Even the Palm Beach County Convention Center itself got dressed up for the occasion.

Review & Onsite Photos by Carly Timpson

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Returning for its 23rd edition on February 12-17, this year’s Palm Beach Show proved to be the strongest one yet. The show brought together an elite roster of international exhibitors, collectors, dealers, museum professionals and design enthusiasts, all with a shared mission to celebrate fine art, antiques, jewelry and design. This year’s 135 dealers included around 40 with physical galleries in Florida and others who traveled from as far as Andorra, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

As a testament to the strength of the local market, many of those dealers in the Palm Beach area were inspired by successes at previous editions of The Palm Beach Show and opened storefronts to cater to the region’s knowledgeable clientele. Many are still open elsewhere, such as Cavalier Galleries, which also has galleries in New York, Nantucket and Connecticut, and Galerie Fledermaus, which only opened its Palm Beach location this past December after having a storefront in Chicago and exhibiting at the show for more than a decade.

The VIP Opening Night Preview Party on February 12 welcomed thousands of distinguished guests, from collectors, to philanthropists, to designers, to notable local tastemakers. Those who came out to kick off President’s Day Weekend in style included Audrey Gruss, Susan Malloy, Rosalyn Yellin, Janet Levy and Lauri Welteroth, among many other prominent figures from Palm Beach’s cultural and social circles. The affair was sponsored by Veuve Clicquot, Belvedere Vodka, Volcan Tequila and Golden Goat Caviar, all of which were in fashionable supply for attendees.

“A Visual Feast” by Luis Montoya & Leslie Ortiz — including the patinated bronze “Pepper Basket II” (foreground) and the oil on wood panel with resin extension “Carrot Forest” (far left) — was this year’s entrance installation. Surovek Gallery, Palm Beach, Fla.

Presented by Surovek Gallery, this year’s entrance installation, “A Visual Feast” by Luis Montoya & Leslie Ortiz, welcomed showgoers with a series of bronze sculptures and three-dimensional paintings inspired by Magical Realism and classical Spanish still-life traditions. Among the installation’s notable examples were “La Tomatina,” a 115-inch-tall sculpture of tomatoes, numerous more digestible bronzes from the team’s “Tapas” series and “Carrot Forest,” an oil on wood panel painting of bunches of carrots, with resin extension to create several three-dimensional points.

Another treat for showgoers was the Saturday, February 14, keynote presentation. As a Valentine’s Day special, actor Fred Savage, who is the founder of Timepiece Grading Specialists (TGS), presented “Empowering the Collector in the Pre-Owned Watch Market.” In this lecture, Savage discussed his personal collecting journey and the launching of TGS, then broke down how expert grading is changing the game by bringing transparency, trust and confidence to collectors at every level. Afterwards, attendees could test their knowledge by visiting the booths of Aaron Faber Gallery (New York City), Benchmark of Palm Beach, first-time exhibitor Charles Oudin Paris, Greenwich Bazzar (New York City), Itay Noy Timepieces (Old Jaffa, Israel), Mikaël Dan (Paris), Provident Jewelry (multiple Florida locations) and Worldwide Investments (Bal Harbor, Fla.), among others, to find exceptional timepieces.

Colorful selections from Yvel’s Parabia Collection. Palm Beach, Fla.

Friday’s “Day of Design” panels, sponsored by Florida Design Magazine, included “Beyond the Frame: The Evolution of the Gallery Wall” by Renée Gaddis of Renée Gaddis Interiors (Naples, Fla.) and Jackie Armour of JMA Interior Design (Jupiter, Fla.); “Collectors versus Non-Collectors: Designing with Art for Two Different Client Types” by Carlos Herrera Elias of Art New Line (Santiago de Surco, Peru) and Allison Palladino & Zita Van Egmond-Rudd of Paladino Rudd Interior Design (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.); “Time Warp: Mixing Period Art with Contemporary Interiors, & Vice Versa” by Sophia Passerini, of Passerini Atelier & Interiors (Palm Beach) and Chris Goddard of Goddard Design Group (Springdale, Ark.); and “Art Forward: the case for letting art lead design rather than simply complement it” by Hillary Musser of Netflix’s Members Only: Palm Beach and Enda Donagher of Enda Donagher Architect PC (New York City).
As Chase Jorgensen of longtime exhibitor M.S. Rau shared, “Everybody that goes [to The Palm Beach Show] really brings their absolute best, so when you walk through the show, you just see things that you never thought you’d see.”

