British Art Fair

BRITISH ART FAIR 2025

Modern and Contemporary British Art

25 - 28 September
Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York HQ, King’s Road, London SW3 4RY

Ivon Hitchens, Four Depths, 1970, signed and dated; signed and dated verso, oil on canvas, 46.4 x 143.5 cm. Artwork courtesy of Jenna Burlingham Gallery 

British Art Fair looks afresh at Modern British artists who have been overlooked, as part of a dynamic programme for 2025 that includes Digitalism and SOLO CONTEMPORARY and introduces Hospital Rooms as the new charity partner.

British Art Fair, the only fair dedicated to Modern and Contemporary British art, takes place from 25 to 28 September 2025, at Saatchi Gallery in the heart of London’s fashionable Chelsea. Promoting British art since 1988, the Fair has grown from its Modern British roots to become a showcase for excellence in homegrown art from the mid-20th century right up to today.

The Fair represents over 80 of the UK’s leading dealers including Austin/Desmond Fine Art, Patrick Bourne, The Fine Art Society, Osborne Samuel, Portland Gallery, The Redfern Gallery, Alan Wheatley and Willoughby Gerrish. In 2025, the Fair welcomes back Crane Kalman, Gallery Pangolin, Huxley-Parlour, Panter & Hall, Paul Liss, The Scottish Gallery and Candida Stevens. New exhibitors include Gallery Ten, Jonathan Soden, Ottocento, Sisters Grimm, and Winsor Birch.

On show will be work by celebrated artists including Frank Auerbach, Banksy, John Craxton, Tracey Emin, Terry Frost, Barbara Hepworth, Damien Hirst, Ivon Hitchens, David Hockney, Albert Irvin, Gwen John, L.S. Lowry, Henry Moore, John Piper, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley, William Scott and many more.

Gay Hutson, Co-founder British Art Fair said: “The 2025 line-up is impressive and shows a real commitment to Modern British Art - the fair’s core since it started in 1988 - while our contemporary sections are going from strength to strength. Unsung, one of the programme highlights, brings to the fore talented artists who have been overlooked.”

Feature Exhibition: Unsung

Unsung, a special exhibition curated by art market journalist and British Art Fair Advisory Panel Member, Colin Gleadell, highlights Modern British artists whose oeuvres have been hidden away in attics or undervalued for years. Gleadell says “It could be argued that Modern British art in general is undervalued in comparison to its American or European counterparts, but within the Modern British market there are countless instances of artists who have been forgotten at some point or overshadowed by more successful near contemporaries. Think of Graham Sutherland compared to Francis Bacon, John Nash to Paul Nash, Mary Newcomb to Winifred Nicholson, Mary Jewels to Alfred Wallis, Balraj Khanna to M.F. Husain, Aubrey Williams to Frank Bowling, Alan Lowndes to L.S. Lowry or Henry Cliffe to William Scott.”

British Art Market News

British Art Fair publishes BLAST, a monthly report on the British art market and its latest findings are cautiously optimistic. Despite uncertainty in the global markets, recent sales have proven that the established Modern British market is holding ground. Christie’s two-part sale for Modern British and Irish Art on (20 - 21 March) totalled £14.66 million exceeding presale estimates of £9.5 to £14.3 million. The sell-through rate was a steady 89.5%. The Modern British section at the sale of the private collection of banker Bernard Kelly was estimated at £194,000. In the end, 102 of the 108 lots (or 94%) were sold for a total of £467,391. Artists who have been previously overlooked due to racial prejudice such as Dame Sonia Boyce OBE and Aubrey Williams have moved into the mainstream market with good results.The Modern British market has made positive in-roads into European markets too this year with representation at TEFAF Maastricht (15 - 20 March), previously an exclusively Old Master event.

SOLO CONTEMPORARY
The 2025 edition will see the return of SOLO CONTEMPORARY, a section curated by Zavier Ellis which puts the spotlight on some of the UK’s most exciting contemporary gallerists and artists.

Digitalism

Following on from its successful debut last year, Digitalism, an immersive exhibition curated by Rebecca Tolley-Georgiou, presents the very best digital art being created and exhibited in Britain today.

Charity Partner: Hospital Rooms

British Art Fair is pleased to announce a new charity partner for 2025: Hospital Rooms. Hospital Rooms work within mental health hospitals transforming clinical spaces into environments filled with colour, care and inspiration. The charity aims to raise funds at the fair through sales of a limited edition print by a major contemporary artist. The funds will enable new projects and a programme of creative workshops for patients. At the fair, they will be installing a calm immersive interior where visitors can recline on artist-made furnishings, relax and find out more about their projects.

Visit British Art Fair 2025

Saatchi Gallery’s spacious galleries create an elegant atmosphere for visitors to view paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, prints and ceramics, and enjoy an exciting programme of curated events. Specialist dealers are on hand to discuss every aspect of buying art. British Art Fair is a flagship for British art, and an important fixture in the art world calendar enjoyed by over 12,000 visitors a year.