TEFAF Maastricht, which ran from March 11 to 20, 2016, in the MECC, Maastricht, once again welcomed around 75,000 visitors, illustrating the consistent annual pull of the 270 international dealers to public institutions, private collectors, art lovers and connoisseurs. Overall, sales happened throughout the duration of the fair, with dealers in all sections reporting sales to private and public buyers across price points. Of note again was the number of museums from around the world that visited TEFAF Maastricht, which this year totalled 254, while collectors came to the fair from over 60 countries.

Objects of exceptional provenance as well as historic and cultural importance drew collectors to the Fair with many items being snapped up immediately while others were reserved for sale after the Fair.

TEFAF Paintings continued to perform well at the 2016 Fair, with sales throughout the section. Richard Green (Stand 302) reported sales across all areas, including Old Master, Dutch 19th century, and Impressionist. "At TEFAF 2016, we decided to present an exhibition of works by Eugène Boudin (1824-1898), which we have been collecting for a number of years,” commented Jonathan Green, CEO of Richard Green. “We have been delighted by the serious appreciation these pictures have elicited and to report that we have already sold six of the eight paintings by Boudin to very knowledgeable collectors".

Dickinson (Stand 402) also reported good sales across disciplines from their stand, including the astonishing portrait miniature King Henry III (1551-1589) of France, by Nicholas Hilliard, c.1547-1619, and the star work of their stand, Au Bord de l’Eau, 1885, oil on canvas, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Additionally, Arnoldi-Livie (Stand 339) sold two panels by Hans-Schäufelin (1480-1540) to a private collector who will lend the work to the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. These panels had an asking price of €350,000. Rafael Valls Ltd (Stand 341), sold A View of the Moated Castle of Muiden with Figures walking on a Path or Fishing from a Boat, oil on canvas, by Gerrit Berckheyde (1638-1698), to the Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, whose castle is depicted in the painting.

Scholarship is at the heart of TEFAF, which annually attracts international museums who are active throughout the Fair. In 2016, sales included a number of items from different sections of the Fair, such as Portrait of Aline Maréchal, 1890, crayon conté on laid paper, by Georges Lemmen (1865-1916), to the Boston Museum of Art, from Eric Gillis Fine Art (Stand 716) in TEFAF Paper. Cohen & Cohen (Stand 244) sold a rare Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer stand in the form of a low table to the Musèe Guimet, Paris.

Tom Davies, from Daniel Katz Ltd (Stand 100), was delighted with the level of collector and museum attendance at TEFAF Maastricht in 2016, saying “We were very pleased to sell our terracotta lion by Clodion during the opening weekend. The manner of the sale is illustrative of our experience at TEFAF, in that it involved both private and museum individuals. The sculpture itself was sold to a private collector from New York, however, the actual deal involved the presence of two museum curators from different institutions who were on hand during the buying process in an advisory capacity.”

Sales in TEFAF Antiques were also buoyant. Tomasso Brothers Fine Art (Stand 166) sold an imposing marble portrait bust by local Liège artist François-Joseph Dewandre (1758-1835), an interpretation of the famous antique head in the Uffizi gallery, Florence. The bust had an asking price of €120,000. Koopman Rare Art (Stand 156) sold one of the highlights of their stand, a George III Pagoda Epergne, silver, London 1763, with the maker’s mark of Thomas Pitts, to a European collector.

Cahn International AG (Stand 422), in TEFAF Classical Antiquities, sold major pieces to private collectors during the Fair; these included a Roman monumental marble foot with sandal, 2nd-3rd century AD and a Roman under-life size torso of Venus Pudica, 1st-2nd century AD.

TEFAF Curated sits alongside TEFAF Modern and is dedicated to contemporary art, widening the appeal of the Fair to collectors who previously may not have attended TEFAF Maastricht. Niccolò Sprovieri, Sprovieri Gallery, who represented Pedro Cabrita Reis (b.1956) with a show of three works in Show Your Wound, the title of TEFAF Curated in 2016, commented “The curated section allowed us to mount an ambitious large scale presentation and the largest work [of three] has sold to a prestigious public institution. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to engage with some of the best collectors in the world for whom art historical importance rather than speculative gain is paramount.”

Sales were reported throughout TEFAF Modern, where paintings by masters of the late 20th century were eagerly purchased by collectors during the Fair. Thomas Salis Art & Design (Stand 404), sold one of their most highly priced and enigmatic pieces, La grande allée, 1964, oil on canvas, by Paul Delvaux (1897-1994), for €2 million, while Cardi Gallery (Stand 503), sold Weiss (White), 1988, by Günther Uecker (b.1930), acrylic, nails, white paint on canvas and wood, to a European private collector for €2.2 million. In addition, Galerie Karsten Greve AG (Stand 500), sold an iconic Concetto Spaziale, 1954, terracotta, painted, by Lucio Fontana (1899-1968).

TEFAF La Haute Joaillerie annually draws acclaim for the exceptional selection of contemporary jewellers it presents. In 2016, TEFAF was delighted to add Verdura/Belperron (Stand 146) and celebrated Chinese jeweller Wallace Chan (Stand 139) to the exhibitor roster. Of the Fair, Wallace Chan commented, “TEFAF is a meticulous art fair, it carries heritage of the past and inspiration for the future. Life is brief, yet art is eternal. I deem it my pleasure being a part of these dialogues with art experts and connoisseurs.”

Suzanne Demisch, at Demisch Danant (Stand 610), in TEFAF Design said “We have noticed a consistent flow of serious buyers and collectors throughout the duration of the Fair, something quite unique to TEFAF Maastricht.” This sentiment was echoed by François Laffanour, of Laffanour - Galerie Downtown/Paris (Stand 605), who commented that he was “delighted to introduce visitors to the work of the influential Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902-1988), whose oeuvre is relatively unknown to European collectors”, and was pleased with both the enthusiastic response and level of sales.

TEFAF 2017 will take place from 10-19 March at the MECC, Maastricht.