NEW YORK, NY.- The Art Show, organized by the Art Dealers Association of America to benefit Henry Street Settlement, closed its 2020 edition on Sunday with an outstanding response from ADAA members, collectors, museum leaders, and visitors, who expressed enthusiasm for the fair’s high quality, curated presentations, and distinctly intimate and accessible scale. Mounted annually at the Park Avenue Armory by the ADAA, a nonprofit membership organization of the leading art dealers from around the country, The Art Show saw strong attendance in 2020, including major collectors, museum leadership, and patron groups every day of the fair.

Kicking off the spring art season in New York, The Art Show opened with the annual Gala Preview on Wednesday, February 26, welcoming some of the nation’s top collectors, museum leadership, New York City philanthropists, industry professionals, and other leading figures in the creative and business communities. Proceeds from the Gala Preview and The Art Show admission throughout the week raised a total of approximately $1.1 million for Henry Street Settlement, bringing the total amount raised for the nonprofit to more than $33 million over the past three decades. AXA XL served as Lead Partner for The Art Show for the ninth consecutive year, in celebration of a 12-year relationship with the ADAA.

New Best in Show Award
In response to the exceptional quality of this year’s fair, The Art Show Committee, comprised of ADAA member galleries, initiated a new “Best in Show” designation to recognize those members whose presentations epitomize the connoisseurship and leadership of the ADAA membership. The inaugural 2020 winners are: P.P.O.W for its installation of works by Ramiro Gomez, Ricco/Maresca Gallery for its exhibition of works by self-taught artist Martín Ramírez, and Michael Rosenfeld Gallery for its presentation of rare works by William Henry Johnson.

Collector and Institutional Attendance
Private and institutional collectors responded with ardent enthusiasm to The Art Show for its high-quality presentations and navigable scale. Major collectors and VIPs visited on every day of the fair, including Iris Abrons, Drew Barrymore, Estrellita Brodsky, Anderson Cooper, Jeffrey Deitch, Pilar Crespi Robert, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg, Agnes Gund, Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann, J. Tomilson and Janine Hill, Jessica Lange, Raymond Learsy, Steve Martin, John Morning, Vlada Roslyakova, and Laurie Tisch, among others.

Leaders and patron groups from museums across the country visited the fair, from institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, ICA Miami, El Museo del Barrio, SFMOMA, Parrish Art Museum, Philadelphia Contemporary, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Dia Art Foundation, Art Institute of Chicago, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, among others.

ADAA Member Response
Exhibiting ADAA members enjoyed meaningful engagements with collectors, museum leaders, industry experts, and arts enthusiasts, in addition to strong sales.

Wendi Norris, Founder of Wendi Norris Gallery remarked, “The ADAA’s Art Show was an exercise in connoisseurship and responsible collecting. In a mere five days, my gallery cultivated more than 20 museum curators and individuals into active collectors for Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo, sharing our two decades of work for both of these artists. The experience throughout was equal parts inquiry and contemplation, enthusiasm and respect.”

Peter Blum, Founder of Peter Blum Gallery stated, “ Peter Blum Gallery was proud to be a participant in the ADAA Art Show for 2020. In particular, the focused solo presentations and the curated small group exhibitions speak to the quality and accessibility of the art fair. As it’s the only art fair currently open, collector attendance has been noteworthy and focused, resulting in several notable acquisitions. The ADAA team and especially Maureen Bray have once again been tremendously helpful, organized, and attentive to exhibitors’ needs. We look forward to exhibiting in 2021 with such a wonderful team and fellow exhibitors.”

Programming at The Art Show
For the 2020 edition, The Art Show featured a dynamic program of public conversations with artists, gallerists, curators, and industry experts, including gallerists Stefania Bortolami (Bortolami Gallery) and Sean Kelly (Sean Kelly Gallery); artists Diana Al-Hadid, Elaine Cameron-Weir, Olalekan Jeyifous, and Josiah McElheny; as well as Lynn Gumpert (Director, Grey Art Gallery, New York University), Kendal Henry (Director, Percent for Art, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs), Brooke Kamin Rapaport (Deputy Director and Martin Friedman Chief Curator, Madison Square Park Conservancy, New York), and Lindsay Pollock (Chief Communications and Content Officer, Whitney Museum of American Art).

Extending programming beyond the fair, the ADAA organized the ADAA Gallery Walk: Midtown + Upper East Side for the second year, a collaboration between an unprecedented 43 ADAA member galleries in the surrounding neighborhoods on Saturday, February 29. In addition, the ADAA offered visitors the chance to meet 12 artists presenting works at the fair on Sunday, March 1, including Jordan Nassar, Judith Eisler, Vanessa German, and James Welling.