
Since its inception, "The Art Show" has been headed by O.
Kelley Anderson, who has steered it into a seemingly unbeatable formula.
It has benefited (in addition to the participating dealers) the Henry
Street Settlement, one of New York's oldest and best known social
service agencies, which receives proceeds from ticket sales during
the five-day run (admission is $10 a day).
"The Art Show" is also the kind of exhibition that is almost impossible to review. The New York Times faulted the show for including too many galleries "showing appealing potpourris of either American or European art, little of it of recent vintage." But so-called recent vintage work does not add up to very great numbers when the purported aim of the show is to cover a period that begins with Rembrandt etchings and ends this week.
Furthermore, each gallery represented has put up a fair amount of money just to be there. At a minimum this is about $15,000, and some dealers spend as much as $30,000. So the desire to show tried and proven artists who have already established a market, rather than unknowns, is certainly understandable.
Moreover, the variety was quite wonderful. A tabletop mobile by Alexander Calder was $75,000, and a lovely Italian landscape by Degas was $150,000. The Elkon Gallery, Manhattan, had a pencil drawing by Botero for $40,000 and a self-portrait by Françoise Gilot (mother of two of Picasso's children) for $18,000. Pace Wildenstein was one of several galleries offering large black sculptures by Louise Nevelson; one, Samaros, was priced at $18,000. Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, St. Louis, offered a much larger wall piece by the artist for $175,000.
Pace Master Prints, New York City, offered a lovely 1948-dated aquatint
by Matisse of a nude profile for $28,000 and a Morandi still life
etching (price on request). Alpha Gallery, Boston, brought an intriguing
self-portrait by Milton Avery, dated 1947, when the artist was in
his early sixties.
David Tunick of New York had perhaps the widest spread in time; he showed prints and drawings from the early 16th to the mid-20th century, including major Old Master prints by Dürer and Rembrandt. The Rembrandt intaglio, The Three Crosses, was discovered in a house in Southport, Connecticut, seven years ago where it had lain forgotten since the beginning of the 20th century. Subsequently, it sold at a New York auction for a world- record price of $1.5 million.
O. Kelley Anderson reported, with obvious pleasure, that the number of works sold this year was greater than in any of the preceding years. Attendance was also up, reaching 12,000, while 1500 people attended the previews. Some dealers said as many as three quarters of the works they brought to the Armory sold during the show's run. Among the works sold were prints by German artists Louis Corinth, Max Beckmann, Ernst Kirchner, and Emil Nolde (from Alice Adam, Ltd., Chicago) and works by American artists David Smith, Nancy Graves, and Robert Motherwell (from Knoedler & Co., New York City).
New York City dealer Harry Lunn, who shows only by appointment and specializes in 19th- and 20th-century prints and photographs, sold eight photographs and had an additional six sales pending as we went to press. Baron Adolphe de Meyer's Night and Day for Elizabeth Arden, a gelatin and silver print dating from the 1920's and early '30's, sold for $18,000, while a Nadar self-portrait went at $7000.
The Richard York Gallery, New York City, which specializes in American art from 1800 to 1950, called the results of "The Art Show" fabulous and claimed their best sales results ever to new and old clients.
While real flowers and branches towered over all heads in tall vases placed in the four wide aisles that separated the booths, one small bouquet of artificial flowers stood out in Allen Stone's booth. Artist James Gresham made his house plant by carving stems and leaves from wood, and the blooms were miniature buildings made of painted paper. The arrangement was offered at $35,000.
The show was particularly attractive this year because dealers were allowed some latitude in selecting wall and floor colors. Wine and spirits were provided by Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, and Philip Morris provided special funding for the Henry Street Settlement. The overall installation was designed by Stuart Silver and included a convenient and comfortable section for a coffee, food, and drinks bar. And Sandy Smith was the genial, unflappable, and efficient manager.