Tefaf 2017
December 14 2016
Picture: Tefaf
The Antiques Trade Gazette has published the full list of exhibitors for next year's Tefaf (The European Fine Art Fair) in Maastricht. Notable absentees, they say, include the Fine Art Society, Mallet, and Otto Naumann (the Obi-Wan of the Old Master world).
Also not returning, at least for this year, is the modern and contemporary dealer Daniel Blau. He set out his reasons in a fruity letter to fellow exhibitors;
As some of you will remember, I sent a letter to all in March expressing the wish to find ways to improve communication between fellow TEFAF exhibitors (many of whom also regularly make large purchases at TEFAF) and the Board.
Problems concerning the hasty ”expansion“ to New York and potential weakening of Maastricht have been ignored and denied.
From entrenched positions, questions about the following issues are stubbornly brushed off:
-Prominent TEFAF dealers involved in a very public forgery scandal and the resulting damage to our vetting reputation.
-Monetary and legal questions about the Dutch European Art Foundation tax status in relation to investment in or loan to USA to form TEFAF NY LLC and TEFAF USA INC, two for profit companies (*), thus facilitating the creation of two fairs competing with TEFAF Maastricht.
-Naming galleries ”signed on“ to exhibit in future TEFAF fairs. For recruitement purposes, there has been bluffing about prominent contemporary and modern galleries committing to participate.
