The organisers of the Frieze art fairs have brought in the secondary art market advisers, Beaumont Nathan, to guide potential buyers at its Frieze Masters event this year (6-9 October). The move is “part of the spirit of encouraging people to buy something they wouldn’t normally buy”, says Victoria Siddall, the director of the fairs, citing contemporary art buyers who are perhaps less familiar with historic works.
Beaumont Nathan was founded in 2014 by Hugo Nathan and Wentworth Beaumont, who previously worked at Dickinson gallery. The exact details have yet to be confirmed, but the advisers will not charge for their services or be incentivised directly to make sales.
Independent advisers are increasingly a part of the art fair scene. In May, London’s Art16 had a group of specialists on hand to help buyers.
Other initiatives for Frieze’s 2016 edition include a section dedicated to the 1990s in Frieze London (12 galleries, chosen by the Swiss curator Nicolas Trembley) and a new stage area for performance art.