Start at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Sinagpore. Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Irish architect Kevin Roche, the 32-floor building stands squarely in the Modern: glass and steel, geometry and right angles, two dimensional profiles and three dimensional solids, and a lean silhouette. But while many defining attributes of the International Style are present, the architecture is culturally and site specific. The long vertical rows of 13-square-foot eight-sided windows punctuate the exterior—octagons that evoke the bagua, eight diagrams used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, an auspicious symbol throughout Asia and, according to Feng Shui, conducive to the flow and balance of life-enhancing Chi (the bagua is often represented by an octagon, ba meaning eight in Mandarin Chinese). The building also makes excellent use of its physical location. Not only do the 33,000 square feet of chromafusion glass and abundance of interior glass paneling reflect water and sky, the hotel is “elevated” in the sense its lobby sits on the seventh floor, maximizing views onto both Marina and Kallang Bays.

Just as light and space are important in the building’s architecture, so are they key components of the hotel’s postwar and contemporary art collection. Clocking in at more than 4,200 works and with a decided emphasis on American artists, it’s one of the largest collections of its kind in Southeast Asia. Ninety percent was commissioned for the hotel, which under normal circumstances might evoke terror rather than anticipation. Fortunately such is not the case here. The pieces were assembled by California-based art consultant and curator Elizabeth Weiner, who acted in conjunction with the Kwee family, owners of the Ritz-Carlton Millenia as well as three other hotels in Singapore. No latecomers to the world of collecting, the Kwees are major players who have been collecting for three generations (the Conrad Centennial Singapore, also a Kwee property, highlights important pieces from the family’s Asian art collection. Not directly on Marina Bay and therefore not included on this itinerary, the hotel is but a five-minute walk away).

The first major piece is seen immediately upon arrival. Just to the right of the main doors stands Mao Figures. A sculpture from c. 2001 by Chinese artist Zhu Wei (who ranks among China’s most distinguished ink painters), it’s of two life-size fiberglass men and manages to conjure the Pop Art world of Warhol alongside Xi’an’s famous antique army of terra-cotta warriors. In faded red jackets, replete with rounded Mao collars, the figures lean at a welcoming incline.

Just past the entrance, Frank Stella’s Cornucopia (left) hangs from the lobby’s enormous glass vaulted ceiling.  Made in France by a boat manufacturer, it weighs 2.8 tons and ably indicates what weighty collectors the Kwees are: Stella is a family friend, and the piece was commissioned when the project’s construction was under way.

Lest a pain in the neck develop (or a bottleneck near the doors), move further into the lobby. Go left, go right; no matter, you will see enormous blown glass wall installations by Dale Chihuly. Entitled Sunrise and Sunset, they are mounted overhead, defining their respective wings. Other significant on the lobby level include Double Screw, a sculpture in balsa wood by Los Angeles-based John Rose; Two Balinese Dancers, an oil by Nyoman Gunsarsa, one of Indonesia’s most acclaimed artists; Landscape, a mixed media work by New York artist Janis Provisor; Foating Rocks, four etchings by Henry Moore; Landscape by German artist Rainer Gross; a pair of Zhu Wei’s ink paintings, part of his Greater Water series; as well as works by David Hockney, Malcom Morley, Tay Bak Koi and more Chihuly.

The top of the proverbial iceberg, more works—by the likes of Robert Motherwell, Andy Warhol, Sam Francis, Betty Woodman and much more Stella—can be seen on the two public levels below the lobby. Indeed, the art is so abundant the hotel has prepared a 16-page art guide as well as a 30-minute self-guided iPod tour. A sampling of the trove is in the slideshow below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTccUtwwNVc

Leaving the Ritz-Carleton Millenia, cross Raffles Avenue. A busy thoroughfare, bear in mind that it forms part of the course for the Singapore Grand Prix, an annual September event and the only Formula One race that happens at night. Cross at the lights. Look both ways.

Safely on the Marina Bay side of the avenue, you’ll be faced with the back of the grandstands for The Float at Marina Bay. The world’s largest floating stage, it opened in 2007 and has since “supported” events as diverse as the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, New Year’s Eve celebrations and National Day Parades. Turn left, wrap around its corner and head toward the Helix Bridge, a pedestrian walkway that forms half a double helix and spans the Singapore River. Made of steel and glass and inaugurated in 2010, the bridge has four viewing platforms at various intervals, each providing a stunning view of Marina Bay. But look over your left shoulder and catch an eyeful of the Singapore Flyer, which at 42 stories is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world.

At the end of the bridge blooms the ArtScience Museum (blooms because its shape is meant to represent a lotus blossom). Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the subject of an excellent monograph released last fall, it’s part of the phenomenon otherwise known as the Marina Bay Sands, which opened to much fanfare in 2010 and was completed fully last year.