One such thing visitors likely never thought they’d see was a rare, monumental bronze cast of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s “La Liberté éclairant le monde (Liberty Enlightening the World).” Standing 10 feet tall, this “Liberty” is a direct descendant of the New York icon we all know and love. Although the one that overlooks New York Harbor was enlarged 16 times, this version was cast by the Susse Fondeur, Paris, from the actual 1878 plaster model and earned pride of place in the booth of New York City-based Modern Fine Art. According to a release sent out before the show’s opening, it was “produced from the final plaster model held in the collection of the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. For over a century, no copies of this fragile plaster could be made. However, using advanced 3D metrology, a mold was created with micron-level precision to cast this limited ‘Original Bronze Edition.’” Ray Waterhouse, founder of Modern Fine Art, said, “It is an honor to exhibit this iconic symbol of American Independence, authorized by the French Museum which holds the original plaster. We hope that an American patriot purchases it for public display or their own collection. After this is sold, only one other cast will ever be available as ten of the 12 have been sold.”

Celebrating America’s 250th with Modern Fine Art, New York City, was this 112⅝-inch-tall “La Liberté éclairant le monde (Liberty Enlightening the World),” artist’s proof III/IV, by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (French, 1834-1904), cast by Susse Fondeur, Paris.

Antico Contempo, a gallery focusing on “Modern interpretations of antiquity,” was exhibiting at The Palm Beach Show this year for the first time. Highlights in their booth included an authentic ancient bronze figure shown alongside contemporary mosaics and contempo models by Alexander Aboutaam. After the show, Michael Bader told us, “It was an excellent weekend. As first-timers there, we definitely took away a lot to learn and improve upon for next year. We are in talks with some major designers and showrooms in the Palm Beach area, which I believe will show great returns soon.”

Another newer dealer is Adrian Pett of the London-based Darnley Fine Art. “Adrian has been attending the show for four years now, and says that he enjoys the variety of people that attend the show — it’s very nice to meet American clients in their home country, as our gallery comes from across the pond in rainy England,” shared Pett’s associate Rosie Brennan. “Our booth is very unique, as we cover a wide range of art from the Sixteenth to Twentieth Centuries, refusing to be boxed into one specialism and instead presenting art that is of genuine interest and merit.” Exhibiting this diversity, the gallery displayed a selection of Post-Impressionist works by Robert Deborne, a portrait of a young Napoleon Bonaparte by an artist in the circle of Johann Heinrich Schmidt, a British sporting work by Benjamin Marshall and still lifes attributed to Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen. Brennan was excited to report that the Deborne works sold during the show.

One of The Palm Beach Show’s longtime dealers, Greg Pepin Silver, also expressed a strong weekend. Pepin has been attending the show for around 20 years and noted, “We have a lot of loyal clients who appreciate Georg Jensen sterling silver and come to see us every year.” Among the Georg Jensen pieces Pepin was most excited to be exhibiting were a large six-light chandelier, a pair of Art Deco candelabra, two fish dishes and a covered tureen. By the end of the show, Pepin had made good sales to some of his loyal customers.

This silver six-light chandelier, designed by Johan Rohde in 1918 — a year after Copenhagen got electrified — is considered the rarest piece of Georg Jensen on the open market and perhaps in the world. It was offered by Greg Pepin Silver, Hellerup, Denmark.

