Frieze London opens with million-dollar sellout and a £5m old master
Six paintings at more than US$1 million each sold out in a day.
That was the headline result for the gallery Gagosian at Frieze London 2026, which cleared all six recent oil paintings by German artist Albert Oehlen during the fair's preview day, according to The Art Newspaper. Preview day is the invitation-only opening when collectors get first pick before the public arrives.
The fair runs from 14 to 18 October 2026 in The Regent's Park in London, alongside its sister fair Frieze Masters for older art. This year's edition lists 172 exhibitors. Organisers also added VIP hours from 10am to 11am on Saturday, the first time weekend early access has been offered.
The biggest reported price of day one came from Frieze Masters. The gallery Hauser & Wirth sold a still life by Dutch painter Jan Brueghel the Elder for in the region of £5 million. It was described as the highest-priced work reported on the first day.
There was movement at lower prices too. The gallery Pace brought five large single-colour canvases by Brazilian artist Marina Perez Simão, priced at US$250,000 each. Nearly all had sold by the end of preview day.
The London gallery Lisson sold two paintings by Brazilian artist Dalton Paula for £50,000 each. Four more works were on reserve, a trade term for a sale that is promised but not yet finalised, priced from £50,000 to £150,000.
One buyer made two very different purchases. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, a collector from Abu Dhabi, bought a large painting by Anna Ruth from the gallery Grimm for £20,000. He also bought a wood-framed print by Polish artist Joanna Piotrowska for €24,000 from the gallery Phillida Reid.
What makes this stand out is the split in pace. Some collectors acted fast on large, expensive works. Others took longer to decide, a pattern dealers also noted at the 2025 fair.
Many in London will soon pack up for the next stop. Art Basel Paris 2026, the fair in Paris, is scheduled for 23 to 25 October 2026.
