TEFAF Maastricht opened to VIP early viewers last Thursday and, despite concerns over the market, exhibitors have reported that sales are going well. The annual fair runs for ten days and traditionally has focused on Old Master paintings and antique works of art, although in recent years it has broadened its remit to include modern and contemporary art. 

 The Art Newspaper has described the fair as having “satisfactory sales” despite serious concerns to the art market, including “game-changing EU legislation”, “plunging US stock markets” and “an unpredictable US president.” 

Massimiliano Caretto, a partner in the Italian Old Master dealership Caretto & Occhinegro, described how “this is a challenging time in a wider sense […] everyone is frightened about everything”. Despite this, Caretto said that “TEFAF is the one event where museums, collectors and dealers gather together and want to buy.” Art advisor Morgan Long spoke positively about this year’s TEFAF, saying “despite the lack of obvious showstoppers such as we have seen in past years, people were still quietly doing good business and there was a very international crowd in attendance, which makes all the difference.”

While Long commented on the lack of “showstoppers”, stand-out works have been noted, including a 16^th century illuminated manuscript painted by the French illuminator Jean Pichore and his workshop, which the The New York Times described as “one of the most spectacular exhibits” at the fair. Artsy pinpointed Mary Cassatt’s Girl with a Banjo (1894) as one of the most impressive pieces, for sale with M.S. Rau, noting also that this year’s TEFAF has “nearly double” the amount of works by female artists compared to 2024.

There are also more contemporary and modern art exhibitors present this year. Kamel Mennour – a contemporary art dealer – spoke enthusiastically about the mix of antique and modern art. “The idea is this confrontation, the porosity between modernity and antiques,” he said, adding that “I like the idea of this juxtaposition.” Another first-timer to the fair is exhibitor Marianne Boesky, who is selling a group of small-scale figurative paintings by the artist Danielle Mckinney. As reported by ARTnews, many of Mckinney’s paintings on sale were painted this year, making them “the youngest works shown collectively” at the fair. 

TEFAF Maastricht is on until 20 March 2025.