London, 27 September 2026 – British Art Fair has successfully concluded its latest edition at Saatchi Gallery, reporting robust sales across the Fair and continued demand for Modern and Contemporary British art. Across the Fair, sales were achieved across a wide range of periods and price points, from under £100 to six-figure sums.

 Reinforcing its position as the foremost annual gathering for Modern and Contemporary British art, British Art Fair brought together leading UK galleries and dealers, with works by Cecil Beaton, Mildred Bendall, Tracey Emin, Mary Fedden, Terry Frost, Duncan Grant, Ivon Hitchens, David Hockney, L.S. Lowry, Henry Moore, Paul Nash, Mary Newcombe, Bridget Riley and Walter Richard Sickert, among others, finding buyers. The results reflected the breadth and vitality of the market, with strong interest from both established collectors and a new generation of buyers.

ESTABLISHED NAMES AND NEW DISCOVERIES

Against a complex wider economic backdrop, British Art Fair saw activity across all levels of the market, from significant sales by established artists to more accessible works attracting new and emerging collectors.

Christopher Kingzett reported the sale of Walter Richard Sickert’s The Visitor for £95,000, a 1905–06 painting dating from the artist’s prime Camden Town period, and also a work by Harold Gilman for £38,000. Winsor Birch sold John Duncan Fergusson’s The Bathing Huts, St Palais, 1910, for around £70,000. Portland Gallery sold a Mary Fedden for its asking price of £50,000, while Harry Moore-Gwyn sold Spencer Gore’s important The Artist’s Wife, Mornington Crescent, 1911, for around £40,000.

There was also strong activity at more accessible price points. John Iddon Fine Art reported sales ranging from £600 to £900, while Dominic Kemp recorded transactions from £500 to £26,500, including Bridget Riley’s Brouillard, which sold for £26,000. The Fair also underlined its reputation as a place to encounter overlooked and accessibly priced 20th-century British artists, with early sales including Joan Warburton’s Still Life with Cedric’s Vase, 1936 (Sally Hunter Fine Art), and a unique 1960s work by constructivist Gillian Wise (Marcus Campbell Art Books). Together, these sales demonstrate the breadth of collecting opportunities represented at British Art Fair, from established Modern British names to artists generating renewed and international interest.

Other exhibitors reported significant activity across a range of established and contemporary names. Purdy Hicks Gallery sold Jonathan Delafield Cook’s Charolais Bull, 2025, for around £40,000, while Crane Kalman reported sales between £3,000 and £50,000, including works by Jethro Buck, Mary Newcombe, William Nicholson and L.S. Lowry. Alan Wheatley Art reported sales ranging from £2,000 to £60,000. Jenna Burlingham Gallery recorded sales up to £50,000, with works by artists including Peter Joyce, Richard Ballinger, Keith Vaughan and John Piper, alongside strong interest in a major Patrick Heron abstract from 1964.

WOMEN ARTISTS IN FOCUS

Women artists featured prominently across the Fair, with sales reported across generations and different strands of Modern and Contemporary British art.

Mary Fedden was particularly well represented. Portland Gallery sold a work for £50,000, while Kaye Michie reported the sale of two important works by the artist. John Iddon Fine Art also sold two works by Fedden, including Cats!, 1950. Other women artists attracting sales and collector interest included Bridget Riley, Gwen John, Winifred Nicholson, Prunella Clough, Tracey Emin, Mary Newcombe and Lydia Corbett.

There was also strong interest in artists whose work is receiving renewed attention. Whitford Fine Art sold five paintings by Mildred Bendall, priced between £16,000 and £25,000, while John Swarbrooke Fine Art sold Maeve Gilmore’s Woman with Flowers, continuing momentum for an artist whose work has recently been reassessed through exhibitions in London. Together, these sales point to a broadening field of collecting, with established names continuing to attract demand alongside artists whose work is being rediscovered and brought to the attention of new collectors.

NEW COLLECTORS AND COLLECTING TRENDS

New collector engagement was a notable feature of the Fair. Kaye Michie reported that all of its sales were made to new clients, with works sold across a range of price points.

Interest extended beyond established Modern British names to artists receiving renewed exhibition and international attention. Fine Art Consultancy reported strong interest in Trevor Bell, while Milly Green Gallery sold Alvaro Petritoli’s Overgrown, guided by the moonlight, which had recently featured in the Saatchi summer exhibition.

There was also increased activity and interest in contemporary British artists. Long & Ryle sold all of its works by Ramiro Fernandez Saus, including one acquired by Helena Bonham Carter, while Portal Painter reported sales between £7,500 and £10,000, with works by Lizzy Riches, Isobel Rozot and James McNaught.

Exhibitors reported a wide range of additional sales and strong collector interest across the Fair:

• Dominic Kemp described the Fair as its “best ever fair”, with sales including a Bridget Riley screen print and Terry Frost’s 12-piece Lorca Suite.

• Blond Contemporary sold multiple works by David Hockney.

• Long & Ryle sold all works by Ramiro Fernandez Saus, alongside a major work by John Monks, Ambience, offered at £37,000, and Winifred Nicholson’s Wild Flowers, Greece, c.1965, for £6,500.

• Jonathan Cooper sold David Inshaw’s Veronica, Old Guest Room, Trinity College, Cambridge, 1976–78, for its asking price of £25,000, in the final ten minutes of the Fair.

• Ottocento sold works ranging from £1,800 to £10,000, including David Bomberg’s Evening from the Casa de la Virgin de la Cabeza, Ronda, 1956, and works by Duncan Grant and Ethelbert White.

• Abbot and Holder sold works by Glyn Philpot, Cecil Collins, Graham Sutherland and John Minton, with sales ranging from £2,000 to £25,000.

• John Swarbrooke Fine Art reported sales between £1,200 and £45,000, with works by Maeve Gilmore, Robin Ironside and Leslie Roy Hobdell. Gilmore’s Woman with Flowers was among the notable early sales, and there was also significant interest in John Banting, ahead of the artist’s forthcoming solo exhibition.

• There was also activity in contemporary and digital art. Spotlight: DIGITALISM recorded the sale of Grégoire A. Meyer’s Open Mind, 2018, for £12,000.

• Tanya Baxter Contemporary sold drawings by Tracey Emin alongside work by Pip Todd-Warmoth.

   

Gay Hutson, Director of British Art Fair commented: “As we conclude this year’s Fair, I am particularly pleased to see such continued enthusiasm for British art, from Modern masters to contemporary and rediscovered artists. We were delighted to welcome both long-standing collectors and new buyers, and to see such genuine engagement with the work presented by our specialist dealers. In what remains a challenging market, the breadth of sales and interest across generations was particularly encouraging, and reflects the enduring appeal of British art.”