Developed by Las Vegas Sands (whose billionaire chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson recently made headlines by reinvigorating Newt Gingrich’s campaign coffers with a $5 million check), Marina Bay Sands houses a long string of numbers followed by many zeroes and superlatives.

At a reported cost of $8 billion, the nearly 50-acre property is billed as the world’s most expensive standalone resort and casino property. The hotel’s rooms number 2,561 (they occupy the three towers that Safdie says were inspired by decks of playing cards). The convention-exhibition space, where events such as Art Stage Singapore are held, is 800,000 square feet. The platform joining the three 55-story towers holds the world’s largest infinity pool (492 feet, or three Olympic-size pools) and forms the world’s largest public cantilevered platform (it overhands the north tower by almost 220 feet. Its curved end makes the platform look like a suspended ship, which I consider an on-point evocation for the trade-driven city). For the more fashion and shopping-oriented, one of the two angular, glass-walled pavilions set on the bay itself, is home to the world’s largest Louis Vuitton boutique.

In addition to artfully commercial and play spaces, Safdie also designed an “Art Path.” Wending its way through the resort, it incorporates seven large-scale installations by boldfaced contemporary artists. Among them are Antony Gormley, the British sculptor behind Drift, a stainless steel piece made from 16,100 rods and suspended between floors five and twelve in the atrium of Tower 1; Sol LeWitt, whose Arcs and Circles (pictured) can be seen stretching across the entire wall backing reception in Tower 1, and whose Arcs, Circle and Irregular bands (yes, the “b” is lowercased) decorates the passage connecting the property with a mass transit station; Ned Kahn, whose Rain Oculus (below) in the shopping mall near the waterfront promenade is a real crowd pleaser; and Chongbin Zheng, whose Rising Forest is composed of 83 massive glazed stoneware ceramic vessels covering over 13,000 square feet, stretching across the atrium of several towers.

Do the pieces, massive though they are, feel dwarfed by their surroundings? And do they feel more than a little decorative, designed to “wow” with the name of the artist without challenging the beholder? Of course. As a group they’re reminiscent of similarly “big” artist and sized works at CityCenter in Las Vegas, which opened a year before Marina Bay Sands and rivals it in size and scope. Even so, the pieces are more than worth an eye peel as one passes through.

On the other side of Marina Bay Sands, opposite the shopping mall and bay and across the East Coast Parkway, sits the 101-acre Gardens by Bay, the series of three gardens mentioned in Part I of this article. However, continuing the Marina Bay walking tour, leave Marina Bay Sands and travel down Lower Boardwalk.

Rounding the corner onto the shortest of the bay’s four sides, you’re opposite the new financial center and residential towers. You’re also in the stretch of the granite-paved promenade best suited to being outdoors on a humid day. Looking like sculptural installations, three solar-powered “breeze shelters,” each with a 30-foot diameter and sensor-activated fans, stand ready to cool you down—as does a 985-foot stainless steel “mist pipe” (pictured) that stretches itself sinuously along the path, and an “interactive water feature” (jets of water shooting fountain-like from the pavement).  Spend a moment on The Promontory, which juts out into bay, or pause at the visitor center, made of mesh steelwork and also solar powered, which houses temporary art exhibitions in information on Marina Bay’s continued development, or push on.

The section of new construction and colonial buildings called Fullerton Heritage forms almost the entire length of Marina Bay opposite Marina Bay Sands. Here is where historic and modern Singapore meet. There’s the re-purposed Customs House (now housing food, drink and nightlife); the Fullerton Bay Hotel, launched last year and extending over the bay; The Fullerton Hotel, an imposing stone building that was the city’s main post office and later a private club before opening in 2001 as a luxury hotel; the renovated Clifford Pier, built in 1933 and the landing point for sea passengers, immigrants and ferries. And then there’s Merlion Park, home to the whimsical 28-foot lion-headed, fish-tailed, water-spouting sculpture known as the Merlion. Erected in the 1960s, it’s been a symbol of the city ever since.

Crossing the Esplanade Bridge, you’re almost back to where you began. You’re also facing the Esplanade—Theatres on the Bay. Completed in 2002, it contains a theater and the city’s main concert hall. The distinctive aluminum sunshades, which completely cover the complex, have won it several local sobriquets, the most common being “The Durian,” the Southeast Asian fruit with a formidable thorn-covered husk.

Leaving the 15-acre theater site and continuing down Raffles Avenue, pass the Mandarin Oriental, built in 1987 and renovated in 2004, and you’re back at the Ritz-Carleton Millenia. Well done.

Over the last decade the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to make Singapore a “Global arts city” by 2015. One recent high profile effort is seen in Art Stage Singapore, the second edition of the city-state’s contemporary art fair boasting 130 galleries from 18 countries, which ended its four-day run yesterday (January 15).

