The organizers of the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) sent out a press release this morning with some tidbits that never made it into the other sale reports. Attendance was 67,755 for 2009. That’s actually lower than 2008 by 7.7%. Fewer collectors didn’t necessarily result in lower sales:

For the first time this year design was given a separate, dedicated section underlining its importance as a collecting area. Oscar Humphries of Sebastian + Barquet, New York, summed up the feeling of exhibitors in this area when he said, “It is an exciting moment for design to be given equal footing with more traditional disciplines in such a prestigious environment. [ . . . ]”

This year photography was a new discipline in the Modern Art section. Taking part in the Fair for the first time, specialist photography dealer Galerie Kicken, Berlin made a number of good sales and said, “We are delighted with our debut at this prestigious Fair, where we have met many knowledgeable, traditional collectors who are of course the backbone of the international art trade. We hope that next year more galleries specialising in photography will join us here at TEFAF Maastricht”.

Other sales in the Modern section included Concetto Spaziale (noir)1962 by Lucio Fontana to a German collector for €2.5 million by Parisian dealers, Galerie Odermatt-Vedovi while new exhibitor Ben Brown, London sold La Recherche de l’Absolu, 1966 by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. Van de Weghe Fine Art, New York sales included a realistic work Man on a Bench, 1977 by Duane Hansen, which had an asking price of €550,000, to the Scheringa Museum of Realist Art.

TEFAF Confirms Art Market Remains Solid (TEFAF.com)