LONDON.- A remarkable collection of five bronzes by the legendary renaissance sculptor Giambologna, and a group of extraordinary works by the Aymara Bolivian artist and revolutionary Alejandro Mario Yllanes (1913-c.1960) which have not been seen for the last 30 years, are just two of the impressive exhibitions being staged by eminent art dealers for London Art Week Summer 2023. LAW opened Friday 30 June and continues to Friday 7 July.

The UK’s leading fine arts selling event, London Art Week, is held both in galleries around central London and as exhibitions online. This summer it features 53 participants, all internationally-acknowledged specialists in their chosen fields. Expert dealers offer museum-quality examples of decorative arts, paintings, sculpture and works on paper of all periods from antiquity to contemporary, as well as - for the first time this year - rare books, maps and manuscripts.

The week coincides with the summer series of Old Master and Classic auctions held by Christie’s, Bonhams and Sotheby’s. LAW is a vibrant platform for academic excellence and for dealers to display recent new discoveries and exceptional scholarly works, attracting international museum curators, connoisseurs, art lovers and historians.

Major shows this year include:

•The Alchemist’s Laboratory: Giambologna’s Forge in Florence - a unique opportunity to see a remarkable collection of five works by the legendary renaissance sculptor Giambologna, for sale as a group, at Stuard Lochhead Sculpture.

•An extraordinary group of works by the Aymara Bolivian artist and revolutionary Alejandro Mario Yllanes (1913-c.1960) which have not been seen for the last 30 years and never before exhibited in the United Kingdom. He was a precocious, self-taught artist whose indigenous narrative and portrayal of the post-colonial condition of the Aymara people is profound and compelling, at Ben Elwes Fine Art.

•Renoir & Pisarro: Different Views, the giants of French Impressionism at Connaught Brown, is one of four shows on the subject this year: John Mitchell Fine Paintings display French Masters on Paper, from Degas to Matisse, whilst David Messum Fine Art celebrates 50 years of dealing in British Impressionism, and new exhibitor Haynes Fine Art focus on the works of British Impressionist Dorothea Sharp (1874-1955) widely celebrated in her lifetime.

•A wide-ranging assessment of works on paper by women artists of the 20th and 21st century, Beauty in Individualism, at Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, featuring Gillian Ayres, Lynne Drexler, Helen Frankenthaler, Gluck, Gwen John, Dora Maar, Joan Mitchell and Jenny Saville.

•The Power of Portraiture at Agnews includes a selection of works by Erich Wolfsfeld (1884-1956), who studied and taught at the Berlin Academy. Also included are works by his student Lotte Laserstein (1898-1993) - both fled Germany, Laserstein to Sweden and Wolfsfeld to London. A classic painter-etcher, he mostly concentrated on portraiture, also creating character studies, and Agnews is showing a wide variety of his work.

•The Cline Collection at Daniel Crouch Rare Books - the story of London told in 40,000 books, maps, and prints spanning 400 years - the largest such collection in private hands.

•Hignell Gallery celebrate The Year of the Rabbit: Sophie Ryder at 60 in St James’s Square, showcasing the acclaimed artist’s signature grand-scale sculpture.

New participants to look out for include:

•Nonesuch Gallery's exhibition Travel c.1600-1900 includes mainly Italian subjects, and also paintings, drawings, and watercolours by artists from across Western and Eastern Europe and even across the Atlantic.

•Amir Mohtashemi, leading specialist in Indian and Islamic Art, has curated a special show, Avifauna: Watercolour Studies of the Birds of India, China and the Malay Peninsula.

•Clase Fine Art shows The Fall of the Rebel Angels and other works by Gustave Doré, exploring this major painting created by Gustave Doré c.1871-72, with ancillary drawings, watercolours and inscribed first edition literary works that enrich this look at the artist's oeuvre.

•Peter Harrington, rare books and manuscripts dealer, showcases What’s Past is Prologue” – Works That Shaped and were Shaped by Shakespeare, marking the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's first folio with an exhibition of the Bard's most famous creations plus early works that influenced him and those that inspired his literary legacy.

•H. Blairman & Sons show highlights from the Collection of Clive and Jane Wainwright of important 19th Century furniture and decorative objects by leading architect-designers, from a major collection created over many decades by the respected scholar, author and V&A curator. Among the collection is an ebony and ivory side table designed by Sir John Soane for the Gothic Library at Stowe House, and a drawing table used by A. W. N. Pugin.

London Art Week provides an exciting art-filled opportunity to explore the city’s major gallery areas, whilst browsing, admiring and learning about works of all periods from antiquity to the present day. All works on show are for sale. Important and broad-ranging gallery exhibitions are staged across central London, in particular in St. James’s, Mayfair, Pimlico, Kensington and Chelsea.

LAW once again collaborates with Cromwell Place, the arts hub opposite the Victoria & Albert Museum. Here, several major exhibitions are being staged by participants alongside the LAW Showcase, a multi-disciplinary display of works supplied by LAW dealers, in the famous Lavery Studio. Cromwell Place exhibitions opened 28 June to 9 July.

London Art Week presents a unique and special opportunity to view and acquire some of the most exceptional works of art for sale on the UK market today, offered by distinguished dealers and displayed in the varied settings of their galleries, alongside international exhibitors taking part online. The event is a major draw for international museum curators, private collectors, scholars and welcomes anyone interested in art. LAW exhibitors collaborate to share their knowledge, reveal research into revered and rediscovered artists and works, and present pre-eminent exhibitions in their field of expertise, some many years in the making.

The London Art Week map, in print and online, is illustrated by Adam Dant and pinpoints every venue and museum partner, so visitors can easily plan a variety of routes to visit different galleries. A digital catalogue is also available to view online.