Grace Hartigan (1922-2008), Wedding Day, 1965, Oil on canvas, 70 1/8 x 50 1/8 inches
More than 200 galleries have held back works that will only be unveiled to the public on the fair’s opening day
Today, as Art Basel opens to First Choice VIPs, almost 200 of the 232 galleries in the fair’s main section will unveil some surprise works as part of the new Basel Exclusive initiative: pieces omitted from the usual pre-fair preview PDFs and press announcements that have become ubiquitous.
One first-time Art Basel exhibitor is the New York-based gallery Berry Campbell, which has chosen for Exclusive a 1965 oil on canvas titled Wedding Day by the American Abstract Expressionist Grace Hartigan, priced at $750,000. Christine Berry, the gallery’s co-founder, says the initiative has piqued the interest of clients, “like going on a scavenger hunt. Who doesn’t love to find out a secret first-hand?” After all, Berry says, fairs today are “not only about the art, but the experience”.
— Anna Brady, The Art Newspaper
June 16, 2026
