TEFAF Maastricht 2026 starts with major sales: here are some of the biggest buys

The first days of TEFAF Maastricht 2026 confirmed the fair’s central role as one of the leading global markets for art, antiques and design. This year’s edition, hosted as usual at MECC Maastricht in the city of Maastricht, opened with strong interest from international collectors. The galleries present in all sections of the event brought objects characterized by great quality (here is a selection of what Italian gallerists brought), covering millennia of art history and reflecting the standards of selection and scientific research that have always distinguished the fair. The offerings ranged from ancient art to Old Masters paintings, from modern and contemporary art to design and works on paper, with a selection that attracted important private collectors, museum institutions and international foundations from the very first days.

In spite of a global context marked by economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the art market at the highest levels showed some movement: nowadays people are no longer buying on impulse, collectors are increasingly thoughtful, but this does not detract from the fact that there were many interesting sales from the very beginning of the fair. Indeed, reports from the preview days reserved for collectors indicate a dynamic market, with several significant acquisitions already in the first hours of opening. Attendance was also up significantly: in the first two days the number of visitors increased by more than 5 percent over the previous edition. Even more significant was the increase in institutional presence. Museum and cultural organization representation grew by more than ten percent, with some 450 institutions present through directors, curators, and patron groups. A figure that confirms the fair’s role not only as a commercial platform, but also as a key meeting point for the world of research, conservation, and public collections.

Also underscoring the positive mood of the event was the comment of Boris Vervoordt, speaking on behalf of TEFAF’s executive committee. “What we are observing in Maastricht this week,” he said, “is a powerful reminder that the appetite for great works of art continues to grow. TEFAF exhibitors have assembled an extraordinary concentration of quality and scholarly rigor, and collectors have responded immediately. The acquisitions that have taken place since the opening hours confirm that, even in uncertain times, collectors remain deeply committed to acquiring truly exceptional works.”

The first transactions recorded in the different sectors of the fair confirm this trend. In the field of painting, there was much talk about the American gallery Gallery 19C, which sold the painting L’homme est en mer (1887-1889) by French painter Virginie Demont-Breton (Courrières, 1859 - Paris, 1935) to the Van Gogh Museum for between 500,000 and 1 million euros. The work is of particular importance to the museum’s collection, as Vincent van Gogh was familiar with this composition through a print and made a painted copy in 1889. The acquisition also represents a national first: it is in fact the first work by Demont-Breton to enter a public collection in the Netherlands.

In contrast, the historic London gallery Agnews sold the 1654 painting Man with Red Plumed Hat by Willem Drost (Amsterdam, 1633 - 1659) to the Leiden Collection, one of the world’s most important private collections devoted to the works of Rembrandt van Rijn and his school. Important sales were also reported from the stand of the Colnaghi Gallery, which placed four major works. These included a Portrait of a Gentleman by Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti; Venice, 1518 - 1594) purchased by an American private collection and the Portrait of Isabella Runi with Lady-in-Waiting by Lavinia Fontana (Bologna, 1552 - Rome, 1614) destined for an Asian collection. Also belonging to the same sales round are Julius Hübner’s Study of the Head of a Jew, acquired by a U.S. collection, and Alonso Cano ’s Portrait of a Carmelite Monk (Granada, 1601 - 1667) sold to a European collector.

Among other results recorded in the first few days, Dutch gallery Bijl-Van Urk Masterpaintings sold several works with prices ranging from 100,000 euros to 1 million euros. These included a still life by Willem Claeszoon Heda (Haarlem, 1594 - 1680), purchased by a private collector from southern Europe, and a maritime-themed painting by Jan Porcellis (Ghent, c. 1580 - Zoeterwoude, 1632) that entered the Kremer Collection. The Spanish gallery Caylus placed Gypsy in Blue by Isidro Nonell (Barcelona, 1872 - 1911) and theApparition of the Madonna and Child by Mateo Cerezo (Burgos, 1637 - Madrid, 1666) to cultural institutions. Other sales included Josefa Sánchez ’s Crucifix (active in Castile from 1639 to 1649) and A View of the “Delicias Cubanas” by the Count of Yumuri by Luis Antonio Fenech (1816 - ?), sold for 65,000 and 45,000 euros, respectively.

