Bert Stern, Marilyn Monroe, The Last Sitting® Crucifix III, 1962. Courtesy of the Estate of Bert Stern.





Hamptons Fine Art Fair Returns with a Focus on American Art



by Benjamin Genocchio 



The Hamptons Fine Art Fair returns to the Southampton Fairgrounds July 9th – 12th with a buoyed roster of 130 international modern and contemporary exhibitors from 10 countries. There is also a timely theme this year: to acknowledge the “America 250” celebrations happening across the country, the fair has placed an emphasis on American art and artists. “Many of the gallery-featured exhibits this year will focus on paying tribute to and interpreting America’s heritage, flag, the Statue of Liberty, and art history,” says Executive Director Rick Friedman.



From Adamar Fine Arts, Miami: Julian Opie, Sprinters, Paris 2024, (F), 2024, laser cut museum board relief, 39 x 52 x 2 in.  Photo courtesy of Adamar Fine Arts.





From Modern Fine Art Gallery, New York: Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, Liberty Enlightening the World, 1878, bronze, 112 in. Photo courtesy of Modern Fine Art Gallery, New York .

The Hamptons Fine Art Fair is held in a 70,000 sq. ft. pavilion complex on 17 acres close to downtown Southampton. With 10,000 or more guests attending over 4 days each summer, it is the largest cultural event in The Hamptons, according to the organizers. “Aside from offering the East End’s widest, deepest selection of important primary and secondary art, the Hamptons Fine Art Fair displays art in all creative mediums, ranging from paintings, works on paper, and photography, to prints, glassworks, ceramics, wood turning, and indoor and outdoor sculptures,” Friedman says. 


This year’s fair includes several prominent gallery exhibitors and notable displays, among them a massive sculpture at the fair entrance, Liberty Enlightening the World — After Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904). Presented by Modern Fine Art, New York and London, it is one of an edition of 12 replicas of the Statue of Liberty (officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World) cast between 2010 and 2021 under the auspices of the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris. Priced at one million dollars, the 10-foot bronze sculpture “symbolizes freedom, democracy, and international friendship,” Friedman explains.


The Trust of Bert Stern is presenting a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, on the centennial of her birth. Titled “Marilyn @ 100: The Hamptons Marilyn Monroe Centennial Tribute,” the booth presents images from photographer Bert Stern’s photo session over three days at the Hotel Bel-Air for Vogue in June 1962. Monroe died five weeks later, on August 4, 1962, at the age of 36. “These images have since taken on mythic significance, helping to cement her enduring global legacy and transforming The Last Sitting® into one of the most celebrated photographic sessions in modern history,” the organizers say.  



Left: From Adamar Fine Arts, Miami: Alex Katz, Olivia 3, 2025, silkscreen, 59 x 40” in. Photo courtesy Adamar Fine Arts Right: From Winsor Birch, Marlborough, England: Henry Orlik, Fighting Skyscrapers, NYC, acrylic on canvas, Image: H. 50 x W. 41½ in, Frame: H. 54¾ x W. 46¾ x D. 2in., with artist's stamp verso. Image courtesy of Winsor Birch Limited and Henry Orlik 


Lee Krasner, SEED NO. 3, 1969, gouache on Howell paper, 14 x 17 x 1 in. Courtesy of Rick Friedman & Cindy Lou Wakefield



The fair’s theme extends beyond the exhibitors and into the social and cultural programming around the fair. The Thursday, July 9 afternoon VIP Opening Preview will present “a birthday party to America in the VIP Lounge,” according to Friedman. The fair is producing a special curated show, “The Trailblazers of Hamptons Abstraction,” showcasing works by several prominent American artists who lived and worked in the Hamptons from 1950 to around 1970, and that helped pioneer Abstract Expressionism, with works assembled from the private collection of show producer Rick Friedman and his partner Cindy Lou Wakefield.



From Benrimon Editions, New York: Keith Haring, Radiant Baby, 1990, silkscreen with embossment, 21h x 25w in. Photo by Austin Harrod, courtesy of Benrimon Editions



Sticking with the “America 250” theme, there is also a new section made up of an invited selection of top contemporary galleries from the United Kingdom that is titled “The British are Coming, Again,” though Friedman insists, reassuringly, “this time around we’re just alerting art collectors to the captivating artworks arriving from the United Kingdom.” Among the participating galleries in the special section are Blond Contemporary, Cube Gallery, Clarendon Fine Art, Modern Fine Art, Quantum Contemporary Art, and Winsor Birch.





 


Southampton Fairgrounds

605 County Road 39, Southampton, NY 11968

(Between Mercedes Benz of Southampton and Southampton Golf Club)



VIP Opening

Thursday, July 9

VIP “First-Look” Opening Preview: 12–5pm

VIP Opening Preview Evening: 5–9:30pm



General Admission

Friday, July 10, 11am–7pm


Saturday, July 11, 11am–7pm


Sunday, July 12, 11am–6pm



Featured Presentation

2026 Hamptons Artists Hall of Fame Induction

Saturday, July 11, 11am–12:30pm

VIP Lounge

With Special Guest Speaker Ben Genocchio, editor-in-chief of Incollect Magazine


For tickets and full schedule, visit www.hamptonsfineartfair.com