Antiques Trade Gazette 25


Why the Bloomsbury group should be an inspiration to us all


THE story behind the Bloomsbury Art Fair is by turns tragic and inspiring. Three of the four organisers of the charitable event, now in its second year, met while recovering from serious spinal injuries at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury – George Crofton had suffered a swimming accident, Eva- Marie Anderson had fallen from a horse, while Vicky Holton, a stunt double, had an accident while sky diving. So they, along with Michael Bowes


QC and the London-based contemporary art dealers Helium Foundation, decided to start a charitable art fair, held for the first time last year in the heart of London’s legal-land at Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square in Bloomsbury. That event attracted around 3000 visitors and raised over £60,000 for


charities, and this year returns to the same venue with 30 exhibitors from July 6-8 with a preview on July 4. The July 5 charity gala is being held in aid of Motivation, the Southern Spinal Injuries Trust and Walking With The Wounded. Bloomsbury Art Fair is a laid-back event


offering affordably priced contemporary photography, pictures, sculpture and prints – prices range roughly from £50 to £2500 – sold both by galleries and the artists themselves. Exhibiting again this year are The Horsebox Gallery, who tour the country in (you guessed it) a horsebox; Tag Fine Arts from Islington; West Two Gallery of London who specialise in works by North and South American artists; Panter and Hall from London; The Russell Gallery from


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Above: Venice II, 2012 by David Eichenberg, 6¼ x 7in (16 x 18cm) oil on panel – £2600 from Go Figurative at the Bloomsbury Art Fair.


Putney, and Art At The Edge, a Bath- based public art sculpture project who will be presenting a show of eight sculptures inspired by Olympics sports – expect to see a life-size Tom Daley made from wire mesh by Nikki Taylor. The artist Sophie Morgan was left paralysed and in a wheelchair after a car


accident in 2003 but still skis, goes on all sorts of expeditions and campaigns to help others learn to live with spinal injuries. She will also be exhibiting her paintings again this year, alongside photographer David Constantine and sculptor Ian Edwards. www.bloomsbury-art-fair.com


Putting the style back in the Nile in Fulham


FOLLOWING the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, England was in the grips of yet another Egyptian revival, with Egyptian influences finding their way into all sorts of areas of art and design, particularly jewellery and interior design schemes. Three years ago, the Fulham-based


dealer Andrew Webb discovered a collection of eight c.1930 English oil on canvas panels depicting The Ancient Book of the Dead of Ani, a huge scheme measuring 14 meters in total, designed as part of a lavish decorative scheme. Of course, such a thing is difficult


to display effectively without devoting an entire room to it, as was originally intended. So Andrew Webb and business partner Christophe Edwards, with whom he shares a space at Core One in Fulham, decided to hold an Egyptian-themed summer exhibition inspired by the panels.


The Nile Style opens this week from


June 28 to July 14 at Core One Collective at The Gasworks in Fulham and coincides with Masterpiece London, just up the river in Chelsea, with an invitation-only preview on the evening of June 28. “I love the timeless quality of ancient


Egyptian design and how its appeal has been interpreted through the ages,” said Christophe. “This exhibition has allowed us the opportunity to show the adaptability and versatility of fine Egyptian art. “This has been a three-year project


and Andrew and I have hand-picked everything in the exhibition based on high-end design, expert craftsmanship and, in some cases, its quirkiness and wit. “We have covered everything from


ancient Egyptian artefacts to a 1970s coffee table.” Egyptian-influenced furniture and


objects dating from 1000BC to 2000AD Evening discussions on the market


THE Art Market Academy, established by art recruitment agency Sophie Macpherson, is expanding with a series of evening panel discussions at The Fine Art Society at 148 New Bond Street, London. The first is on Thursday, July 5, when Louisa Buck (author, broadcaster and


journalist), Nicholas Hall (co-chairman of Old Master and 19th century art at Christie’s) and Simon Jack (BBC business correspondent) will discuss collecting and investing in art. The evening starts with drinks and canapés at 6.45pm with drinks and


canapés followed by the discussion and questions from the floor. Tickets cost £30. For a list of future discussions see www.sophiemacpherson.com


will feature in the show, including an Egyptian Revival theatre dressing room table from 1875, attributed to E.W. Godwin (1833-86) and thought to have been designed by Godwin for his lover, the actress Ellen Terry. Also on show will be two daybeds


that were once part of the American film director Cecil B. DeMille’s prop collection, an oversized mahogany bookcase and a 19th century museum plaster cast of a sacred cow from the late 26th dynasty (664BC- 525BC). www.christopheedwards.com


Above: one of eight c.1930 Egyptian-inspired panels depicting The Ancient Book of the Dead, £32,000. Right: Egyptian Revival theatre dressing room table attributed to E.W. Godwin, £9500.


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