TEFAF:: MAASTRICHT OR NEW YORK?

Raining flowers in the Armory

TEFAF is a clunky word to stay but as an acronym it has luster because it stands for The European Fine Art Fair --the greatest art and antiques fair in the Western world. For decades it has taken place in Maastricht, the Netherlands every year in March.  The word "European" in its title is no longer entirely accurate however. Last month it opened its first satellite fair in New York. The US version will be in two parts: Fall, with 94 exhibitors, focuses on art and objects up to 1920; Spring--in May--will show art and objects since. (For reasons not entirely obvious High Jewellery--made today--is included in the Fall offering along with antique jewels that surely fall within its millennia long dateline.)

  I have been going to Maastricht for 12 years; I love it. There are always exciting surprises; there is always treasure to see. I travelled from London where I live to NY, where I am from,  expressly to see how this version would work in my hometown. The answer is it was a big success. The design almost completely transformed the armory into a light, airy and elegant space. The 11 upstairs rooms --some with original panelling--looked terrific and people did not hesitate to climb up to see what the dealers were offering. The presence of a champagne, oyster and salmon bar was also enticing. Axel Vervoordt--one of the dealers--could not have had a more perfect space if he'd built it all from scratch. 

  There were great things to see: The large 1531 map of the then known world (see below) by Visconte Maggiolo at Daniel Crouch Rare Books includes the first known topographical illustration of New York harbour. It has the fantastical, space- and time- travelling wonder of many early maps. Here,  North America for all the details of its eastern coastline is depicted as a long, skinny piece of land snaking its way between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. With a price of $10 million it is said to be the most expensive map offered on the public market. 

  Would I go again?  Yes, if I happened to be in NY when it was. I would not make a special trip. The fair fills two floors of the armory but it is only a third the size of Maastricht in March. With so much more variety there no wonder I like the Dutch version better. Also not surprising: Some of things I liked best in NY I'd already seen in Maastricht earlier this year. 

  This is a great fair for New York and people who can get to it with relative ease. It is the best fair of its type that  the city --and the whole country--has had for years if not forever.  Plenty of dealers say they sold well. Plenty of visitors looked thrilled. All good. I enjoyed it too. But it is March I look forward to. For years my heart has belonged to Maastricht and that has not changed.