Post-Brexit, the British Aren't Buying Big Ticket Art
The pound's collapse is keeping English buyers at home.
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As the pound dropped to levels unseen since the mid-1980s, a line of several hundred people snaked out of London’s Frieze Art Fair minutes before the VIP opening on Wednesday. Overheard were French, German, and American speakers, but British accents were few and far between. “We’ve had interest from quite a few Americans and a few Europeans,” said Angela Westwater, whose gallery, Sperone Westwater, had a booth in the main fair. “No British so far.”
As the first day of Frieze came to a close and dealers inside the fair tent in Regent’s Park began to take stock, it became increasingly clear that English art buyers were not coming out in force.