Normally at this time of year the front of the Royal Hospital Chelsea resembles a LS Lowry painting, with masses of people mulling about Masterpiece, the London art and antiques fair.
The show was established in 2010, after the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair folded in 2009, and within a few years attracted close to 50,000 well-heeled visitors, who swiped platinum cards on high-ticket items and quaffed champagne as they swanned about the 160 or so art stands from around the world.
The MCH Group, which runs Art Basel, the privately owned international art fair, acquired a 67.5 per cent stake in Masterpiece in 2017.
However, it has now pulled the plug on the event, citing “escalating costs and a decline in the number of international visitors” as reasons for the event no longer being commercially viable. In an interview with Sky News, the company said that the number of European Union-based galleries applying to participate this year had dropped by 86 per cent, when compared with 2018.
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Increased red tape, with new complex customs clearances and new VAT rates, have made it more difficult to move artworks between the UK and Europe. While the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have most certainly had an impact, figures released in the Art Basel & UBS report for 2023 has some interesting findings. While the UK is second only to the United States by volume of sales – between 2013 and 2022 – the value of the art market in the UK fell by 7 per cent, but during the same period, it rose by 46 per cent in the US, who is a major competitor.
Masterpiece, which prided itself on showcasing “many of the world’s most distinguished art dealerships” through “scrupulous vetting and thoughtful juxtaposition”, is not alone in its cancellation.
Just weeks after the announcement that it was ceasing the event, the Arts & Antiques Fair Olympia also called off its summer show, in what would have been its 50th year as the fair was first held in Earls Court in 1973 before it moved to Olympia. The show prided itself as “the largest, most well-established, vetted art and antiques fair in London”.
Treasure House Fair
Subsequently, two of the original founders of Masterpiece, Thomas Woodham-Smith and Harry Van der Hoorn, announced that the London summer art fair would take place at the same time and venue as the former fair this year. Now called the Treasure House Fair, it is taking place this weekend at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. With about 50 dealers, it is a significant drop on the level of exhibitors at Masterpiece. On exhibit are sculpture, tapestry, ceramics, silver and jewellery, alongside furniture, horology, rare books and art.
Woodham-Smith, who deals in European furniture, was quoted in the Art Newspaper as saying he is “deeply resentful” of Brexit. He described his experience of trading in the EU as “absolutely nightmarish” – not just because of the reams of customs red tape and ever ending paperwork, but due to the “profound hatred” with which the British are held in Europe.
“It’s like we’ve been invited to a party and we’ve just thrown up on the rug,” he said.
