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Are the blue-chips down? How London’s art elite are coping with Covid

Barely a mew: David Zwirner in Mayfair has had to make some staff redundant - Alamy
Barely a mew: David Zwirner in Mayfair has had to make some staff redundant - Alamy

Last year, the art calendar was busier than ever, with packed exhibition schedules, auction programmes and some 300 art fairs worldwide. This year – well, we all know what happened.

Most of the world’s major commercial galleries were forced by Covid-19 to shut their doors indefinitely in March. That same month, the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht closed early, after dozens of visitors and participating gallerists contracted Covid-19. All subsequent fairs were cancelled.

“The big question then was: ‘What now?’” says Jacob Twyford, senior director of Waddington Custot gallery. “The art world had never known a situation like it.”

Waddington Custot has been on Cork Street, London’s most prestigious art address, since the 1960s. Once known as Waddington Galleries, it represents British artists such as Sir Peter Blake and David Annesley, and employs 12 full-time staff. Like all commercial galleries, it was faced with a conundrum: how to sell artworks, often worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, that buyers couldn’t come and see?

“Everybody’s response to lockdown was the same,” Twyford says. “With no physical gallery presence, energy was devoted to online presence instead – an area that, in most cases, had been woefully underdeveloped.”

The recently published UBS Global Art Market Report found that global gallery sales declined by 36 per cent in the first half of 2020. It’s perhaps a surprise that the figure wasn’t even greater. But Twyford says he has been impressed by the commercial sector’s digital shift.

“Where a basic photo and text was once the norm, most websites now offer something much more immersive.” In May came one truly striking innovation. The Frieze New York fair had been cancelled in person, but was held online; it offered an augmented reality (AR) app that enabled potential buyers to visualise works in their own homes.

Cork Street, the most august of London's 'gallery streets', is facing turbulent times - Alamy
Cork Street, the most august of London's 'gallery streets', is facing turbulent times - Alamy

London’s commercial galleries reopened to the public (and staff) soon after that. Being classed as “non-essential retail”, they were allowed to open from June 15, before their major public counterparts. Visitor numbers remain limited to ensure social distancing, with booking largely necessary, and people are asked to wear a mask and sanitise their hands.

On the face of it, London's gallery network seems to be faring well. Twyford even has a new neighbour on Cork Street: Charles Saatchi’s daughter Phoebe and her husband have just opened a gallery dedicated to up-and-coming artists, called Saatchi Yates.

“Most galleries and visitors are adapting well to the new reality,” says Angela Choon, a senior partner at David Zwirner gallery in Mayfair. One of the world’s biggest galleries, they also have premises in New York, Hong Kong and Paris.

A bolt from the blue, however, came last week, when the big-hitting American gallerist Marian Goodman announced she was closing her London space, citing uncertainty over Covid-19 and Brexit.

“My worry will come,” Choon admits, “as London moves up the tiers system. The government’s messaging is very confused, and I don’t know where we’re going to stand in terms of if – and how – we stay open.”

Twyford agrees. “We’re bracing ourselves for a tough nine to 12 months ahead. There’s every likelihood of a hard, sharp recession worldwide. For now, though, the demand for buying art does still seem to be there – thankfully.”

With no indoor art fair this year, the sculptural section was the only part of Frieze London at which gallerists could still sell work - PA
With no indoor art fair this year, the sculptural section was the only part of Frieze London at which gallerists could still sell work - PA

During lockdown, David Zwirner made a handful of its 20 Mayfair staff redundant: specifically, those with now-inactive roles, such as events planning. Waddington Custot has negotiated the pandemic thus far without resorting to redundancies – or, Twyford emphasises, furlough money.

“I prefer an all-hands-on-deck approach, where everyone’s busy and productive,” he says. “Turnover this year has been substantially down on 2019, but still within manageable parameters. We’ve continued to more than cover our costs.”

Twyford adds that he hasn’t been relying solely on a snazzy new website; he’s also contacting numerous clients from years gone by.

“Buying a work of art isn’t simply transactional. Many buyers like to feel they’re part of a cultural exchange, in which they, the artist and gallery are all connected – and that involves having conversations.”

For its part, David Zwirner has had huge success with its digital offering: the gallery’s “Studio” series, which features an online look at its artists’ current work, has generated sales of $17 million.

“I think the old adage holds,” Choon says, “that if a work is good enough, it will sell. The pandemic hasn’t suddenly ended people’s interest in art.

“But clearly every gallerist on earth is concerned about how seriously the market will contract, the longer restrictions are in place.”

And there are, as yet, no fairs confirmed for 2021. A long winter lies ahead.

What needs to be done to help the art world during these difficult times? Tell us your suggestions in the comments section.