But first, some facts and figures for why Singapore’s central planners want a piece of the arts pie. According to The Global Art Market in 2010, Crisis and Recovery by arts economist Dr. Clare McAndrew (the 2011 edition will be released in March at TEFAF Maastrict) the global market for art and antiques bounced back far stronger than equities in 2010, as a whole rising by 52% and reaching a total of €43 billion; the most significant development in recent years has been the phenomenal growth of the art market in China, which nearly doubled in value since 2009, and now represents 23% of the market compared to 34% in the U.S. (China has consistently gained share since 2006: its auction sales have increased nearly nine times in six years, with 2010 representing by far the largest rise to just under €6 billion). As Sotheby’s sales for the first half of last year were up 55% to $3.4 billion, a new all-time high for consolidated sales for the first half of a year, and arch rival Christie’s also reported stellar sales of $3.2 billion (read all about it: www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artmarketwatch/sothebys-bests-christies-8-5-11.asp), and as the fall auctions from London to New York to Hong Kong saw numerous records, there’s no reason to conclude the final 2011 figures will be any less jaw-dropping (especially when compared to equity markets that have yet to top a two-year trading range).

Additionally, the Asia-Pacific region now has more millionaires than Europe, and is closing in on the U.S. (Asia: 3.3 millionaires; Europe: 3.1 millionaires; U.S. 3.4 millionaires), and given the propensity for, er, financial discretion in China and several countries in Southeast Asia, the figures for Asia are conservative); private museums throughout Asia are mushrooming, as are the number of high profile art collectors.

So then, it’s not rocket science to deduce why those at the helm of Singapore, Inc. crave culture. First, it’s a simple equation: art  equals money. Second, it’s a growth business (apparently, lately, very high growth). Third, there’s a lot of new money in Asia, much of it hungry for art, and even more of it potentially able to develop an arts appetite, and that money is growing faster than it is in the West. And then there’s the catalog of ancillary benefits: prestige, tourism, jobs, quality of life, plus art as a catalyst for creativity across disciplines and industries.

To foster Singapore as a cultural hub, the government has implemented numerous tax incentives—among them tax-free, state-of-the-art storage and display facilities the size of six football fields (and this is but stage one; Christie’s is reportedly one of the principal tenants. The city-state is also rapidly building new cultural institutions, such as a national art gallery comprised of the former city hall and supreme court, scheduled to open in 2013.

Such efforts should be compared with those of Hong Kong, which continues to wear Asia’s art marketplace crown and hardly sitting still. After New York and London, the former crown colony is the world’s third largest auction market (figures in The Global Art Market in 2010, Crisis and Recovery combine mainland China and Hong Kong). The city is also in the midst of a massive $2.1 billion West Kowloon Cultural District, which includes a contemporary museum called M+ (the first phase is scheduled to open in 2016), the renovation of the Central Police Station heritage site to an exhibition venue (scheduled to open 2014) and the opening of the Asia Society’s new premises in Hong Kong early this year. The current breadth of the city’s non-commercial arts scene is also impressive, and is illustrated by the exhibitions and projects organized by numerous organizations, Para/Site Art Space, Asia Art Archive and Fotan Open Studios among them.

On the commercial side, Western galleries are flocking to Hong Kong, among them hundred-pound gorillas such as Gagosian, which opened last year, and White Cube, scheduled to open this spring—an influx which is catalyzing the opening of more Asian galleries, particularly from China. A sign of boom times, a 60% stake in Asian Art Fairs Ltd., the owners the eleven-year-old Hong Kong International Art Fair, ART HK, was purchased by MCH Swiss Exhibition Group, the owners of the Art Basel brand (at the time, Art Basel directors Annette Schonholze and Marc Spiegler stated, “the mid-term goal is to convert ART HK to the Art Basel brand as the third platform for our leading international art shows”). With 260 galleries from 38 countries, ART HK 11, held last May, saw 63,511 visitors, an increase of 37.7% from the previous year.

If Singapore’s goal were simply to become Asia’s principal art market, it might well seem a Sisyphean attempt. But its aim is likely more tiered and long-range, as well as strategic. Lorenzo Rudolf (left), the veteran art-fair organizer and arts world heavyweight, was the director of Art Basel from 1991-2000, and founded Art Basel Miami Beach in 2002 and Shanghai’s ShContemporary in 2007. He is currently the director of Art Stage Singapore. In the January issue of Art + Auction (which was published online January 13), he participated in a Q&A, with several of answers pertaining directly to Singapore’s leaders’ artful aspirations.

