“Spring forward, fall back” is more than an expression associated with upcoming daylight saving time. For TEFAF, the powerhouse Dutch connoisseur fair that’s branched out in recent years to other locations, it has chronological meaning, too, given its twice-yearly Manhattan editions. Though TEFAF New York Spring focused on fresh, contemporary works, TEFAF New York Fall, from October 27 through October 31, has a historical slant, offering memory-laden furniture, art, and objects by masters of the past. But the Manhattan show, like the annual Maastricht mothership—run by a nonprofit foundation, its acronym means The European Fine Arts Fair—it is not an art and antiques extravaganza as much as it is a cultural and intellectual powwow, attracting dealers, decorators, architects, scholars, museum curators, collectors of long standing—and neophytes, too.
Ninety-three of the world’s top-flight dealers, from New York’s A La Vieille Russie (think regal jewels and objets de vertu from days gone by) to London’s Jorge Welsh (the Chinese export porcelain of your dreams), have transported thousands of rarities—vetted for authenticity and quality by nearly 200 experts—to the historic Park Avenue Armory, a brooding 1881 redbrick castle that contains some of the U.S.’s finest American Aesthetic Movement interiors. There, Amsterdam architect Tom Postma will have sluiced the paneled walls with ghostly white fabric, and, in association with the historic Ten Kate floral firm in Deventer, Netherlands, dangled cataracts of colorful Dutch flowers from the ceilings. And for those who like to snack as they shop, Red Oyster’s strolling shuckers will be out in force.
AD is part of the TEFAF proceedings, too, through the AD Selects program. In advance of TEFAF New York Fall, our editors have made a deep dive into the offerings and surfaced with 20 objects that turned our collective heads. Each of these will bear an identifying #ADSelects placard, so keep your eyes peeled, your smartphones in hand, and your social media accounts at the ready. Take a tour of the #ADSelects slideshow, and let us know what you think.
