LAPADA Art and Antiques Fair is Back

The LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, is the foremost international showcase for art, antiques, design and decorative arts. Sponsored by Delancey, the 2015 edition has been extended by a day in response to demand following the success of last year’s event, which welcomed 20,000 collectors and visitors over five days. 100 distinguished exhibitors and experts in their field will work, including jewellery, design, furniture, carpets, tapestries, antiquities, clocks, ceramics, silver and fine art. Authenticity is assured thanks to a 70-member specialist committee pre-vetting everything on sale. With prices ranging from £500 to £500,000 and above, sought-after pieces appeal to the established collector and first-time buyers alike.

New Exhibitors LAPADA is pleased to announce the exhibitors participating in the Fair for the first time: • • ArtAncient will offer ancient art, including numismatics, and artworks of cultural and historical interest

• Arthistorical Ltd will offer fine art with an emphasis on sculpture, objects, and paintings from the Middle Ages until the present day

• Bell and Bird, from Austin, Texas, will present its carefully curated selection of 18th and 19th century unsigned jewellery

• Clive Loveless Primal Art will present abstract decorative and tribal art from Africa to Oceania

• Darnley Fine Art will display paintings from the 16th – 20th century, specialising in Orientalist Paintings and lithographs by David Roberts RA.

• De Parma, will exhibit a collection of 20th century design and British artworks of the post-war years from the 1940s to 1950s • Goodman Fine Art will focus primarily on artworks of the post-war years alongside the finest examples of medieval sculpture

• Hayloft will present British and Danish furniture from the 50s, 60s and 70s as well as art, lighting and objects from the Mid Century period and beyond

• • Howard Walwyn will showcase a selection of the finest English clocks and barometers • Isherwood Fine Art Ltd will present a variety of 16th to 19th century British and European paintings, with a focus on portraits • JH Bourdon-Smith Ltd will exhibit silver from the 16th century to the present day

Anderson Wallrock Nautical will display its collection of all things maritime, particularly yachting items from 1900-1950 Horton London will show fine quality jewellery ranging from late 18th century to the present day and 20th century British and European art  

• Matthew Holder will show European works from the Middle Ages, Gothic and Renaissance periods, as well as a diverse stock of Japanese Netsuke

• Morgan Strickland Decorative Arts, specialists in Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco and the Aesthetic Movement, will offer decorative art of the 20th century

• Shapero Modern will showcase a variety of modern and contemporary art prints

• The Old Corkscrew, premier South African antiques dealer, will exhibit a great variety of objects including corkscrews, silver, porcelain, glass and copper

Exhibitor Beaux Arts London returns after reporting excellent sales in 2014’s show, including an Elisabeth Frink sculpture which sold for £50,000 and a John Piper painting which sold for £40,000. Anthony Green, specialist in vintage wristwatches and pocket watches, had “his best fair ever in every respect, including sales, meeting new customers and atmosphere” at the LAPADA Fair last year. Witney Antiques, who has been participating in the Fair since 2013, sold 14 pieces last year – the majority were 17th century needleworks, selling for between £20,000-80,000. Furniture and 18th century needlework also sold for prices between £5-10,000. Freshfords Fine Antiques, dealers in 18th and 19th century English furniture, made several good sales, including a Regency mahogany and ebony desk to a local buyer for £40,000 and a Georgian dining table for £13,000.

Emma Rutherford of Philip Mould Portrait Miniatures commented on the great sales momentum maintained throughout the run of the Fair. They sold 18 portrait miniatures priced between £1,000-45,000, and were delighted to sell to two new clients who were purchasing their first miniatures, beginning new collections. specialist in art direction and identity design for luxury brands, Embodying the spirit of the LAPADA Fair, Micha Weidmann Studio has created a series of sketches, which feature the façades of Berkeley Square’s historic architecture. The drawings are an evolution of 2014’s graphic campaign, which featured the leaves of Berkeley Square’s 18th century plane trees – some of the oldest in the country.

On Thursday 24th September the LAPADA Fair 2015 will play host to the exclusive LAPADA Charity Party. This year Maggie’s, the charity that offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends, has been named as the beneficiary. There are 18 Maggie’s Centres across the UK, online and abroad, including Maggie’s West London, built in the grounds of Charing Cross Hospital, which has been supporting people with cancer since 2008.

A further two Centres are planned across London – Maggie’s Barts and Maggie’s at The Royal Marsden. Maggie’s relies on voluntary donations to support and grow its network of Centres and to develop its unique, high quality programme of support, and the funds raised at LAPADA will allow Maggie’s to extend their support further across London to help make the biggest difference possible to people affected by cancer in the Capital. Maggie’s Party at LAPADA will include a Party Reception and private view of the Fair, followed by Dinner in the Fair Brasserie.

Clara Weatherall will chair the event, while returning Principal Sponsor Delancey and co-sponsors Aviva and Hyperion Insurance Group will generously support the evening. Fundraising revenue from ticket sales will be boosted with silent and live auctions. Cultural Partner and Headline Lecture In an exciting first, the University of Oxford’s award-winning Ashmolean Museum will be LAPADA Fair’s Cultural Partner.

Dr Catherine Whistler, Keeper of the Department of Western Art and curator for Italian and Spanish paintings; drawings and prints; French art before 1800; textiles, will deliver the Fair’s Headline Lecture on 25th September, offering important curatorial insights into the Ashmolean’s forthcoming exhibition, Titian to Canaletto Drawing in Venice, which runs from 15th October 2015 until 10th January 2016.  

The 2015 edition of the LAPADA Fair sees 85% of last year’s dealers return. E Fair Designer Following a successful collaboration in 2014, Micha Weidmann Studio, will develop the Fair’s identity and design for the 2015 edition.  

Highlights tours will be open to the public and begin at the Fair’s reception from 4pm daily and Mr Fogg’s will return to the LAPADA Fair this year with a bar twice the size of last year’s. Modeled on the drawing room of much-loved fictional explorer, Phileas Fogg, from the 1873 Jules Verne novel, the bar will feature a range of original Victoriana offered for sale by approved LAPADA members.
Hospitality entrepreneurs, Charlie Gilkes and Duncan Stirling, Founders of Inception Group, will oversee the curation of the space ensuring it reflects the refined, but quirky, character of their original bar. Alongside a selection of classic cocktails, Mr Fogg’s will offer afternoon tea and an extended menu throughout the day.

EventOracle For the fourth consecutive year the esteemed pop-up restaurant at the LAPADA Fair will be run by catering company, EventOracle, named one of the ‘Fab 50 ones to watch’ in Event Magazine. The restaurant will accommodate both an a la carte menu in the fine dining area and the buffet-style seafood and salad bar. Situated on the first floor the restaurant offers stunning views over leafy Berkeley Square. Free entry to the Fair will be given to guests who book a table at the EventOracle brasserie. Champagne Lanson One of the world’s oldest existing Houses, Champagne Lanson, will offer its exclusive new Cuvée, Père et Fils Brut NV, at the popular LAPADA Fair preview. A selection of Lanson Champagnes will also be served at the EventOracle Brasserie and Mr Fogg’s pop-up bar for the duration of the Fair.