A BOLD EPOQUE FOR ART IN PARIS

Paris was crowned Europe's preeminent contemporary art capital in October, when the international jet set descended for the inaugural edition of the inelegantly named Paris+ par Art Basel fair. Paris was crowned Europe's preeminent contemporary art capital in October, when the international jet set descended for the inaugural edition of the inelegantly named Paris+ par Art Basel fair. Rich collectors, museum curators, journalists and the usual chic hangers-on swanned from gallery openings to museums in a (visual) orgy of cutting-edge exhibits that would've been unheard of just a decade ago. Paris's rise is often couched in the fall of post-Brexit London, but most art world denizens say it's not a zerosum game. London's art market is still robust. And recent museum shows in the British capital have been outstanding, including the Serpentine's exhibition of sculptor and poet Barbara Chase-Riboud's work (closing this month) and the National Gallery's Lucian Freud retrospective.