2011 Recap

It was a gorgeous weekend overlooking San Francisco Bay - and that was just the weather. Adding to the balmy clime and art-loving mood, the SF Fine Art Fair, which completed its May 19-22, 2011 run at San Francisco’s Fort  Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, shattered records for both attendance and sales: 16,200 visitors over the weekend and $6.3 million in sales.  Last year, which marked a welcome return of the Fair to San Francisco, saw a benchmark that was hard to match, much less top: 15,000 in attendance and $5 million in sales.

    

“People were streaming out of Fort Mason with paintings under their arms and red dots peppered the walls,” said Rick Friedman, director of the SF Fine Art Fair. “Energized and invigorated by the 4,000 works of art on display from 73 respected art  dealers, sales reflected a range of tastes, prices and media.”

Friedman notes that virtually all the fine art photography dealers sold multiple prints off their walls. Each day, attendance – and enthusiasm – grew at the Fair: 3200 at the Opening Night Preview Party on Thursday, 3500 on Friday, 4000 on Saturday and 5500 on Sunday for a total of 16,200. Both post war and contemporary art sold aggressively, with prices ranging  from $500 to $260,000. The average sale hovered between $15,000-$30,000.

Leading the Way

With the welcomed addition of two concurrent satellite fairs, SFFAF 2011 continued to be the preeminent art fair market place for buyers and sellers. SFFAF led the way 2011 with:

  • The largest sold-out exhibition floor - 55,000 sq. ft.

  • The largest number of dealers - 73

  • The largest attendance - 16,200

  • The largest Opening night turnout - 3,200

  • The most art sales generated - $6.2 million

  • The premiere event location - Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason

  • The only endorsement by the City of San Francisco.

    

Gallery Sales Summary

  • The Riva Yares Gallery presented a solo booth tribute to local sculptor Fletcher Benton, and her gallery booth presented millions of dollars of art featuring Milton Avery, Gene Davis,and local Manuel Neri, and Jules Olitski. 

  • “A Family Affair”: A Sam Francis work sold at Robert Greene Fine Arts, while Francis' wife, Margaret Francis, and son Augustus Francis, sold manyworks at Santa Monica’s Schomburg Gallery.

  • The JoAnne Artman Gallery sold Peregrine Heathcote's “At A Time Not Too far Distant ($19,500) and James Verbicky's “Diffusion” ($3,600).

  • San Francisco’s Meyerovich Gallery sold paintings by Picasso and Frank Stella.

  • The Sundaram Tagore Gallery sold two works, both over $100,000, including Hirshi Senju's “Waterfall” for $260,000.

  • Mark Pinsukanjana, owner of the Modernbook Gallery, called it a “wonderful fair” and reported moving over 30 photographs.

  • Mill Valley’s Stephanie Breitbard Fine Arts called it “the best Fair ever” and sold ten works.

  • SUJARO Gallery of African Art owner Andrew Berz reported that “the show was valuable” and that he “sold seven major pieces and for African art that is incredible.”

  • George Krevsky Gallery Director Lori Sottile said, “I was excited by the turnout and amazed that the majority of the crowd were collectors. We did very well.”

  • Eckert Fine Art sold several paintings by Eric Forstmann.

  • Arcadia Fine Arts reported several sales including Daniel Sprick, Ron Hicks and Malcolm Liepke.

  • Gilman Contemporary sold several works including Ashley Collins's “Bikou” ($28,500)

  • Madison Gallery owner Lorna York said: “We did excellent. This was a really well run fair. The installations added to the overall aesthetic.”

  • The William Havu Gallery reported sale of Michael Steven's “The Vicar's Pup.”