The American Art Fair (5/19/26)

This was a lot of fun. I heard about it on WQXR and decided to give it a look on the last of the four days of the fair. It took place at the Bohemian National Hall on East 73rd Street, a building I have been in a couple of times before. The fair was on the fifth, fourth, and third floors, displaying art from eighteen different galleries. It was almost overwhelming. In fact, when I go next year, I’ll probably do the fifth and fourth floors, then take a break for a nosh or a beer (or both) and then go back for the third floor. With eighteen galleries to go through, I can easily see spreading it out over a couple of hours.  

The fifth floor is the balcony of the ballroom, and it was fun seeing the chandelier up close and personal. There was a lot of modern art there and for some reason, I was drawn to paintings of flowers of many colors. Since it was the balcony, there was a large empty space in the middle and as a result, it had the smallest number of paintings on display—a good way to dip my toes in without being totally overwhelmed. 

The fourth floor had much more art on display, mostly paintings but also a few small sculptures. If I’m remembering correctly, that’s where I saw the Wyeths. Three generations were represented—N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. All three were interesting. One of the non-Wyeths that I particularly liked was a study for a WPA mural. I did minimal sleuthing, but I never found out whether the mural was actually completed. 

On the third floor, I was drawn to a painting titled In Flight (?). Well of course I was drawn to it, they were mallards! Also on that floor was a small Art Deco sculpture with two women facing each other and doing backbends. What I really liked about it was that it was a flower holder, and there were flowers in it. Just a few but that was just right. Life imitating art as art being used as intended. 

As mentioned above, I plan on going back next year. In fact, I'm already on their mailing list for 2027. It will be the twentieth anniversary. How is it that I just heard about it for the first time this year? As always, there’s a whole lot of exploring to do out there. Oh, and it was free. And there was a lecture each of the four days at 2 p.m., also free.

ConcertMeister (but not)