From the fair’s launch on 15 March, visitor numbers increased by 15%, with over 400 institutional representatives exploring the aisle of the fair to discover the latest offerings from galleries, who expressed their satisfaction.
View of Alexis Lartigue's booth.
True to its reputation for breaking records, the 2025 edition featured 266 exhibitors from 21 countries, showcasing works across the usual categories (paintings, antiques, jewellery, modern and contemporary art, design, African and Oceanic arts, ancient art, works on paper), alongside the Focus section, which showcases solo exhibitions by artists, such as Ceysson & Bénétière presenting Jean Messagier’s 1963 Les Porteurs d'arc-en-ciel, rarely exhibited before, as it remained in the artist's family. Alexis Lartigue presented works from the 1960s by Simon Hantaï, while the Pauline Pavec gallery focused on the timely rediscovery of the work of Marie Bracquemond (1840-1916), an impressionist painter and ceramist, little known or even forgotten, who was also the wife of the painter and ceramist Félix Bracquemond and mother of Pierre, also an artist. Six of the nine works were sold to private collections and institutions in the United States, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Another remarkable rediscovery is that of the Lebanese-Palestinian artist Juliana Seraphim (1934-2005) at Richard Saltoun (London). Her works were recently exhibited at the Menart Fair last year and in the 2022 exhibition Beirut and the Golden Sixties at Berlin's Gropius Bau. Her work draws from a surrealism uniquely her own.
Juliana Seraphim, Dream of Samarkand (Rêve de Samarcande), 1994.
The Fondation Gandur pour l'Art acquired two works by Guy de Rougemont (1935-2021) from Ketabi Bourdet (Paris). Meanwhile, White Cube sold several works by Baselitz, Imi Knoebel, and Man Ray on the first day.
Picasso, Les Dormeurs (1965) exhibited by Landau Fine Art (Montreal).
In the field of modern and contemporary art, a standout piece is Picasso's Les Dormeurs (1965) exhibited by Landau Fine Art (Montreal), from the personal collection of the artist's historical dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. The piece was priced at a minimum of 50 million USD.
André Lhote, Jeux au printemps (1910). Photo: © Courtesy Galerie de la Présidence, Paris.
Galerie de la Présidence (Paris) showcased an exceptional museum piece by André Lhote, Jeux au printemps (1910), which had not been seen on the market for several decades. AICON (New York) presented a selection of modern and contemporary Indian artists, featuring the beautiful Portrait of Frank (1962) by F. N. Souza, one of the founders of the Bombay Progressive Artist's Group. This portrait came from Frank Norman's collection.
Simone Boisecq's work presented by David Lévy Gallery.
Lastly, we highlight the presence of works by the sculptor Simone Boisecq (1922-2012) at David Lévy Gallery. Her work, rarely exhibited and unjustly overlooked by the public, includes Boisecq's works from the 1950s, part of the vibrant post-war era when artists were committed to redefining form and visual language.
Cover image: Jean Messagier, Les Porteurs d’Arc-en-Ciel, 1963, oil on canvas, 197,5 x 297,5 cm. Courtesy Galerie Ceysson & Bénétière
