Old Masters and Roman statues vie for the attention of well-heeled collectors at Dutch art fair
Old Masters, Roman statues, modern furniture, tribal masks and vintage watches are vying for the attention of well-heeled collectors at the annual TEFAF art fair that opened in the southern Netherlands
MAASTRICHT, Netherlands — Old Masters, Roman statues, modern furniture, tribal masks and vintage watches are vying for the attention of well-heeled collectors as the TEFAF art fair opened on Thursday in the southern Netherlands.
The show takes place in a cavernous exhibition center transformed in just over a week of frantic work into a mega-gallery. Its eclectic collection looks and feels like a mashup of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, New York's Museum of Modern Art and the British Museum.
“Special about TEFAF is that we cover almost 7,000 years of art history, 7,000 years of human creation. Whether these are living or dead, artists or artisans,” said Hidde van Seggelen, an art dealer and chairman of the TEFAF executive board.
«Everything that you see here is made by by a human hand. It is all about creation,» he said.
The exhibit is also a showcase of the resilience of the art market in times of global uncertainty.
“We live in difficult times,” Van Seggelen said. “There’s a war… on the European continent, there’s a war happening in the Middle East and you hear about inflation in all countries across the globe."
«And the art market is still very strong.” he added.
The Rijksmuseum did not waste any time in snapping up a painting by female artist Gesina ter Borch, a member of one of the Netherlands’ most important artistic families of the 17th century. The museum announced the new purchase shortly after the TEFAF doors opened in the city of Maastricht.
One of the highlights of the show, which runs through March 14, is an early
Read more on abcnews.go.com
