'The booth of London-based gallery Lyndsey Ingram evokes a room where Matisse might have drawn an odalisque, complete with antique wooden chairs, side tables, and a bowl of dahlias. On the dark walls hang 22 etchings made by Matisse himself, largely from a remarkable burst of virtuoso draughtsmanship in 1929.
The etchings were originally collected by the art dealer John Kasmin, who once displayed them in his stairwell. Over past five decades, Kasmin—who is best known for championing the work of his friend David Hockney—has embraced contemporary art, artifacts from Ancient Egypt, Oceania, and Greece, as well as Indian sculpture and etchings by Goya and Rembrandt. He will be giving a master class in cross-collecting at the fair on July 3 in conversation with the art critic Martin Gayford.
Matisse was also an eclectic collector, famously snapping up domestic vessels, African sculpture, Asian calligraphy, as well as textiles and ornate furniture, many of which appeared in his paintings, drawings, and etchings. At Masterpiece, Kasmin’s Matisse etchings are priced between £14,000 and £28,000 ($18,000 and $36,000). One had sold at a patron’s event ahead of preview day.'