The Evening Standard may be stating the obvious here but it is still worth taking a moment to recognize how far Contemporary art has come into the center of the wealthy establishment. Old Masters are now a niche outlier:
Over the past five years, eight major international galleries have taken space in London, seven of which have opened in Mayfair, nestled among the luxury fashion stores and hedge funds, according to property agent Savills.
Cristian Contini, who opened Contini Art UK in 2014, believes having a Mayfair address is vital. His family has six galleries in Italy and chose New Bond Street to mark its international expansion.
Contini says: “It made sense for us to be surrounded by the auction houses and designer label stores where our clients would also be visiting.” He adds that his clients are often wealthy Arabs, Russians and Americans “who would not dream of travelling anywhere outside Mayfair”.
Britart modernists move to Mayfair’s Old Masters territory in hunt for the super-rich (London Evening Standard)
