New York: On October 25, over a dozen blue-chip galleries will open their doors on New York’s Upper East Side to kick-off October Art Week. Organized to coincide with TEFAF New York and Christie’s Classic Art Week of auctions and selling exhibitions, these pre-eminent fine art dealers add to the week’s whirlwind activities by curating and hosting special exhibitions—all within strolling distance of one another.

Here is an overview of some of the prime highlights that deserve special notice:

Didier Aaron, Inc., showcases Study for ‘The Greeks and Trojans fighting over the body of Patroclus’ by Nicolas-Guy Brenet an oil on canvas executed circa 1781. 32 East 67th Street

At Ambrose Naumann Fine Art, "Calumny", by Marcel Delmotte, stands front and center. This painting is an outstanding example of Delmotte's dynamic approach to allegorical subject matter. The classical nude figures in Calumny clearly reflect a strong impact on Delmotte by the Old Masters, however he has situated the scene in a surreal existential void. 74 East 79th Street, 1D

With a recently opened New York outpost, triple-threat Brimo DiCastro Kugel, three major European galleries, whose unique collaboration, allows them to cover a wide swathe of material from Medieval and Renaissance art to antiquities through mid-19th century paintings and decorative arts. For their October Art Week debut, Brimo de Laroussilhe will feature The Master of the Piani d’Invrea Cross "Saint Thomas Aquinas" enthroned between Saint Peter and Saint Dominic,circa 1335; while Alessandra Di Castro, spotlights The Athénienne Murat , a Tripod vase in red Egyptian porphyry and gilt bronze, juxtaposed with Galerie Kugel’s showstopper a carved, gilt and painted wood Borghese Center Table from the Egyptian Room in the Palazzo Borghese, in Rome. 625 Madison Avenue, Suite 207A

Exemplars from Dutch neo-impressionism are extremely rare to find, so it’s no wonder that Brussels-based Eric Gillis Fine Art, making his first October Art Week appearance, proudly presents "Stilleven met Delftsch Snuifpotje Tobaccojar of Delft with pipe," a Neoimpressionist pointillist drawing by Hendricus Bremmer, dated 1907. The technique is often spectacular, and the images are always seductive (with bright colors and this luminous effect). Vivian Horan Fine Art, 35 East 67th Street

Graham|Shay 1857 directs attention to "The Intellectuals" is a fine example of Pène du Bois’ early work.  His painting combines the dark, sketch-like brushstrokes and roughly hewn visages the artist drew from the teachings of Robert Henri with the sharp point of view of the keen social arbiter Pene du Bois would be known for throughout his career. 34 East 67th Street

Hammer Galleries unveils "Deux ânes verts," 1980. The circus became one of Chagall's favorite subjects during his early years in Paris and remained so throughout his career. It had an allegorical connection with his own art and its performance, for he could never feel himself to be a painter alone but also a magician, actor and clown.  Chagall summoned the experience of circus performance−clowns, acrobats and young ladies riding bareback on horses, the ringside stands brimming with spectators, the total spectacle of the circus, in all its colorful variety−as a vivid metaphor for the life he chose to lead. 32 East 67th Street

At Mark Murray, keep an eye out for "Jeune Grec" the recently rediscovered painting by Jean Leon Gérôm was presumed lost since its appearance in the sale of the collection of Abraham Willet in Paris in 1858. Gérôme painted this small masterpiece in 1857 shortly after his first of many visits to Cairo. It is one of the artist’s earlier depictions of an Arnaut soldier, which was to become one of his favorite and most colorful subjects. 159 East 63rd Street

Coinciding with the blockbuster Eugène Delacroix retrospective, at The Metropolitan Museum, the Jill Newhouse Gallery, in association with the Paris-based Galerie de Bayser, unveils "Drawings, Watercolors, Pastels and Small Oils," a first-time gallery exhibition of 40 works illustrating the principal themes and aesthetic concerns of his vast oeuvre. Among the showstoppers is Hercules and Hippolyte, Study for a Lunette of The Salon de la Paix. .4 East 81st Street

Richard L. Feigen & Co. is showing the romantic master Richard Parkes Bonington in the first-ever New York exhibition.  Not to be missed are the rarely seen: "Palazzi Manolesso-Ferro, Venice, 1826, Grand Canal at Sunrise," as well as loans from the Yale Center for British Art. Important works by Corot and Delacroix are also included. 16 East 77th Street

Jan Brueghel the Younger’s "Wooded landscape with horse-drawn carts,riders and peasants on a hillside path" in the foreground is one of the main highlights at Robert At Simon Fine Art. Brueghel’s painting is a brilliant and beautiful landscape on a miniature scale.  The artist depicts vignettes of daily life of the 16th-century that resonate today:  travel, work, family, animals, life, the passing of time – all these come together in a dynamic composition in which a corner of Flanders stands for the entire world. 22 East 80th Street, 4th floor

Shepherd W & K Galleries features "Motive Dalmata," by Zoran Music, the most important Slovenian painter, printmaker and draughtsman, who spent his days painting in Venice and Paris. His later work was informed by his trauma in Dachau. In this painting Motivo Dalmata, a group of mounted shepherds in a rear view determines the picture, protected with dark parasols from the scorching sun, which floods the Dalmatian region with its glistening rays. 58 East 79th Street

Tambaran Gallery presents Blue Blossom with "Pink Violet," by Cho Sung-Hee. This Korean artist combines Hanji paper, a traditional material, with oil paint, rather than its archetypal association with Asian inks. Through other creative steps, she comes to her own method and uses this synthesis to create abstract but meticulous works, mesmerizing to the eye and the mind. 5 East 82nd Street

Taylor|Graham will spotlight "Tête," by Joan Miró. Conceived 1968 and cast between 1968-1973, this Bronze with original patination, can be seen as an amalgamation of objects from nature, repurposed and annotated by the artist. Miró found it essential to be close to nature, and sometimes on walks he painted directly onto stones and rocks in order to mark the landscape surrounding him. Formally, it draws comparisons to the Moai of Easter Island. 32 East 67th Street

Most of the galleries participating in October Art Week, which runs until November 1st, will be open to the public during fair hours, including Saturday and Sunday. For an Art Walk map and gallery hours, visit www.octoberartweek.com.