In a new home, Photo London gets down to business

Photo London opened for previews at Olympia’s Grand Hall in West Kensington, where hail and shifting weather did not dampen a light, upbeat mood. By Thursday afternoon, the first public day, several galleries reported sales. Paris-B Gallery sold three works to one buyer for £100,000, including two by Yang Yongliang. In Camera sold Jane Everlyn Atwood’s Auto Portrait (Serpent) in both vintage and modern print formats for £13,000 and £2,000. Robert Hershkowitz reported strong results, Radius Publishing sold 40% of its stock by lunchtime, and anecdotal chatter suggested many other fairs were starting well, with typical prices in the low-to-mid thousands and a range up to £400,000. The move to Olympia is tied to a major £1.3bn refurbishment running into 2027, while Somerset House’s previous Thames-side setting is remembered despite mixed opinions.

"A hailstorm rattled against the 85 tonnes of glass that make up the vast curving roof of Olympia's Grand Hall, while dark clouds cast shadows across the booths below. Yet the mood was light-giddy, even-as Photo London (until 17 May) opened for previews on Wednesday (13 May) at its new home in West Kensington. And that mood was reflected in some lively sales by Thursday afternoon, the first of four public days, by which time the weather had switched between late winter and early summer and back again, changing by the minute."

"Paris-B Gallery reported a sale of three works to one buyer coming to £100,000, including two by Chinese artist Yang Yongliang. In Camera, also from Paris, sharing a booth with L Parker Stephenson Photographs from New York, had sold both the vintage and the modern print of Jane Everlyn Atwood's Auto Portrait (Serpent)- the hero image used for the fair's promotion-for £13,000 and £2000 respectively. Robert Hershkowitz was having a strong fair, including sales of works by PH Emerson and Frederick Fiebig, just a couple of months after the eponymous dealer in early European photography had died."

"Radius Publishing had sold 40 percent of its stock by Thursday lunchtime. And there was anecdotal chatter that pointed to the beginnings of a good fair for many others too, where prices range from £100 to £400,000, but where the low-to-mid-thousands is the norm. It's not the location that has raised the cheer. This traffic-choked corner of the capital, described by the Evening Standard as "an unwelcome slab of London real estate to all but the lanyard-wearing classes", is attempting a revival, including the £1.3bn refurbishment of Olympia's exhibition halls, which is ongoing into 2027."

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