Georgina Adam declares Masterpiece the victor in the battle for London’s Summer fair over David Lester’s Olympia fair:
Masterpiece, held in a giant tent in the former Chelsea Barracks site, garnered virtually universal plaudits, and even those who did not make enormous sales believe in its potential: all this year’s exhibitors have reapplied for next year, and the fair – which hopes to move to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea – will have 40 new exhibitors. Thomas Woodham-Smith, managing director of antiques emporium Malletts, is now leaving his post to become chairman of Masterpiece. Mallett is one of the four founders of the event, and its first-half 2010 interim report reveals that it took a small loss this year from its involvement. The company lost £700,000 on turnover of £7.1m in the period, a small improvement over its 2009 figures; the report noted that the antiques trade was “soft” in the first half of this year.
The Art Market: Confidence in Miami (Financial Times)