Rudolph’s response comparing Singapore and Hong Kong as art centers? “It’s no coincidence that these two cities are the financial centers of Asia … Singapore, like Switzerland, is a hub for private wealth management, a place people can bring their money and art in security. In both places, the state is also investing a lot in culture. Singapore understands that Asia needs a place for exchange, for dialogue. It has developed an artist-in-residence program flanked by a Kunstahalle to bring together emerging artists from all over Asia. The bigger market will be in Hong Kong. But in terms of dialogue, exchanges, and new formats, Singapore will be the center.”

Rudolph, and by extension Singapore, is thus focusing on the city-state as a platform for pan-Asian art (as opposed to strictly Chinese): “The scene here [in Asia] is still very fragmented: I don’t see many Indians going to China or Japanese going to Indonesia … Singapore is too small to have its own art scene, but it’s at the crossroads of China, India, and Southeast Asia. Those are the three strongest and fastest-growing economies and art markets in Asia.” (Rudolf’s full Q&A.)

It’s notable that Rudolph is branding Art Stage Singapore “The Asian Art Fair.” It’s also significant that this year’s fair produced a campaign with the theme and tagline “We Are Asia,” with press materials explaining that “The fair has taken the role of Asian art advocate by elevating them to a level of international importance, and by positioning them as strong and competitive players in the global market.” The next three to five years will show if the strategy works.

Nowhere perhaps better illustrates Singapore’s big money, SuperSized, multi-pronged approach than Marina Bay, a massive land-reclamation project born in the 1970s and in overdrive for the last decade. Marina Bay itself is a huge freshwater reservoir fed by the Singapore River. Ringing it as an ever-growing lifestyle center that now includes numerous architecturally significant hotels, theaters, casino and convention center (the home of Art Stage Singapore), the world’s largest floating stadium, a residential and business tower component that will eventually double the size of Singapore’s existing financial district (making it equivalent to Hong Kong’s Central business district), and to underscore Singapore’s “Garden City” sobriquet,

Gardens by the Bay, a monumental series of three waterfront gardens spanning 101 hectares that combines horticulture with eye-popping architecture (the largest of the three, the 54-hectare Bay South garden, is set to open this June).

Part II of this story: An art and design walk around Marina Bay.

Another description? A boy’s Erector Set-Matchbox car-train set-Fritz Lang fantasy on steroids executed with a Daddy Warbucks budget and an army of assistants. A New Yorker’s likely assessment? Utopia-dystopia, nobody walks in L.A.!

A view from above (with the artist standing far left):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHWukSSdc1E

From Floor level:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpaeGPnTRZg

Hitting the road: The piece’s armature—steel beams forming a grid interwoven with a system of 18 roadways, among them a six-lane freeway, train tracks and hundreds of buildings (which, Burden clarifies, are not modeled after any specific structures, their purpose only to reflect eclecticism and modernity).

Revving up: 1,100 miniature cars vroom through the city at 240 “scale miles per hour” (hence Burden’s quip to think of Metropolis II whilst idling in gridlock). The piece, situated on the ground floor of the BCAM building, is on long-term loan from LACMA trustee and billionaire Nicholas Berggruen (last week The Art Newspaper reported that his plans to build a museum in Berlin appear to be in hold, and that he currently favors long-terms loans to LACMA. Our links aren’t currently working but here’s the address: www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Berggruen+builds+collection+for+Los+Angeles/25444).

Born in 1946, Burden is a SoCal arts big gun. He has been since the early 1970s when his ephemeral-performance-conceptual pieces captured the art world’s spotlight. His efforts cannot be faulted for failing to explore extremes—both in the attempt to attract notoriety and in corporal pain. This is the artist who had himself shot (Shoot, 1971), locked up (Five Day Locker Piece, 1971), electrocuted (Doorway to Heaven, 1973), and cut (Through the Night Softly, 1973), drowned (Velvet Water, 1974). His Urban Light installation of vintage streetlights at LACMA, facing Wilshire Boulevard, is a people pleaser on the scale that museum and county officials take note of. Metropolis II will likely do the same for the young, the young at heart, and visitors wishing to distract the kids with a dream (or Blade Runner-ish nightmare) of tomorrow.

So we’re left with is a roster of contemporary art fairs far and wide. There’s the 11th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art (September 15-December 31); the 4th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (September 23-October 30), the 5th edition of SH Contemporary, China’s largest art fair (September 7-10), the 15th Shanghai Art Fair (September 14-18, which this year had its first-ever pavilion devoted to North American galleries—ca-ching!), the 12th Istanbul Biennial (September 17-November 13), as well as the launch of Art Beat Istanbul, September 14-18); the launch edition of (e)merge art fair (September 22-25), a scrapper newcomer in Washington, D.C; New York’s fall edition of the Affordable Art Fair (September 21-25), the second edition of the Marrakech Art Fair (September 30-October 3).

Might this attenuation mean a contemporary market in overdrive? Not my bailiwick, but Anders Petterson weighs in with “Is Art Still a Safe Bet for Investors?” in The Art Newspaper, and Andrew Russeth weighs in “Welcome to Art Market Boom 2.0” in The New York Observer.

