NEW YORK.-Haughton International Fairs announced that many of the world’s leading fine art dealers will participate once again in The International Fine Art Fair, taking place at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City from the 9th-14th May 2008.

The 2008 fair marks the 15th edition of an event for which institutional and private buyers wait all year, such is the range and quality of paintings, drawings, watercolours, and sculpture, from Renaissance gold ground panel paintings through to 20th century Modern art, including a substantial representation of American art.

The International Fine Art Fair remains the only “high end” fair in the world devoted solely to paintings, drawings and sculpture. Exhibitors from both sides of the Atlantic take part in the fair annually. Many are regulars, while newcomers add to the mix, enriching the fair with their own particular speciality. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the participation of American dealers offering American art of the 19th and 20th centuries. Their presence is very much a reflection of the strength of demand in America for it’s own art works.

The variety of works of art on view span the centuries, from the early Renaissance to late 20th century. Some illustrate how European art, has evolved, becoming increasingly secular after devoutly religious beginnings with exquisitely executed and invariably rare, gold ground panel paintings. From these early, devotional images, painted perhaps with a Virgin and Child, the fair moves through the centuries to the modern world and the kaleidoscope of images produced in just about every style imaginable in the course of the 20th century by artists on both sides of the Atlantic .

As for the paintings, drawings and sculpture on view, these include traditional scenes, some of which may be highly academic, others more decorative, possibly mythological and allegorical in subject, or perhaps landscapes and cityscapes – views of New York City itself might appear among these. The range of subject matter is enormous and, as we move closer to our own time, its presentation often becomes increasingly abstract and less conventional. Major commissions for an important patron, may be seen alongside charmingly informal sketches or even untypical early works before an artist developed their trademark style. Large-scale paintings are offset by small jewel-like oils and watercolours; likewise with sculpture, the museum-destined bronze or marble, alongside a small “maquette” perhaps appealing to the private buyer.

While The International Fine Art Fair offers much that is of museum-quality, it also has a much wider appeal. This is also an ideal hunting ground for the new collector with a limited budget but looking for a quality purchase. Prices start at under $1000. At the upper end of the scale prices may rise to in excess of $10m, but irrespective of price tag, vetting means that the fair provides the most reassuring purchasing environment. Every exhibit is vetted for quality and authenticity before it can be offered for sale. The vetting committees provide an essential service at the fair, examining each and every work of art, their distinguished membership including specialists from both the museum and commercial art worlds.

In 2008 The International Fine Art Fair features over 55 dealers in total from Europe and America . Returnees include: Didier Aaron Inc. (New York, London and Paris), Daphne Alazraki (New York); Avery Galleries (Haverford, PA); Babcock Galleries (New York); Galerie ALFA (Paris); Beck & Eggeling (Dusseldorf); Galerie Berès (Paris); Nathan A. Bernstein & Co. (New York); W.M. Brady & Co. (New York); Simon Capstick Dale Fine Art (New York) with Thomas Colville Fine Art (New Haven, CT); Connaught Brown (London); E. & R. Cyzer (London); Neal A. Fiertag (Paris); David Findlay Jnr, Inc. (New York); Debra Force Fine Art (New York); Galerie du Post-Impressionnisme (Paris); Galerie Fabien Boulakia (Paris); Bernard Goldberg Fine Arts LLC (New York); James Graham & Sons (New York); Richard Green (London); Guarisco Gallery (Washington, DC); Hawthorne Fine Art LLC (New York); Hill-Stone Inc. (New York); Linda Hyman Fine Arts (New York); Lowell Libson Ltd (London); MacConnal-Mason (London); Martin du Louvre (Paris); John Mitchell Fine Paintings (London); Moretti (Florence & London); Mark Murray Fine Paintings (New York); Neffe-Degandt Fine Art (London); Jill Newhouse (New York); Owen Gallery (New York): Gerald Peters Gallery (New York); Questroyal Fine Art, LLC (New York); Schillay Fine Art, Inc. (New York); Schiller & Bodo (New York); The Sladmore Gallery (London); Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts (New York); Stoppenbach & Delestre (London) ; Hollis Taggart Galleries (New York); Galerie Tamenaga (Paris, Tokyo, Osaka); Abby M. Taylor Fine Art (Greenwich, CT); Vincent Vallarino (New York); Tom Veilleux Gallery (Farmington, ME); Waterhouse & Dodd (London); Whitford Fine Art (London); Adam Williams Fine Art (New York).

New exhibitors in 2008 include: Fine Art Gallery (Barcelona) with 20th century European art; Kendall Fine Art (Atlanta) join with American and European paintings; MME Fine Art LLC (New York) with American and European paintings 1800-1940 and Piacenti Art Gallery (Florence) with European paintings and sculpture 1300-1800. In addition, Old Master paintings dealer Maison d’Art ( Monaco) return to the fair this year. They previously exhibited in 2003. Vallejo Gallery ( Newport , CA ) with maritime and marine themed art.

Preview Opening for The Frick Collection: Thursday 8th May when guests can enjoy a special private view of the fair before it opens to the public the following morning.

About the Frick: Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), industrialist, philanthropist, and art collector, left his New York residence and his remarkable collection of Western paintings, sculpture and decorative arts to the public " for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a gallery of art, (and) encouraging and developing the study of fine arts and advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects." Designed and built in 1914 for Mr Frick by eminent New York architect Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings , the splendid beaux arts mansion provides a grand domestic setting for masterworks from the Renaissance through 19th century. Renowned for small, focused exhibitions and its highly regarded concert and lecture series, The Frick Collection also operates the Frick Art Reference Library, one of the world's great repositories of documents for the study of Western art.