★ Frieze Masters

01Why it matters

Frieze Masters solved a commercial problem elegantly: most serious collectors buy across periods, and until 2012 London's October week gave them nowhere to do it. Putting the two fairs a shuttle ride apart means a visitor can look at a Roman bronze and a work made this year within an hour.

In our reading it is also the more pleasant of the two to spend a day in. It is quieter, the objects are older and stranger, and the crowd moves more slowly. For a visitor with one ticket and limited time, Masters usually rewards the afternoon more than Frieze London does.

02The week around it

Frieze Masters shares its week entirely with Frieze London, so the surrounding programme is the same: PAD London in Berkeley Square, 1-54 at Somerset House, and the October auctions at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips, whose free previews are directly relevant to this fair's audience. The Old Master and antiquities trade in St James's, along Bury Street, Duke Street and Ryder Street, opens its autumn shows to the week and is the natural extension of a Masters visit. The British Museum, the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection sit within the same afternoon's walk.

03When to arrive

The same rhythm as Frieze London: Tuesday night for a first-day card, Wednesday evening for the members' preview, Thursday afternoon or Friday morning on a general ticket. Masters is best seen in the morning, when the light in the tent is softest and the aisles are empty, so an early start is worth more here than at the contemporary fair.

04Where to stay

Because both tents sit in the same park, the advice matches Frieze London's: Marylebone for proximity, Mayfair and St James's for the galleries and auction houses that matter most to a Masters visitor, Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury for value and Tube access. The Masters entrance is closer to the Camden Town and Chalk Farm side of the park, so anyone spending most of their time there might reasonably look at Primrose Hill and Camden.

05Access and hospitality

One ticket admits to both fairs, sold on frieze.com by day, and the free shuttle between them runs roughly every fifteen minutes. The Wednesday is invitation only; Thursday morning is for Frieze Members and invitation holders with general admission from the afternoon; Friday to Sunday are public. Frieze publishes prices annually and they are not quoted here, and a Frieze membership is the published route to preview access for anyone without a dealer relationship. Auction previews in St James's and Mayfair are free and open.

06Where the social activity happens

The Masters tent has its own restaurant and bar, and because the fair is quieter these work better as meeting places than their equivalents at Frieze London. Outside, the centre of gravity for this audience is St James's rather than Mayfair proper: the galleries around Bury Street and Duke Street, the pubs and dining rooms off Jermyn Street, and the auction rooms on King Street and New Bond Street. Primrose Hill, immediately north of the entrance, is where people walk between appointments.

07Getting there

08Practicalities

09History

The fair launched in 2012 as Frieze's answer to TEFAF Maastricht, which had held a near-monopoly on the international historical trade since 1988. Its arrival was contested by London's established antiques and Old Master dealers, many of whom had built their year around Masterpiece London in June, and the two fairs competed for the same exhibitors until Masterpiece closed in 2023. The 2021 edition carried 132 exhibitors. Masters has generally run smaller than Frieze London and changes its sections more often.

10Who is there

Collectors who buy across periods, Old Master and antiquities specialists, museum curators and acquisition committees from European and American institutions, dealers from the St James's and Mayfair historical trade, and a Frieze London audience crossing over on the shared ticket. The mix skews older and more institutional than the contemporary fair's.