But in terms of decorative arts succor this month, that must be sought in the salerooms of auction houses. Two single-owner sales (noted below) raise my paddle in particularly.

September 13-14-15: The Cowdray Sale: Works of Art from Cowdray Park and Dunecht House, At Cowdray Park, West Sussex, U.K.

September 15, Living Contemporary, Wright auctions, Chicago.

September 16-October 30: Beyond Limits, Chatsworth, U.K.

September 19-20-21: Palais Abbatial de Royaumont-Exposition au Palais Abbatial de Royaumont, Christie’s Paris. Auction results.

Ever wonder what the Louis XVII style would be like, at least architecturally? Perhaps it would be embodied by the Palais Abbatial de Royaumont, or the Abbey Palace of Royaumont. So posited the late, great tastemaker and interior designer Emilio Terry, who revered the elegantly paired-down palace, calling it the world’s best example of “Louis XVII,” the eastethic direction he thought France would have taken had it not been for that social, political and cultural speed bump also known as the French Revolution (which, among many things, yielded the Empire style … merci Napoleon).

Designed for Louis XVI’s chaplain, the Abbot of Balivière in the last decade of that ill-fated king’s reign, the architect was Louis Le Masson, a protégé of the renowned neo-classicist architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Le Masson’s design draws directly from the work of the seminal Italian 16th-century neo-classicist architect Andrea Palladio, specifically his Villa Rotunda.

Following the Revolution the property passed to a series of owners, until, in 1923, it was bought by the Baron and Baroness Fould-Springer, who formed the nucleus and bulk of the collection on the Christie’s block.

Now listen up. Why single-owner sales are so fascinating is they’re not just about the stuff, nor are they just about a single person’s or family’s perspective. They’re also about history, gossip, cultural values, money (macro economics and personal finances), as well as imagination.

Let’s break down the Fould-Springers. The Foulds were one of 19th-century France’s great industrial and financial dynasties (Achille Fould was Napoleon III’s Minister of Finance). The Springers were equally powerful Austrian industrialists and financiers (they “created” the French yeast industry in 1872, but one example of how their interests were trans-continental).

The Fould-Springers made the palace their primary residence (then, as Nathaniel de Rothschild notes in the catalog, one could zip quickly into Paris within 45 minutes, the roads free of le gridlock), and decorated primarily with neo-classical pieces. Le tout Paris came to their palatial parties—Proust among them. During World War II, the property remained unmolested and German-free, courtesy of one of the Fould-Springer’s sons-in-law, a Spaniard who flew that neutral country’s flag over the estate.

Following the War, the Palais entered a quieter time, lived in primarily by the aging Baroness and her son. Eventually it passed to grandson Nathaniel de Rothschild (yes, another storied name in industry and finance), who is the discreet seller.

The collection’s highlights include both Louis XVI and Empire pieces. Among the most high profile are a c. 1800 table attributed to famed bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire, with rails and feet cast completely in bronze and in the Egyptian style, and a Louis XVI cabinet reusing earlier Boulle marquetry panels and richly decorated with ormolu mounts by Parisian cabinet maker Joseph Baumhauer.

Lovely lovelies to be sure. But equally beautiful (and edifying) are the in situ photographs of the pieces in the palace—which make the catalog a keeper for the bookshelf. Inspiring, to say the least.

September 22: 500 Years Decorative Arts Europe, Christie’s London.

September 27: Design, Phillips de Pury, London. The auction house claims the sale will offer the most important group of Modernist ceramics ever to appear at auction.

September 28: The Contents of the St. Lucian Property of Lord Glenconner, Bonhams, London. Auction results.

Completely different in tone and taste from the Fould-Springer Collection is that of Lord Glenconner, the bon vivant and businessman who put Mustique on the Jet Set map and had famously terrific parties attended by bosom buds such as Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, Carolina Herrera, and, well, the list goes on and on.

For much of his life, which spanned well over seven decades (1926-2010), the 3rd Baron Glenconner (born the Honorable Colin Tennant) collected. What he collected, however, varied greatly. He was a very early admirer of painter Lucien Freund, at one point owning 15 of his works (one a portrait of himself). He adored Scottish pottery, building a superlative collection of Wemyss (he also collected Chinese porcelain). Same for Indian furniture and jewelry. Perhaps the through line of all his various collections was he bought them when they were not in fashion.

Writer Nicholas Courtney (who has a biography on Lord Glenconner coming out next year) explains in the catalog’s introduction that “In all, Colin built three remarkable houses. He began with a house in Tite Street in London that was dubbed the most important to be build in the 1960s. Oliver Messel, originally known for his theater sets, designed his ‘Indian’ palace in Mustique that gave ample scope to display his Indian treasures, such as a Mogul temple in the grounds, and a silver bed. For Beau House in St. Lucia, which he completed for his eightieth birthday party, he had bought a complete monastery in Gujarat and built the house of Barbados coral blocks around the carved wooden pillars, doors, window surrounds and shutters.”

