The Times takes a tour of the London International Art Fair and inspects the wares on offer:
This is where you would expect to snap up John Constable’s View of East Bergholt House (£300,000) or a dainty brown-ink-and-pencil drawing by William Turner (£29,000). Less predictable, however, is the eye-popping Birth of Venus by the fashion photographer David LaChapelle (about £76,000).
Other unusual offerings from some of the 200 top British and international galleries exhibiting here include Crying Girl by Roy Lichtenstein, Trincomali Harbour by Julian Schnabel and a poster advertising the 1979 Muppet Movie. Fossil lovers will also find the skull of a Mongolian dinosaur and the truly eccentric will delight in the 16th-century German footman’s armour.
The mix of ancient and modern is intended to appeal to London’s new breed of international billionaires, whose tastes may not be conventionally British.
Sir Timothy Clifford, chairman of the fair, explains: “There is no reason why contemporary art cannot be integrated cleverly with antiques. Many contemporary decorators are now demonstrating this at LIFAF.”
Buying Contemporary Art for Your Home (Times of London)