Fifteen of the city’s preeminent galleries—all clustered on the Upper East Side—are hosting simultaneous opening-night receptions to kick off the first edition of October Art Week, October 20 to 26.

The gallery receptions, open to the public and comfortably walkable from one another, are being held to expand upon the buzz and excitement generated by the opening of TEFAF in New York City. Taking place at the Park Avenue Armory, TEFAF, the world's premier art fair, will bring together the treasures of nearly 100 dealers from around the globe, showcasing outstanding examples of fine art, design, furniture, jewelry and more.

Says Bria Koser, director of Otto Naumann Ltd. who with Lydia Johnson, director at Robert Simon Fine Art and Frances Beatty, president of Richard L. Feigen & Co., came up with the concept: “With the opening of TEFAF New York, we thought it was the perfect time to launch October Art Week. TEFAF draws the world's foremost collectors and curators and while we look forward to seeing them on our stand, we really wanted to get them into our gallery, too."

Koser and Johnson envisioned some special way to observe the week-long activities swirling around the art world. In addition to TEFAF, Christie’s has moved their sale dates to coincide with the fair and Sotheby's, too, is holding their private selling exhibitions of Old Master Paintings during the week. “We considered various ideas, trying to come up with an exciting way to bring people together to make the most of everything going on this Fall in New York.

Drawing on the concept of London Art Week, we realized our neighborhood was well positioned to host a similar event, because of the rich concentration of fine art galleries in proximity to the Armory.” says Johnson.

Adds Koser, “The Upper East Side will be brimming with activity this Fall. October Art Week is destined to become an annual highlight of the season, and we are thrilled to be at the center of it."

The 15 participating galleries, several of which are exhibiting at TEFAF, include:

Jill Newhouse Gallery, 19th- and 20th-century European works; 4 East 81st Street

Schiller & Bodo, 19th-century European paintings, with emphasis on works from the French Academic, Realist, Barbizon and Post-Impressionist traditions; 4 East 81st Street

Otto Naumann Ltd., Old Master Paintings; 22 East 80th Street, Second Floor

Robert Simon Fine Art, Old Master paintings; 22 East 80th Street, Fourth Floor

Shepherd W & K Galleries, 19th-century European paintings, drawings and sculpture, and modern art; 58 East 79th Street

Les Enluminures, manuscripts and miniatures from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance        as well as rings and jewelry from the period; 23 East 73rd Street, Seventh Floor

Jack Kilgore & Co., European old master paintings; 154 East 71st Street, Third Floor

Richard L. Feigen & Co., wide-ranging works, from Sir Joshua Reynolds to Ray Johnson; 34 East 69th Street

Didier Aaron, Inc., specializing Old Master and 19th century paintings and drawings;

32 East 67th Street

Hammer Galleries, 19th- and 20th-century American and European paintings, as well as contemporary Realist works; 32 East 67th Street

Taylor | Graham, American and European art from the 19th century to the present, and sculpture; 32 East 67th Street

Andrew Butterfield Fine Arts, European art, chiefly Renaissance and Baroque sculpture (exhibiting at Dickinson Roundell, Inc.); 19 East 66th Street

Dickinson Roundell, Inc., old master, Impressionist and contemporary paintings and works of art; 19 East 66th StreetTrinity

Daphne Alazraki Fine Art, European paintings of the 17th through 21st centuries; and Trinity House Paintings, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, modern British and 19th-century works; 24 East 64th Street

Mark Murray Fine Paintings, 19th-century, early 20th-century and Impressionist art; 159 East 63rd Street

For an Art Walk map and further details, visit www.octoberartweek.com