Returning to the Park Avenue Armory for its 71st edition, The Winter Show kicks off New York’s art and design calendar with its characteristic blend of past and present.

A cornerstone of New York’s cultural scene since the 1950s, The Winter Show returns to Park Avenue on January 24, bringing together over 70 exhibitors and showcasing a dazzling array of art and design from ancient to contemporary. This year’s fair has a strong transatlantic feel, with a large number of New York and London galleries joined by others from across Europe and the Americas. 

The Winter Show is undisputedly one of America’s most prestigious fairs, drawing a well-heeled crowd of discerning collectors, interior designers and art advisors while upholding its philanthropic commitments. “Everything we do here benefits the East Side House Settlement,” says the fair’s executive director Helen Allen, emphasising the organisation’s role in providing critical services to thousands of residents in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan.

Notable newcomers include São Roque from Lisbon – a welcome sign of Portugal’s increasingly assertive presence in the international art and design scene. The fair also reprises FOCUS: American, curated by Alexandra Kirtley of the Philadelphia Museum of Art – an exhibition of early American fine art, folk art and antiques. Other highlights of The Winter Show’s 71st edition include:

Milord Antiquités (Montreal): European and American Modernist furniture 

Montreal’s Milord Antiquités specialises in fine 18th, 19th and 20th-century furniture and works of art, but the highlights of this year’s booth at The Winter Show are their European and American Modernist furniture. These include a frequently cited red lacquered sideboard by Jules Leleu, dating from 1960 and a welded steel wall plaque by Paul Evans, 1972. Also of note is a carved walnut throne chair by Carlo Bugatti, circa 1900.

Blumka Gallery (New York): Medieval and Renaissance art

The Winter Show excels at showcasing a wide span of eras, exemplified by New York’s Blumka Gallery, which is bringing an impressive selection of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque sculptures and decorative works including enamels, bronzes, and ceramics. The gallery itself spans the generations: Anthony Blumka is the fourth generation – the gallery was founded by his great grandfather in 19th-century Vienna. Blumka works have enriched collections at institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre, and highlights this year include Two Angels From A Coronation Of The Virgin from Germany, circa 1480–1490.

Alexandre Gallery (New York): First-generation Modernists

A newcomer to The Winter Show, New York’s Alexandre Gallery is presenting works by first-generation Modernists, including Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and Georgia O’Keeffe. Their shared quest for “modern art’s purism,” as Hartley described it in 1928, underscores the vibrant, experimental spirit of early 20th-century America.

Didier Ltd (London): 20th-century jewellery

London gallery Didier Ltd is known for jewellery by mid-century designers – including Alexander Calder, whose paintings have seen a major resurgence throughout global art fairs over the past five years. This year, the gallery is bringing a rare silver tiara by Calder to The Winter Show, and an 18ct gold brooch designed by Lucio Fontana in 1962 – a striking piece featuring irregularly arranged pierced holes. Only four examples are known to exist, making this a remarkable acquisition opportunity.

Michael Goedhuis (London): Contemporary Asian art

While the highly respected Michael Goedhuis gallery is fully engaged with contemporary western art, it is also known as the foremost western expert on contemporary Chinese art – and among the exceptional examples the gallery is bringing to The Winter Show this year are Good Times: Blue Mountain Blue, 2020  by Yao Jui-chung, handmade paper, gold leaf and ink; and Green Range, 2020 by Leung Kui Ting, ink and colour on paper.

Hixenbaugh Ancient Art (New York): Antiquities

In another nod to The Winter Show’s range, New York’s Hixenbaugh Ancient Art brings antiquities from ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, including a Late Dynastic Period gilt wood mummy mask and a Greek Illyrian helmet (500–420 BC) of a type first developed in the Peloponnese in the mid-7th century BC. The helmet features an integral channel at the top which would have accommodated the horse hair crest. 

Glass Past (New York): Mid-century glass

New York gallery Glass Past specialises in Italian glass from 1870 to 1970. This year, it is bringing some 20th-century masterpieces to The Winter Show including Pezzato Vase – a circa 1950 cylindrical vase by Ercole Barovier for Barovier & Toso, with vibrant amber, white, and blue squares that are beautifully of its period; and Incamiciato Vase by Flavio Poli for Barovier Seguso Ferro, circa 1934, a ribbed creation with delicate leaf handles.

Jonathan Cooper (London): Wildlife art

London gallery Jonathan Cooper is bringing a series of bird artworks to The Winter Show by wildlife artist Tim Hayward. Hayward’s work, which has been acquired by institutions such as the Natural History Museum in London and the Noorder Dierenpark in the Netherlands, includes the striking Dancing, 2024 in watercolour and gouache on paper.

The Winter Show runs from January 24—February 2, 2025 at Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York City