Rich pickings

Forget London, Paris and New York. For any serious collector of art and antiques there is just one unmissable event: The European Fine Art Fair at Maastricht. No one could have predicted 20 years ago that this once modest fair in a small Dutch town few had heard of before the eponymous treaty would become the greatest art and antiques fair in the world. Against all the odds — not least the unbeguiling ring-road venue of the town’s conference centre (not a natural habitat for the international über rich) — it has established itself as the pre-eminent professional marketplace. Unlike all its glamorous counterparts, this event has nothing to do with being seen, charitable good works or bella figura. It is a place where business is done. And business is done on an epic scale. This year (March 9–18), one dealer claimed he had sold $20 million worth of art on the opening night alone; another sold over $11 million worth during the course of the fair.