Ownership and management of the annual American Antiques Show, a ten-year-old fundraiser for New York's American Folk Art Museum, has been turned over to the Art Fair Company in an effort to stabilize the museum's finances.

Faced with a default on nearly $32 million worth of bonds that it issued to construct its building on West 53rd Street, the folk art museum is struggling financially. Last week, executive director Maria Ann Conelli announced she would be leaving in July.

Art Fair Company president Mark Lyman said that the relaunched fair, which is held in January at the Metropolitan Pavilion (West 18th St.), will attempt to attract new and younger buyers with the addition of modern design and photography, alongside the traditional folk art and Americana offered.