Returning from Maastricht, TEFAF feels like it made a case this week for the kind of art market many of us have been hoping to see return.  

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Going in, the mood was measured with a lot of anticipation against the opening preview days. After a few cautious years, there was a sense that people were waiting to see how the week would play out.  

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Attendance across the opening previews was up over 5%.  The caliber of collectors was a consistent theme with museum and institutional representation rising by more than 10%, with around 450 institutions present in some form and a notable amount of US collectors. First-time exhibitor Alison Jacques described the international attendance as greater than expected, and dealers across the fair reported notable sales from the opening day.  

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What struck me most was the quality of the conversations - with galleries, with clients, with people who understand what serious collecting looks like.  

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TEFAF has always attracted museum directors and curators from across the world, and this year really was no different. The fair remains one of the few places where works destined for public collections are acquired (often after long and considered negotiations, of course).  

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That caliber of attendance matters. The buyers who come to Maastricht are not here on impulse unlike fairs that call major cities their home. They are here because the quality of what is on offer warrants the journey.  

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Coming off the back of the UBS/Art Basel report showing 4% growth in 2025, TEFAF this year felt like a moment of quiet confirmation. At the highest levels of the market, with the right objects in front of the right people, things are moving again.  

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It will be interesting to see how that momentum carries through the spring calendar as we look toward New York in May.

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Bethany Woolfall, VP of Customers

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