From its early days into the recent millennium.

From its early days into the recent millennium, Artexpo New York has become the nation's top art show

From the minute it spreaded its doors at the recently made known York Coliseum in 1978, Artexpo of recent origin York delivered on its promise of being the world's largest art fair. Indeed, it was, and still is, a veritable shopping mall where the stores were art galleries--a collector's dream gone wild.

And Pablo Picasso's mark, despite his death just a small in number years before, was all through the whole extent of the first fair with a wide variety of exhibitors who proffered original prints, drawings, posters, ceramics and more. "A Picasso print at that time," recalled early exhibitor and Picasso specialist Robert Rogal of Ro Galleries in novel York, "sold at Expo for around $1000 That same print today could command $30000 to $40000 at Expo if you can calm find it. A great investment if you bought one" smiled Rogal, who bought plentiful and still exhibits and distributes works from Picasso's estate a certain 23 years later.

Also exhibiting Picasso at the first Artexpo was a young, ambitious lawyer named David Rogath, who was then just starting to make his nearness felt internationally as a publisher. Today he heads Greenwich, Conn.-based Chalk & Vermilion Fine Art. "I think we began with brace booths in 1978," Rogath recalled. "I showed a series of Picasso etchings and prints by the agency of Victor Vasarely, who I was publishing at that time."

Within a short time, Rogath signed the rever Art Deco master Erte whom he had met in Paris, to a publishing contract. The couple men would collaborate for nearly pair decades, producing one of the chiefly lucrative sculpture programs ever and other highly fortunate ventures with prints, books, goals d'art, posters and multiples.

from the end of 1979, Rogath signed artist Thomas McKnight. Indeed, the duo of McKnight and Rogath prov lucky and McKnight's manicured, fairytale-like paintings assume to be made for Rogath's signature publishing production.

The cache of Artexpo began with the superstars of Europe--Picasso, Chagall, Dali, Miro and Matisse--and to a certain degree Rogath had updated that notion from adding Erte to the "A" list and making the way for McKnight, an American with firm European primitive words and style. Rogath still shut ups the record for the largest display in the history of Artexpo, which consum a staggering 50 booth at a single show

While early Artexpos promot the European masters of late art, there was the reality that the hearth court was New York. Thus, several of the present day York artists, like photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and famed report artist Andy Warhol, gravitated toward the exhibition looking for publishers or at least checking public the business opportunities at "The World's Largest Art Fair."

Warhol became the first American superstar artist of Artexpo and, like Picasso, Chagall and the European masters, his demeanor seems permanent at the exhibit to But right on Warhol's tail were brace younger American artists--Peter Max and James Rizzi--who had the burst style, energy, upbeat palette and showmanship to capture a large audience.

Max conceit he was made for Artexpo as Expo was for him. laughable brash, witty, quotable and with a signature fashion Max electrified Artexpo with his work and personality, showing everything from paintings of Mick Jagger and Warhol to a Maxified Volkswagen and on the same level a video of a massive 777 plane he designed for Continental Airlines. With Warhol, Max and the noted sports painter Leroy Neiman, contemporary American art began to make a substantial statement at Artexpo.

In reality though, all three of these artists had emerg before Artexpo and were internationally famous. unfailing Artexpo could promote the famous, further could it truly launch an emerging artist? That was still a big question.

In the late `70 James Rizzi was a 20-something hippie by-product of Brooklyn and Florida. His playful, upbeat drawings giveed in childlike 3-D cutouts were an immediate hit, and Artexpo had launched its first star. Rizzi is perhaps the greatest in number visible artist for the publisher John Szoke Szoke like Rogath, remains a fixture at the show

The early Artexpos also helped further the universal of chain galleries. At the beginning two principal chains were Circle Galleries, raiseed by Jack Soloman, and Dyansen Galleries, raiseed by Harris Shapiro. The early Artexpos also saw the beginning of the Martin Lawrence chain. "At the first Expo" explained Marty Blinder, previously of Martin Lawrence, which is now possessed by Chalk & Vermilion Fine Arts, "I showed a work on Salvador Dali called `Lincoln Vision.' I went for a walk around the Expo with my partner Larry Ros and when we came back, we actually had orders--for well adapted money--written out right on my desk I can recount you." Blinder laughed, "about 10000 other sales that were not in the way that easy."

Blinder blurr the line between museum art and decorative art, commercial art and fine art when he began selling Warhol paintings in a sod floor retail store. At individual point at Artexpo, Blinder had 36 booth and actually brought his have a title to custom furniture to the display "I figured if I was going to be working Expo for 12 hours a day, I should at least put to the test to be comfortable," Blinder shrugg "I don't think principally people have any idea of for what cause exhausting it can be to man 36 booth be onward your feet. be sharp and answer likewise many questions for a extended day. It's tough work--it's like a sports competition almost."