The London Original Print Fair Celebrates 25th Anniversary
LONDON.- Spring 2010 sees the return of the longest running print fair in the world, the London Original Print Fair, 29 April – 3 May 2010.
The 25th Fair will take place in the main galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly. It will be the largest ever, with some 60 exhibitors including new participants from America and a specialist in Japanese prints. Dealers, Print Workshops and Publishers come from France, Germany, Ireland and America as well as Britain.
In 2009 attendance rose from 6,000 to 10,000 and strong sales were reported in all areas, old master, modern and contemporary.
This year the Fair will include first-time exhibitors from New York, Mary Ryan Gallery and The Old Print Shop, inspired by the reaction to the British Museum’s exhibition “American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock” in 2008, as well as international dealer Israel Goldman, a specialist in Japanese Prints.
Claude Flight, Speed, c.1922Linocut. Courtesy the artist and The Fine Art Society. The London Original Print Fair 2010
Exhibitors who have shown since the first fair began in 1985 include Christopher Mendez, Andrew Edmunds (Old Master), Picasso expert Frederick Mulder, (Old Master and Modern), William Weston (Modern French), Gordon Samuel of Osborne Samuel and Hilary Gerrish (Modern British).
Contemporary printmaking is one of the great strengths of the art market in London. The native publishers Paragon Press, Paul Stolper and Marlborough Graphics will be joined by visitors Dolan/Maxwell from America, Editions Bucciali and imprints (France) and Dreipunkt Editions (Germany). The work they will bring includes prints by Damien Hirst, Paula Rego and Anish Kapoor.
The aim of this Fair has always been to offer something for the collector at every level, with works on show ranging from as little as £100 to over £100,000, with an international roster of exhibitors. “The London Original Print Fair is something of an institution in the British capital. The 24-year-old event harks back to a time past – before Frieze Art Fair and the contemporary art boom” Artinfo, April 2009
Anniversary events will include a special loan exhibition drawn from the collection of the British Museum by the long-standing Keeper of Prints & Drawings, Antony Griffiths. It will be a very personal selection, bringing together some lesser-known gems which have a special appeal.
Since the foundation of the Fair, interest in prints and printmaking has grown considerably. It is no longer a specialist activity but a source of new inspiration for many of the world’s greatest artists. Director Helen Rosslyn comments: “Many more people now realize that prints provide a great opportunity to buy an original work by an artist for a relatively affordable price. I love the fact that the Fair has been described as ‘the most enjoyable event in the art market calendar’ – and am already looking forward to a very enjoyable 25th anniversary Fair”.
Chairman Gordon Cooke adds: “Looking back over 25 years, I am struck by the way prints have become accepted by the art world at large. Our first fair attracted print collectors, curators and enthusiasts: now many of our buyers collect paintings or drawings, as well as prints. I feel we are now in the mainstream. We look forward to staging our 25th fair in the main galleries of Burlington House. It will be probably the largest works-on-paper event ever staged in Europe, and we are confident that the quality of the works on display will be as high as ever and that buyers will respond”.
The full list of the LOPF exhibitors and events program will be released in spring 2010.
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