Classic Art London takes place in galleries in London’s Mayfair and St. James’s, Cecil Court and Belgravia (Pimlico Road) from 23rd June to 4th July 2025. Leading art dealers specialising in old and modern masterworks are staging museum quality exhibitions. The selling exhibitions are accompanied by talks and events for international collectors, museum buyers and those who appreciate or wish to discover more traditional art genres.
Must-See Highlights:
● The Spirit of Place is an exhibition of the celebrated British artist Paul Nash (1889-1946) at Daniel Katz Gallery. Known for his vivid imagination and early investigation into the familiar English landscape around him, Nash sensed a world beyond the immediate, ‘haunted by old gods long forgotten’
● Re-Imagining Cubism at Ben Elwes Fine Art brings global perspectives of Cubism to the UK for the first time. It introduces the art world to Swedish Cubo-Futurist Gösta Adrian-Nilsson (1884-1965), otherwise known as GAN, whose powerful work is virtually unknown outside his home country. A string quartet concert will be held at the gallery featuring music inspired by Cubism.
● A recently rediscovered work by Titian, Madonna and Child with St. Mary Magdalene, c.1555-60, is on show in London for the first time at Trinity Fine Art. It has been hidden in private collections for more than two centuries.
● Amongst 100 British Watercolours & Drawings at Guy Peppiatt Fine Art are three works by J.M.W. Turner. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth, there is a talk at the Society of Antiquaries on Monday 30 June with some of the leading academics in this field.
Further talks on 30 June at The Society of Antiquaries are: Shared Ownership in the Art World; Climate Change – the challenges for art institutions; and Fifty Shades of Latin American Private Museums. While these may appeal more to curators and collectors, Classic Art London is hosting a wide range of talks and events with more general appeal:
- The Georgian Tour visits exhibitions in St. James’s
- Q&A with leading artist Nicky Philipps on Royal Portraiture
- Young collectors event specifically for newer art buyers on how to start a collection|
- Insight into how emigré dealers contributed to the London art world
- Unique art tour around Fortnum & Mason specifically for Classic Art London
Media partner Country Life magazine hosts an entertaining evening with leading figures from the art world discussing “The Piece I’d Never Part With”. Panellists include Country Life and Vanity Fair contributor Patrick Monahan, a native New Yorker, who is consulted by collectors and museums on both sides of the Atlantic and who helped arrange the loan of Lord Leighton’s Flaming June from the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico to the RA last year. Proceeds from ticket sales for this talk will go towards The Society of Antiquaries of London’s ‘buy a square foot of Burlington House fundraising campaign. Tickets are £25 which includes a drink.
There will be a special late night with Burlington magazine at participating dealers in Cecil Court on Friday, 27th June. Talks and events are supported by The Burlington Magazine, Country Life, The Society of the History of Collecting and Lockton the art insurance specialists. For more details and to sign up for talks please visit classicartlondon.uk.
Spectrum
Exhibitions cover a wide spectrum of art: Venice in the 19th century – a century of change is at Charles Beddington Ltd.; European Impressionism, featuring examples by titans of the genre Degas and Renoir, is on view at Haynes Fine Art in Belgravia (Pimlico Road); and David Messum Fine Art presents the 51st edition of their annual exhibition of British Impressionism. The Limner Company will be exhibiting a collection of portrait miniatures by leading masters of the medium, and Justin Raccanello will be showing four large and important Etruscan type vases circa 1820 from the collection of Captain Sir Everard Radcliffe.
Alexander Clayton-Payne has many discoveries to show, among them an unrecorded watercolour made by the “most versatile British designer of the 18th century” William Kent (1685-1748), whilst he was studying, travelling and working in Italy between 1709 and 1719 with his patron Thomas Coke, who later commissioned Holkham Hall from Kent. This work joins a very small group of surviving drawings which date from Kent’s early developmental period.
Innovative
At James Mackinnon, there’s an unusual picture by Paul Sandby (1730-1809) showing an ancient Scottish celebration marking the feast of Lughnasa, with fires and effigies. Five incredibly rare works by Thomas Jones (1742-1803), on the market for the first time ever are offered by Karen Taylor Fine Art. Jones is one of the most significant, original and innovative of all 18th century British artists, who sets the heart of art historians a-flutter. His postcard-sized Wall in Naples, featuring a washing line, is one of the most popular works in the collection of the National Gallery, London.
Rountree Tryon and Fine Art Commissions present a joint exhibition, The New English Look, which includes some magnificent Royal portraits covering four generations of the British Royal family. Paul Mitchell Ltd., a leading authority on antique frames, has worked with virtually every major museum in the world to reframe important works of art.
An illustrated map by artist Adam Dant is available from participating dealers to enable gallery hops or leisurely routes to be planned, whether for a day or a few hours, to appreciate classic art in the unique settings of dealers’ galleries.
www.classicartlondon.uk // @classic_art_london
See also: V&A Opens East Storehouse