Christopher Bishop Fine Art ’s booth got off to a particularly dynamic start with the sale of the 1960-1961 Fashion Illustrations series by Pierre Balmain (Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, 1914 - Paris, 1982) for New York department store Bergdorf Goodman, as well as a portrait of Marie Mélanie d’Hervilly Gohier Hahnemann by Guillaume Guillon-Lethière. Among the Italian galleries, Caretto & Occhinegro sold its top piece, the Pentecost by Jean Cousin the Elder (Sens, 1490 - Paris, 1560) to a private collection, and the Capture of Christ by Pieter Coecke van Aelst (Aalst, 1502 - Brussels, 1550) with an asking price around 250,000 euros. Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art also stands out among the Italians, who reported important results, including the sale of two paintings by Gustaf Fjæstad (Stockholm, 1868 - Arvika, 1948) as part of the Swedish Lights focus, acquired by a major European collection and a Canadian foundation for six-figure sums. Other transactions include an oil sketch by Swiss artist Johann Jakob Frey (Basel, 1813 - Frascati, 1865) sold to a U.S. museum and the 1896 Glacier by Angelo Morbelli (Alessandria, 1853 - Milan, 1919) purchased by a European collector.

Also in the antiquarian sector, the German gallery Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books sold several valuable manuscripts, including the famous and rare Liechtenstein Tacuinum Sanitatis for as much as 5 million Swiss francs. Another notable sale was that of the so-called Nero’s Vase, a first-century A.D. object from the imperial residence Domus Transitoria, placed by the Stuart Lochhead Sculpture gallery at a U.S. museum for about 1.8 million pounds. And still speaking of sculpture, David Aaron sold one of the fair’s highlights, the Medea Stele, to a major U.S. museum on the same opening day, list price £450,000, while Bowman Sculpture sold two works by Massimiliano Pelletti (Pietrasanta, 1975) to American and Austrian collectors for £100,000 and £50,000. In contrast, Koopman Rare Art gallery placed a group of three 17th-century double-handled cups for about 180,000 euros and a pair of silver-gilt flasks made by James Garrard (Stafford, 1749 - Bourbon, 1822) in 1890 for about 90,000 euros. London gallery Charles Ede sold more than 20 objects during preview days, with prices ranging from 1,500 euros to six-figure sums. Notable sales included fragments of the Nereid sarcophagus dated between 190 and 200 AD, purchased in the 18th century during the Grand Tour to Rome by Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester and displayed for centuries at Holkham Hall before entering the market.

In the field ofmodern and contemporary art, Dutch gallery GRIMM, in its first appearance at the fair, recorded fourteen sales of contemporary works created especially for the event, including works by Angela Heisch, Michael Raedecker, Caroline Walker and Robert Zandvliet, with prices up to 200,000 euros. German gallery Ludorff sold seven works on the first day, including Frühling by Max Pechstein (Zwickau, 1881-Berlin, 1955) for 690,000 euros, a 1985 work by Gerhard Richter (Dresden, 1932) for 350,000 euros, and Tawny Pink with Blue and Apple Green by Bridget Riley (London, 1931) for 250,000 euros. As for the design section, Marc Heiremans Gallery sold works by Italian designers Flavio Poli and Ercole Barovier to private collectors, while Galerie Van den Bruinhorst placed the Schröder Table by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (Utrecht, 1888 - 1964) to a Dutch collector.

The section devoted to works on paper also recorded significant results. William Weston Gallery sold Collage 1987 by Victor Vasarely (Pécs, 1906 - Paris, 1997) and a 1956 Portrait of Jacqueline by Pablo Picasso (Malaga, 1881 - Mougins, 1973) for average figures of five zeros, while Norwegian gallery Galleri K placed The Heart by Edvard Munch (Løten, 1863 - Oslo, 1944) a private collector for about 200,000 euros. Finally, the Showcase section, dedicated to emerging galleries, confirmed the fair’s willingness to support new market realities. The prize awarded by JPMorgan Chase to the most interesting booth went to Galerie Boquet for a selection of works by photographer and artist Dora Maar.

TEFAF Maastricht 2026 starts with major sales: here are some of the biggest buys

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