HAMPTONS FINE ART FAIR MARKS ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH AMERICA 250 TRIBUTES, CURATED EXHIBITIONS, AND OVER 130 INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES
The Hamptons Fine Art Fair returns to the Southampton Fairgrounds from July 9–12, 2026, celebrating its 20th anniversary with one of its most expansive editions to date. Bringing together more than 130 galleries and exhibitors from 10 countries across a 70,000-square-foot fairground campus, this year’s event features museum-quality historical presentations, blue-chip and contemporary art, large-scale sculpture, and a series of curated themed exhibitions exploring both American history and international contemporary practice.
Framing this year’s fair is a special focus on America 250, commemorating the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary through exhibitions that examine American identity, history, and artistic legacy. Greeting visitors at the entrance is one of the fair’s most significant presentations: “Liberty Enlightening the World”—a monumental bronze artist’s proof cast from Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s original plaster model for the Statue of Liberty. Presented by Modern Fine Art, the sculpture is one of the final available casts from the limited edition authorized by Paris’s Musée des Arts et Métiers, offering visitors a rare opportunity to encounter one of America’s most enduring symbols up close.
One of the fair’s headline attractions is “Dream Everything: The Shepard Fairey Exhibit,” a special presentation dedicated to the influential contemporary artist and activist. Best known for his iconic “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama and his OBEY Giant campaign, Fairey’s work explores themes of power, propaganda, social justice, and civic engagement. The exhibition highlights his signature graphic style while reinforcing the fair’s broader dialogue around American identity and contemporary culture.
Another major attraction is “Marilyn @ 100: The Hamptons Marilyn Monroe Centennial Tribute – ‘The Last Sitting™,'” presented by The Trust of Bert Stern. Marking the centennial of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, the exhibition features five iconic photographs from Stern’s legendary 1962 Vogue session—created only weeks before Monroe’s death. The photographs have become some of the most recognizable celebrity portraits in photography history, helping cement Monroe’s enduring cultural legacy while demonstrating Stern’s lasting influence on fashion and portrait photography.
The fair also turns its attention to postwar American art with “The Trailblazers of Hamptons Abstraction,” an exhibition celebrating the artists who helped establish the East End as one of the birthplaces of Abstract Expressionism. Featuring works from the 1950s through the 1970s, the presentation highlights the region’s lasting contribution to the evolution of modern American painting.
Additional themed presentations showcase a wide range of artistic practices and perspectives. Highlights include Bill Oest’s patriotic kinetic sculptures, Lucy Kent’s atmospheric landscapes in “Still Waters,” “Underneath the Deep,” “The Legacy of the French Masters,” a solo exhibition of painter Jake Berthot, the work of wildlife artist Alex Beard, Raul Barquet’s “Unlocking the Dream State,” “A World of Peace and Serenity from Vietnam,” intricate mandala sculptures by Ann Astoul, and “SALUTE 250: The American Dream,” reflecting on American identity through contemporary art.
Beyond its curated exhibitions, the Hamptons Fine Art Fair continues its tradition of bringing together leading galleries from around the world, offering collectors access to painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, glass, works on paper, and mixed media by both established and emerging artists. Outdoor sculpture installations, collector events, and VIP programming further reinforce the fair’s role as one of the East Coast’s premier summer art destinations.
Opening festivities begin on July 9 with the VIP First-Look Preview benefiting the Southampton Arts Center, followed by the evening VIP Preview and Red, White & Blue Party supporting the Parrish Art Museum. On July 10, the fair welcomes back its Young Collectors Party, bringing together members of museum patron groups and emerging collectors from institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum, The Frick Collection, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
Among this year’s gallery highlights, Mazlish Gallery will present a two-person exhibition featuring paintings by Imani Bilál alongside hand-welded figurative steel sculptures by The Untitled Magazine founder Indira Cesarine. Bringing together Bilál’s expressive abstraction and Cesarine’s sculptural practice, the presentation reflects the fair’s emphasis on contemporary artists working across diverse materials and visual languages.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Hamptons Fine Art Fair continues to solidify its place as one of the East Coast’s premier summer art destinations, bringing together historical masterworks, museum-quality exhibitions, and contemporary voices from around the world.
