Frieze Masters always gets my Old Masters side excited, however, my brain seemed to be tickled by less things this year. With many regulars absent from this year’s edition, a lot more new exhibitors have risen up in their place, particularly covering non-Western material.
A few dealers have also had their usual spots upgraded, leading to refreshing new display formats to confuse experienced visitors. Meanwhile, collaborative exhibitor booths seem to be trending, offering a microcosm of the fair’s advantage as a site of transhistorical dialogues.
With so many delights to choose from, here are my top highlights:
Susan Fortgang, Interior with Black and Rose, 1966, oil on canvas (Eric Firestone Gallery, stand A6)
Pier Antonio Novelli, Hector’s Farewell to Andromache, 1772, pen with brown and black ink and grey wash (Didier Aaron & Cie, stand A2)
Engelien Reitsma-Valença, Self-portrait, 1946, pencil on paper (Colnaghi x Elliott Fine Art, stand B3)
Ferdinand Hodler, Bildnis Giulia Leonardi (Portrait of Giulia Leonardi), 1910-11, oil on canvas (Hauser & Wirth, stand D1)
Wilhelm Kuhnert, Portrait of a Man from East Africa, before 1894 (Lullo Pampoulides, stand C4)
Georges Mathieu, Désaveu Intemporel, 1990, alkyd on canvas (Archeus / Post-Modern, stand E14)
Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, The War Widow, c.1923, oil on gessoed cradled hardwood panel (Philip Mould & Company, stand E7)
Leonor Fini, Self-portrait with Stanislao Lepri, 1942-43, oil on canvas (Galerie Minsky, stand F14)
Walter Sauer, Portrait of a young woman, 1921, graphite and coloured pencil on prepared paper (Charles Ede, stand B2)
Martin Kippenberger, Untitled, conceived and cast between 1989-90, steel, lamp and lightbulb, 1 of 4 unique editions (Skarstedt, stand F1)
Frieze Masters runs from 9 to 13 October 2024 at Regent’s Park, https://www.frieze.com/
Nigel Ip 
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