Pieces from his previous residences were also brought to Beau House (including incredible sconces by French designer Janine Janet)—the contents of which comprise this sale. The catalog yields the same kind of nostalgic pleasure that photographer Slim Aarons captured in his snaps of the privileged, pedigreed and powerful.

September 28: Important American Furniture, Folk Art & Decorative Arts, Christie’s New York.

September 29: Property from the Collection of Edward P. Evans, Sotheby’s New York.

September 30: Important Mobilier, Sculptures et Objets d’Art, Sotheby’s Paris.

In a press release, MET Director and CEO Thomas Campbell cited “daunting, ongoing budgetary challenges,” which actually made the august institution sound downright down home as so many Americans are currently facing daunting, ongoing budgetary challenges. Apparently average visitor contributions at the door have fallen, and public sector support is lower  as well (Wall Street, do you feel my stink eye?). More in tune with its Upper East Side neighborhood and well-heeled neighbors was the release’s lament that “income from our endowment has flattened.” Oh to have a trust fund, and oh to complain that the money generated from the principal wasn’t growing. But the bottom line for visitors is that a $25 admission now makes the MET the most expensive museum ticket in New York City.

The London season traditionally revolves around flowers, horses and regattas. To these outdoor events, a trio of fine and decorative arts fairs now competes to be added. One is a long-established fair that has fallen onto hard times and is, just now, trying to rediscover its footing; the other two are newly out of the gate, both in their second year, and both finding their artful niche.

London Fairs in June:

June 9-19, Olympia International Fine Art & Antiques Fair, London, Olympia Exhibition Centre.
Olympic was the sister ship of Titanic. While the Olympic did not have the tragic end of her sibling, it is the Titanic disaster that brings to mind last year’s Olympia fair. Like a ship in peril at sea, it too had lost its way, and allowed the winds of fashion, caprice and greed to push it dangerously close to rocks, shoals and the icy depths.

Long known as one of the biggest British fairs (and often the biggest, sometimes with over 300 dealers), Olympia had historically run the gamut of price points and exclusivity of dealers. It was a great big grab-bag, a wonderful cross-categorical market in an historic and architecturally significant iron and glass exhibition hall, and that was its great strength.

Last year, the fair was re-launched as the London International Fine Art Fair (LIFAF), put under new management, and made more “exclusive.” Stand prices were increased, the marketing campaign stressed “world class art and antiques for sale,” and the number of dealers plunged to around 180, with a significant number brought on at the last minute, lured by significant discounts that enraged dealers who had signed on many months earlier. The results were not good. A poor overall impression, worse sales, and a core group of dealers murmuring “revolt.”

This year, the fair’s 38th edition, is one of rebuilding. Dates have been pushed back from early June to mid-June, so as not to overlap with Art Basel (the mammoth modern and contemporary annual art fair in Basel, Switzerland), last year’s managing team has been replaced, and the marketing message is, again, one of fiscal inclusivity, “whether your budget is £50 or £500,000,” as one of the fair’s taglines states. Sounds like a vetted souk to me, at least I hope so. But the number of dealers now stands at just north of 150, and although they incorporate (according to promotional materials),  “design, silver, jewellery, kitchenalia; contemporary art, textiles, ceramics, watercolours, lighting, carpets, Art Deco, clocks, sculpture, mirrors and natural history,” there is a question of critical mass.
Overall rep: B
Website: B
Location: B+
Overall experience: C+

June 9-15, Art Antiques London, West Lawn, Kensington Gardens.
While Olympia stumbled by forgetting that its gargantuan scale and price-point range are what made it special, Art Antiques London scored big by keeping its size relatively small, its focus tight, and by remembering what it is alongside what it wants to become.

Launched last year by veteran fair organizers Brian and Anna Haughton, Art Antiques London incorporated their International Ceramics Fair and Seminar, a renowned specialist fair dating back to 1982. While Art Antiques London’s first edition had a wide purview—incorporating the world’s foremost porcelain dealers, the core from the Ceramics Fair, along with fine art and antiques dealers—it retained a winning mix of commerce, culture and classroom. Intimately-scaled stands with a wide range of objects housed in a bespoke, light-filled tent in Kensington Gardens, opposite the Royal Albert Hall and adjacent to the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851—coupled with a terrific lecture series, a strategic partnership with Waddesdon Manor (the former 19th-century Rothschild country house and collection) and its small Masterclass, and the Hermitage Foundation UK? It was a winning combination, yielding solid sales and a visitor count of 14,500, giving Art Antiques London a visitor-per-stand ratio of 230 to one, the highest of any of the London fairs in June.

