NEW YORK, NY.- The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) presented its signature New York fair at the Park Avenue Armory, May 15–19, 2026, with an invite-only preview on May 14. Nearly 90 exhibitors from 14 countries brought exceptional works spanning modern and contemporary art, design, jewelry, and antiquities.
“Against an evolving global backdrop, TEFAF New York continues to demonstrate the enduring demand for artistry, culture, and connoisseurship, with strong sales reported throughout the fair,” said Leanne Jagtiani, Director of TEFAF New York. “Now in our tenth year, we are proud to be a cornerstone of New York Art Week and a reflection of the vitality of the global art market.”
TEFAF New York brings together the global art community. During the fair’s run, representatives from more than 260 museums and institutions attended, including leadership from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia); MoMA PS1; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Pérez Art Museum, Miami (PAMM); Philadelphia Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The New Museum; and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
TEFAF New York also welcomed visitors from more than 60 patron and trustee groups, including the American Friends of the Louvre; the American Friends of the Mauritshuis, The Hague; the Curators Circle at the Guggenheim; the MET Apollo Circle; the MET International Council; the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (France); the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens (Greece); and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (The Netherlands).
SALES OVERVIEW
Numerous exhibitors, including Thaddaeus Ropac (Stand 345) and Axel Vervoordt (Stand 206), reported institutional interest during the fair. Gladstone’s (Stand 344) Senior Partner Max Falkenstein commented, “We are thrilled by the tremendous response to our presentation of Anna Zemánková, whose estate we recently began representing. The enthusiastic engagement from both new and longstanding collectors, as well as major private collections and institutions, speaks to the continued strength of the market and the robust interest in quality works of art.”
On opening day, Offer Waterman (Stand 357) sold a ceramic by Magdalene Odundo to a private European collector for above $500,000. Later sales at this exhibitor included works by Kim Lim, Frank Auerbach, and Alfred Wallis to UK and U.S. collectors. From its solo presentation of works by Cai Guo-Qiang, White Cube (Stand 355) placed all works priced up to $700,000 by the end of the first day of the fair, including Blue Fire and Blue Bird (2022-26) and Blue Bird and Flowers No. 1 (2021-26). Adrian Sassoon (Stand 365) sold 80% of the works by Joon Yong Kim; the artist was also present during the early days of the fair.
New exhibitor Macklowe Gallery (Stand 204) sold to private collectors, including the Tiffany Studios New York’s Pansy Favrile Glass Vase for $35,000 and the Tiffany Studios New York’s Curtain Border Floor Lamp for $195,000. Waddington Custot (Stand 334) sold Joan Miró’s Le soleil se retourne vers la fillette pour fêter son allégresse (1954) for an asking price of $1.3 million and Barry Flanagan’s Baby Elephant (1984) for an asking price of $480,000.
Galleria d’Arte Maggiore g.a.m. (Stand 369) sold Giorgio Morandi’s Natura morta / Still Life (1946); Meret Oppenheim’s Souvenir du ‘Déjeuner en fourrure (1970); and Giosetta Fioroni’s Lampadina (1960). Alessia Calarota, owner and director of g.a.m. noted “Returning to exhibit in New York is always deeply meaningful for us. We have been active in the city since 2007 and, in recent years, TEFAF New York has given us the wonderful opportunity to reconnect regularly with our collectors and friends here. Over time, New York has become much more than a market for us — it is a place where lasting relationships have been built through art.”
Sheila Hicks continued to demonstrate strong market demand at Demisch Danant (Stand 354), where several of her works sold, including a prayer rug, with prices ranging from $40,000 to $450,000. The gallery also placed several works by César and Maria Pergay, with prices between $10,000 and $450,000. New exhibitor Alison Jacques (Stand 103) also reported interest in Sheila Hicks, selling one of her works for $300,000. Additional sales included a work by Dorothea Tanning for $800,000, one by Robert Mapplethorpe for $200,000, a photograph by Gordon Parks for $225,000, and a work by Nicola L. for $170,000.
Works by François-Xavier Lalanne also drew strong interest, with Mitterrand (Stand 332) selling Mouton de laine for approximately $1.4 million, Tortue de marbre for around $1 million, and Petit Rhinocéros III for approximately $800,000. The gallery also placed several works on paper by Andy Warhol, priced between $25,000 and $35,000.
Osborne Samuel (Stand 360) sold Naum Gaubo’s Linear Construction in Space No. 4 (1957) to a collector new to the gallery. Ben Hunter (Stand 320) sold four works, including an Ithell
Colquhoun, a figurative painting by Lucian Freud from 2001, and two works by Barbara Hepworth. Additionally, Yares Art (Stand 338) sold two Larry Poons paintings for around
$150,000.
Didier Ltd (Stand 317) sold artist-made jewelry to South American collectors at asking prices in the six-figure range. Highlights included Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Sound and Telephone Compact and Alexander Calder’s Tiara Silver and Bracelet Silver.
The next TEFAF Maastricht will be held at the MECC Maastricht, March 13–18, 2027, with invite-only preview days on March 11 and 12. TEFAF New York will return to the Park Avenue Armory May 14–18, 2027 with an invite-only preview day on May 13.