“We’ve been proud participants in The Palm Beach Show for over 20 years. It has become a cornerstone of our annual calendar and a show we truly look forward to each season,” wrote Andrew Ford, owner of Ford Art & Antiques, after the show. “The Palm Beach Show is exceptional for many reasons, but the location and the clientele truly set it apart. The atmosphere is vibrant yet refined, and the attendees are knowledgeable, enthusiastic and genuinely engaged. There’s an energy to the show that makes it both enjoyable and rewarding year after year.” In Ford’s booth, visitors could find a curated blend of modern and traditional techniques, from Old Master paintings and bronze sculptures to Chinese export porcelain, gilt clocks, sterling silver and contemporary works. “That balance allows us to appeal to both seasoned collectors and newer buyers, often sparking unexpected connections between periods and styles.” The diversity offered in Ford’s booth led to some notable sales, which he was thrilled with. “Highlights included the sale of an entire case of sterling silver, multiple paintings, several modern sculptures by Jorge Blanco and numerous smaller decorative objects. It’s always gratifying to see pieces placed into collections where they will be appreciated and enjoyed.”

Robert Simon, of Robert Simon Fine Art, shared that he had been a dealer at the show around 20 years ago, but this year was his first time back since then. His gallery specializes in Old Master works, but he brought items from “a variety of times and places,” to reach a diverse clientele. The New York City dealer pointed out a few of his favorite pieces: a bust of George Washington; two frescoes showing different styles, one Roman from the Third Pompeian period, likely early First Century CE, the second Seventeenth Century Florentine; Spanish Colonial paintings, including an Eighteenth Century Peruvian, likely Cuzco, gilt wood mirrored frame with a Cuzco School painting of the Holy Family and St John; sandstone gogotte formations from France; a 1905 portrait of Mrs Frederick Guest (Amy Phipps) by John Singer Sargent; Franz Xaver Winterhalter’s “Girl from the Sabine Hills (Mädchen aus den Sabiner Bergen),” which he said he was “very proud to have”; and “Saint Jerome in the Wilderness” by Paolo Uccelo — one of only two works by the artist to be in private hands — which found a new home with a private collector.

Two standouts with Robert Simon Fine Art were “Girl from the Sabine Hills” by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (German, 1805-1873) and “Saint Jerome in the Wilderness” by Paolo Uccello (Florence, circa 1397-1475). New York City.

Steidel Gallery, a contemporary art exhibitor from Lake Worth, Fla., reported several notable sales during The Palm Beach Show, including the oil on canvas “Desire of Paint” by MoJo (2026), the stainless steel “Spirit” sculpture by Gary Traczyk (2025) and “Making Peace with the Past” by Jaye Allison (2024), an acrylic, latex and graphite on canvas work. Managing director Maxwell Chapman commented, “We continue to be impressed with the Palm Beach Show’s ability to innovate and bring in an eclectic collector base. At the forefront of the contemporary art exhibitors at the show, Steidel loves the opportunity to reach new clients with our visionary contemporary art collections, which we feel brings a refreshing balance to the diverse exhibitor presence at the show.”

Among the dealers and galleries, there were several artists presenting their own works. Pavel Novák, who was raised in the Czech Republic and now works out of New Jersey, has been bringing his cold-worked glass sculptures to Palm Beach for about 20 years. While he was helping an interested customer, his wife explained that the cold-working technique Novák uses is one rooted in Czech traditions. Each sculpture is made with optical glass that is ground, polished, laminated, colored and sand blasted to achieve the illusionary effects he’s known for. Though his geometrical pieces are layered, they appear to be blended seamlessly as Novák’s geometrical mind guides his craft to get the angles just right for optimal refraction.
Cheryl Setté of CST Gallery works with Venetian plaster, a medium that contains marble dust, limestone, infused colorants and crushed Murano glass. With this plaster on wood, Setté creates vibrant multi-dimensional paintings with glistening colors. Setté described her works as “Large-scale, layered and luminous, created to command a room.” During the show, she sold several floral pieces to collectors and designers, noting that one went to “a private collector designing a high-end coastal interior.”

Emily Harding, director of Gladwell & Patterson, shared, “We are always genuinely excited to return to The Palm Beach Show. It remains an important fixture in our calendar, offering a valuable opportunity to reconnect with long-standing clients while also engaging with new collectors each year. Sales were steady and encouraging, reflecting continued interest in our artists. We always leave Palm Beach feeling positive and energized, and we very much look forward to returning next year.”

The Palm Beach Show will return to the Palm Beach County Convention Center next year, February 11-16.
For more information, www.palmbeachshow.com.