Wrapping up its fourth and largest edition yet, Art Southampton, the leading international contemporary and modern art fair for acquiring investment-quality 20th and 21st century works of art, presented by Art-Miami, drew a record 21,000 collectors, art enthusiasts, curators and art lovers to the world-renowned pastoral grounds of Nova's Ark Project.

Attendees resoundingly noted the distinguished array of contemporary artworks and installations, paintings, photography, prints, drawings, design, video art, and indoor and outdoor sculptures showcased by more than 80 international galleries at the fair.

Sales began almost immediately after the fair opened its doors to the lavish and exclusive two-tiered VIP Private Preview, which benefited the Parrish Art Museum and Southampton Hospital and set the tone for both the evening and the fair's five-day duration.

"We were so pleased to work in concert with Art Southampton this year, with a great exchange of ideas and resources that makes everyone¹s experience richer." said Terrie Sultan, Director of the Parrish Art Museum.  

Upon arriving, guests were treated to the eye-catching large-scale contemporary art sculpture fields of the Nova's Ark Project - the backdrop of this year's new, and based on attendees' accolades, extraordinarily beautiful fair location.. From there, guests walked through the equally stunning sculpture garden designed by LaGuardia Design and supported by Summerhill Landscapes, featuring works by Paul Oberst (Banded Poles/Long Island Four), David Hayes (Totem, Group),Boaz Vaadia (Baraq with Cat), Sam Tufnell (Power Gnomes), Heiner Meyer (Garden Kelly), Hamilton Aguiar (It's a Girl!) Tuki Moses (Off) and others, with Cracking Art Group's florescent pink, larger-than-life Giant Rabbit drawing hundreds of "selfies."

During the exclusive preview, guests enjoyed Ruinart champagne and hors d'oeuvres provided by the Southampton Social Club while admiring the stunning display of precious jewels exhibited by sponsor Graff Diamonds. Christie's International Real Estate played host to local and visiting East Enders with an impressive selection of exclusive Hamptons and other international properties available.

Red dots quickly appeared beneath many works, as collectors and well-known prominent art advisors snapped up blue-chip works by the likes of Lichtenstein, Warhol, Rauschenberg, Stella and many others, as well as contemporary stars that included Hirst, Tomaselli, Kevin Berlin and street artist Banksy. Emerging artists featured Rubem Robierb, Julian Lennon (son of the late John Lennon), Bernie Taupin, and Banksy buddy "Mr. Brainwash," and many more also were in high demand, as were works by local artists Eric Fischl, Jeff Muhs, Eric Dever, and Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg, among others.

"We were extremely pleased with the enthusiasm and excitement that lead up to and continued throughout this year's fair," said Art Southampton Director Nick Korniloff. "From this year's location to the galleries represented to the breadth and depth of the contemporary works available, the feedback we received was resoundingly positive. We are excited to return to the East End next year with even more cutting-edge works on offer."

Dealers reported a flurry of five- and six-figure sales throughout the weekend, right through to the fair's closing on Monday, and expressed optimism about artworks on hold,  observing that many collectors planned to follow up post-fair. Dealers also noted numerous commissions confirmed by artists such as Vadim Dolgov and Anna Razumovskaya, presented by Hazelton Fine Art Galleries, and Lluis Barba, presented by the Cynthia Corbett Gallery.  

Some of the more notable sales included: 

• Hollis Taggart Galleries reported multiple sales throughout the fair, including two pieces almost as soon as the doors opened on VIP Preview night: Jack Tworkov's House of the Sun Variationin the $200,000 range, and a Norman Bluhm, also in the six figures

• Cynthia Corbett Gallery, representing works by Andy Burgess, Deborah Azzopardi and David Hayes, among others, noted "numerous six-figure sales," as well as several Azzopardi pieces in the $10,000-$15,000 range, Klari Reis'Webbing for $19,000, and several Charles Moxon works in the $9,000-$12,000 range. At the fair's end, the gallery also was negotiating final sales for Tom Leighton and Barba, including a commission for Barba from an influential Miami-based collector

• Galerie Mark Hachem had at least a dozen sales during the fair, including a Rene Magritte statue, Les Menottes de Cuivre, for $75,000, and Gorilla, a statue by Stefano Bombardieri, for $18,000. The gallery also placed no fewer than three of Mauro Corda's bronze Femelle bulldogs, with an asking price of $125,000 each

• Pushkin Gallery, presenting the works of Russian painter Boris Chetkov, placed a whopping 16 pieces on site, including Red Wagon for $110,000

• Peter Marcelle Project placed Frank Stella's Then Waters Came and Quenched the Fire, which had an asking price of $100,000

•  RJD Gallery placed one of Andrea Kowch's haunting portraits, In the Distance for $85,000, among other sales

• Contessa Gallery placed over two dozen pieces, with a large portion of their upper six-figure revenue derived from multiple sales of artist David Drebin, along with paintings by Mr. Brainwash, whose Tomato Spray went for $60,000 and Banksy Thrower, which fetched $80,000 

• Hexton | modern and contemporary completed several sales of local Hamptons-based artist Eric Fischl's stunning works, all in the "six figure" range.