Dealers number 72 for this second edition, up from 63 last year. New exhibitors include London-based Asian art dealer Michael Goedhuis, who will show the work of contemporary Chinese ink painter Xu Lei, whose commission currently decorates the label of Chateau Mouton Rotschild’s 2008 vintage, released last fall (pictured is Xu’s The Hidden Affinity, to be exhibited at the fair); Düsseldorf dealer Esch Kunsthandel, an expert in 18th-century ceramics, silver, rare furniture and Gothic sculpture; and Tai Gallery from Santa Fe, New Mexico, specialists in textiles, bamboo art and contemporary photography.
Overall rep: A-
Website: A-
Location: A
Overall experience: A

June 30-July 5, Masterpiece London, South Grounds at The Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Although Masterpiece London will only be celebrating a second birthday, it has already established itself as a fair not to be missed. It reached this rarified echelon, one other fairs spend years trying and often failing to achieve, at warp speed, fueled by 150 top fine and decorative art dealers, the addition of categories such as fine wines and classic cars, and pop-up restaurants by the likes of Le Caprice and Harry’s Bar, all in a beautiful, accessible setting. It was big thinking. It was out of the decorative box. It created a high decibel of buzz. And it made an artworld Happening.

This year, the fair’s second edition keeps the number of dealers at roughly 150, and promises “Bugatti to bronzes, Cartier to cognac, Picasso to pink diamonds,” or an encyclopedic offering of fine and decorative arts augmented by rare cars, wines and spirits.  One vehicular example of the level of goodies for sale is this 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT, one of only 45 right-hand drive models made (exhibited by Hexagon Classics).

Dining/grazing options will include Le Caprice, Harry’s Bar and Mount Street Deli. The fair will also offer an educational lecture series from The Wallace Collection in London; a two-day introductory course on the decorative arts from Sotheby’s Institute of Art; a series of “lifestyle lectures” on subjects such as Champagne and cognac, the luxury automotive industry, and watch making.

Keeping the buzz-ometer on high, the fair will also present a “pioneering musical experience.” On July 2, the British chamber orchestra The Manning Camerata will unite celebrated musicians from Russia, Japan and the UK; organize them into three string quartets and a larger string ensemble positioned at different points around the fair, and conducted remotely via video link to artistic director Peter Manning; and create the world’s first-ever “chamber music soundscape.” Aural pleasure to match visual delights.
Overall rep: A
Website: A-
Location: A
Overall experience: Haven’t been so can’t say.

Auctions and Additional Fairs:

June 1, Furniture, Carpets and Decorative Art, Dorotheum, Vienna

June 6, A Park Avenue Interior by Mark Hampton, Christie’s New York

June 7, Christie’s Interiors, London, South Kensington

June 7, 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe Including Oriental Carpets, Christie’s New York

June 7, Decorative Arts—Gordon Russell & Cotswold School Furniture, Decorative Arts—Silver and Arts and Crafts Jewellery, Decorative Arts—Ceramics and Glass, Bonhams, London

June 7, 20th Century Decorative Arts, Bonhams & Butterfields, New York

June 8, arts décoratifs, dessins anciens, sculptures, bronzes, tableaux du XIXe, tableaux modernes, Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, no e-catalog available

June 8, Design, Drouot-Montaigne, Paris, no e-catalog available

June 9, Monsieur and Madame François—A Lifetime of Collecting, Christie’s London

June 9, 500 Years Decorative Arts Europe, Christie’s London

June 9, Rugs and Carpets, Furniture, Garden Ornaments & Statues, Bonhams, Edinburgh

June 9, Important Design, Wright Auctions, Chicago

June 10, English and Continental Furniture, Decorations, Art and a Selection of Jewelry, Stair Auctioneers & Appraisers, Hudson, New York

June 14-18, Design Miami/Basel, Basel, Switzerland. A biannual forum for design, focusing on limited edition and one-off pieces, as well as the intersection of commerce and culture as it relates to design. The other edition takes place in December in Miami.

June 14, Art & Antiques Furniture Section, Carpet & Rugs Section, Bonhams, Knowle, U.K., catalog to come

June 14, English Furniture and Works of Art, Silver, Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles

June 15, Important 20th Century Design, Sotheby’s, New York

June 15, Glass and Porcelain, Dorotheum, Vienna

June 15, Fine English Furniture, Bonhams, London, New Bond Street

June 15, Scottish Design from 1860, Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh, catalog to come

June 16, Important 20th Century Decorative Art & Design, Christie’s New York

June 19-20, Modern and Contemporary Design, Furniture and Decorative Arts, Designer Clothing and Accessories, Bonhams & Butterfields, Rugs and Carpets, Los Angeles, catalog to come

