With a toast to the city led by billionaire Paul Allen and The Honorable Ed Murray, Mayor of Seattle, the inaugural Seattle Art Fair roared into action on Thursday evening. The Seattle Art Fair opened to an animated, engaged crowd of over 4,000 collectors, curators, museum directors, and art lovers as a unique moment focused entirely on the city itself. The show continued through Sunday.

The people of Seattle responded with a powerful enthusiasm reflected in strong sales and sizable attendance. Visitors to the fair's acclaimed first edition were met with a compelling exhibition of sixty­two local, regional, and national galleries alongside a program of public installations, performances, and special exhibitions. Sales were robust across the board, with acquisitions of important work reported in all price ranges.

Gagosian Gallery saw strong sales through the Preview and noted the sophistication of the crowd which included many of the gallery's long­standing collectors and the leaders of museums from across the region.

New York City's Allan Stone Projects sold a Dan Basen mixed media piece and a Wayne Thiebaud early work on paper in the fair's opening moments.

Paul Kasmin Gallery sold Revolution #2, by Ivan Navarro, Pace Gallery placed two of teamLab interactive digital installations, and David Zwirner Gallery sold work by Oscar Murillo and Christopher Williams in the fair's first hours.

Seattle's Greg Kucera Gallery also saw sales across their program's presented price points including the placement of Sherry Markovitz’ Poodle Head, two Margie Livingston paint pieces, and a William Kentridge.

James Cohan Gallery saw significant interest in the works of Spencer Finch and sold several pieces by Elias Sime. Adelson Gallery sold Jamie Wyeth's Sisters ­ Six in a Suite of Untoward Occurrences on Monhegan Island. Other highlights include Catharine Clark Gallery's sale of sculpture by Wanxin Zhang and Jonathan Ferrara Gallery's placement work by Skylar Fein and Nikki Rosato.

Seattle's Roq La Rue sold work on paper by local artist Amanda Manitach as well as acrylics on panel by Travis Louie and Camille Rose Garcia. Samsøn Projects sold work by Mark Cooper to a prominent New York City collector, New York's Maxwell Davidson Gallery sold several works by Thomas Witte, and Seattle galley Winston Wächter Fine Art sold four works by Dustin Yellin including mixed media and sculpture.

The first two hours of the Seattle Art Fair opening night Preview raised over $85,000 for Artist Trust. Dedicated to supporting Washington State artists working across all disciplines by providing professional development through training programs like Edge and I Am An Artist, Artist Trust funds upwards of 85 artist grants, totaling over $300,000 each year.