• Taglialatella Galleries reported multiple sales "almost the moment the fair opened its doors," that included a Damien Hirst as well as a Jeff Koons sculpture in the "five-figure" range.

• Vogelsang Gallery placed a Frank Stella work for $75,000, a Gregory Watin work for $29,000, several Rubem Robierb works in the $18,000-$20,000 range, and two Marcel Ceuppens in the $10,000-range.

• Masterworks Fine Art reported selling several Picasso lithographs in the $40,000 range, as well as a Fernandez Arman statue titled Molting Statue of Liberty for $30,000.

• Dean Project placed   Phillip Maberry's Pool Toy, outdoor sculpture, 2015  among other sales.

• The McLoughlin Gallery placed Jeff Muh's Blue Chip for $22,000, ID Bronze, a sculpture by Doug Thielscher for $7,500, and two of Jerome Lucani's works, BB (Bridgette Bardot), for $25,000 each.

• Sponder Gallery placed three of Michael Halsband's iconic Warhol/Basquiat photographs to multiple buyers, one Stanley Boxer painting and several Max-Steven Grossman Bookscapes - all in the $15,000-$20,000 range.

• Shine Artists London reported sales of two Jeff Robb pieces for $20,000 each, a Christopher Thompson for $16,000, and two effervescent light box pieces by Hwang Seontae for $6,500 each.

• NOW Contemporary Art placed 3(three), a mixed-media compilation of three unnamed Japan-based artists, in the $25,000 range. The gallery also placed an untitled Andres Schiavo piece for $15,000, and two Chris Maynard works, Flight Pattern 1 and 2, for $6,000 each.
• Berry Campbell Gallery, also representing local Hamptons art, placed a stunning piece by Eric Dever for $16,000, as well as a work  by Tapp Francke.

• Nikola Rukaj Gallery placed all of the Uno Hoffmann works brought on site, with an asking price of $15,000 each.

• Lawrence Fine Art reported a Joe Novak piece placed for $15,000.
• Emmanuel Fremin Gallery placed Antoine Rose's Swarmanoid and What's up for $10,000 each, as well as Drew Tal's Porcelain Dynasty for $16,000 and JP Kadzinski'sFire Escapes of NY for $6,000.

• Galleria Ca' D'oro reported selling a Ewa Bathelier piece for $12,000.
• The Public House of Art reported sales of several large-scale photo pieces in the $6,000-$8000 range.

• Galerie von Braunbehrens placed five of Marck's Current Flow Mixed Electronic Media installations for $6,000 each.
• Hazelton Fine Art Galleries Toronto Canada. The price range of sales from our portfolio of art works were from 12000.-50,000. The Andy Warhol prices were 40,000 for the Karen Kain, and 65,000 for the Marx Bros. A total number of 8 paintings have sold from the exhibit

Among the distinguished collectors, art patrons, art advisors, cultural leaders, government officials and philanthropists that attended this year's fair were Howard Stern & Beth Ostrosky Stern, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani & wife Judy, author and playwright Joe Pintauro & partner Greg Therriault, Broadway producers Stewart Lane & Bonnie Comley, Tracy Pollan, wife of actor Michael J. Fox, former Carnival Cruise COO Howard Frank, BillySquier, Bill Mack, Wilbur & Hilary Ross, internationally acclaimed architect Stephen Valentine,lecturer, author and Russian art collector Dr. Fred Levine & wife Marilyn, and many other collectors and notables, including Norman & Irma Braman, Ted & Ruth Baum, Elayne Mordes, Kevin Berlin, Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave, Edwina Sandys, President of Graff Diamonds Henri Barguirdjian, James Nederlander Sr., John & Joan Gruen, Gary & Katherine Andreassen, Melanie Wambold, Nicole Noonan, Randi Schatz, Sara Herbert-Galloway, Steve Bernstein, Sylvia Hemingway, Audrey & Martin Gruss, Steve and Kara Ross, New York Academy of Art President David Kratz, Christie's International Real Estate President Dan Conn and many more.

The internationally acclaimed New York Academy of Art, of which Andy Warhol was among the original founders, once again partnered with Art Southampton, with renowned artist April Gornik as guest curator of exceptional alumni works.