June 21-22, Christie’s Interiors, Christie’s New York

June 21, Furniture, Rugs & Longcase Clocks, Bonhams, Chester, U.K., catalog to come

June 21, Christie’s Interiors—Masters and Makers, Christie’s London, South Kensington

June 23, Furniture and Decorative Arts, Bonhams & Butterfields, New York, catalog to come

June 25, English and Continental Furniture, Paintings, Drawings, Decoration and Jewelry, Including Property from the Collection of Charles Ryskamp, Stair Auctioneers & Appraisers, Hudson, New York, catalog to come

June 26, Fine Furniture & Decorative Arts, Bonhams, Sydney

June 28-29, Christie’s Interiors, Christie’s London, South Kensington

June 28, The Collection of John R. Eckel, Jr., Wright Auctions, Chicago, catalog to come

June 29, Art & Antiques, Mirrors, Furniture, Bonhams, Oxford, catalog to come

June 29, Fine Antiques, Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh, catalog to come

June 30, Les Collections du Château de Gourdon Deuxième vente – Mobilier et objets d’art du XXème siècle, De l’Art Nouveau à l’UAM, Christie’s Paris, catalog to come

A record opening for the Costume Institute,  the number even rivals the Met’s all time record, set by the 5,400 people who attended the opening day of “Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings” in 2005.

All hail McQueen. All hail the decorative arts.

Click here for New York Magazine’s guided video tour with exhibition curator Andrew Bolton.

If T.S. Eliot was right and April is the cruelest month, then May, in regards to single-owner and themed sales of decorative arts, is among the quietest.

The auction houses focus on the fine arts—the Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and Contemporary categories in particular, which account for much of the weight in the auction houses’ coffers.

Highlights of the evening sales, at which the choicest (a.k.a., most expensive) offerings come to the block, include a haunting self-portrait by Andy Warhol at Christie’s, estimated to sell for between $30,000,000-$40,000,000; Pablo Picasso’s Femmes lisant (Deux personnages), featuring Picasso femme-of-the-sales-floor-moment Marie-Thérèse Walter (another Picasso picture of Walter from the 1930s, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, sold last May at Christie’s for $106.5 million, a record for any artwork sold at auction … ever), has a $25,000,000-$35,000,000 estimate; and Phillips de Pury is offering a … wait for it … Andy Warhol, in this case Liz #5 (Early Colored Liz) at an undisclosed price estimate (page 31 of the online catalog).

As far as art fairs, following the first two important fairs of spring, Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA New York) and the Spring Show NYC, both at the Armory in Manhattan, exhibitor stands lie fallow for May. It’s the quiet before the Big Bloom, when a trio—the Olympia International Fine Art & Antiques Fair, Art Antiques London, and Masterpiece London—bursts forth in June in the British capital. April showers might bring a royal wedding and May flowers, but May seeds anticipation…

Even if May is a comparatively quiet month in the decorative arts calendar, that’s not to say sales stop. Hardly. In fact, the slate for general sales is packed. Going forward, this column will list the vast majority of notable dec art sales around the world, with call outs and lengthier reports reserved for single-owner and themed sales. It’s my hope that having a single, fairly comprehensive sales survey will serve as a unique tool in the hunt for the perfect … something. Major trade-oriented contemporary furniture and design shows, such as this May’s 23rd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Javits Center in New York, will also be noted.

May 4,5 Christie’s Paris, 500 Ans: Arts Décoratifs Européens.

May 6, Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, Frames.

May 9, Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, Luxury Luggage and Accessories.

May 10,11 Christie’s Interiors, London, South Kensington.

May 10, Bonhams, London Knightsbridge, Period Design.

May 12, Wright, Scandinavian Design.

May 14, Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh, Antiques.

May 14-17, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, New York.

May 17, Dorotheum, Vienna, Design.

May 17, Bonhams, New York, Natural History – Decor.

May 17, Christie’s Interiors—Style & Spirit, London, South Kensington.

May 22, Bonhams & Butterfields, San Francisco, Modern and Contemporary Furnishings and Decor, Furniture & Decorative Arts, and Garden Statuary, Furniture and Accessories.

May 22, Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles, Modern and Contemporary Design and Furniture and Decorative Arts.

May 24, Christie’s Interiors, London, South Kensington.

May 24, Christie’s, The Art of the Italian Potter, Maiolica and Porcelain from a Private Collection.

May 25, 26, Freeman’s, Philadelphia, Fine English Furniture & Decorative Arts (catalog to come).

May 25, Sotheby’s Paris, 20th Century Decorative Arts & Design.

May 25, Christie’s, Syd Levethan: The Longridge Collection, London, King Street.

May 26, Christie’s, Lalique, London, South Kensington.

May 30, Pierre Bergé & Associés, House Sale: Gentilhommière du Baron et de la Baronne de Cabrol.