Frieze London 2026: a busier, broader fair under the Regent's Park trees

Every October, two giant tents rise in Regent's Park, and for five days London's art world reorganises itself around them. This year's edition of Frieze London and Frieze Masters closed on 18 October. By the organisers' count, it was one of the liveliest in years.

Who came

The fairs welcomed 95,000 visitors from 108 countries and regions. Frieze also says a record number of institutions sent representatives: 426 of them, from 51 countries and regions. Visitors from India and China more than doubled compared with 2025. There were increases from Hong Kong, Korea, the UAE and Brazil too, alongside a rise from the US and Canada. After several years of talk about London losing its pull, those numbers tell a different story.

What sold

Sales were reported at every level. At the top end, David Zwirner placed new paintings by Michaël Borremans ($1.5 million) and Dana Schutz ($900,000). Hauser & Wirth sold Avery Singer's Solver (v.3) for $800,000. Pace sold out a booth of new paintings by Marina Perez Simão. Sprüth Magers placed Kara Walker's The Second Thanksgiving (2025) with a US collection for $400,000.

The more telling stories came from the edges. In the Focus section for younger galleries, several presentations sold out within hours of opening. First-time exhibitor Chemould CoLab placed three large textile works by Jayeeta Chatterjee, and the largest went to an Indian institution. At the entrance, Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel sold out its booth of Márcia Falcão's paintings on opening day.

Across the park, centuries in conversation

Frieze Masters makes the case that old art belongs in the same conversation as new. Hauser & Wirth sold Jan Brueghel the Elder's Still Life of Flowers in a Stoneware Vase (c. 1607–08) for around £5 million. In a section on queer modernism, four paintings by Alice Neel sold for $1.6–1.8 million each. Dealers in Asian art reported serious new collectors from India. One example: a second-century Kushan sandstone sculpture sold for more than $1 million.

The takeaway

Two threads stand out. First, textiles and craft-rooted practices keep moving to the centre of the contemporary conversation, from Chatterjee's hangings to ceramics by Ken Price and Gwyn Hanssen Pigott at Frieze Masters. Second, the audience is now truly global. That breadth is good news for anyone who loves art because it rewards curiosity, not just big names.

If the season has you thinking about your own walls, start the way the best booths did: pick one strong colour story, like autumn golds and terracotta, and let a few pieces talk to each other.