British Art Fair Director Gay Hutson asks us what’s next for British art.

If you ask someone to name the great figures of British art, they tend to repeat the same names: Hockney, Hepworth, Raleigh, Bacon. Their importance is indisputable. However, these names have come to represent a broader, more diverse, and more complex story.

British art is by no means limited to a handful of famous people or the familiar hierarchy of modern masters and stars. It has been shaped by painters, sculptors, ceramists, photographers, and even artists working with new technologies. The question now is not simply who will be the next Hockney, but whether our thinking about British art is broad enough to recognize where the most interesting work is already being made.

This question is important because, contrary to appearances, art history is never settled. The Society of Contemporary Art, founded in 1910, says it has donated more than 10,500 works by 3,000 artists to British museums. A recent yearbook recorded 130 works by 42 artists that were acquired by 31 museums in 2025-2026, valued at £1.2 million. Obviously, public collections are still being built, modified, and reloaded.

One of the most encouraging developments in recent years is the growing willingness to rethink artists and movements outside established norms. Museum exhibitions, new scholarship, and the work of specialized dealers are drawing new attention to artists whose reputations did not always match the quality or importance of their work.

At British Art Fair, that breadth can be seen in the same room. The line-up ranges from 20th century figures such as Frank Auerbach, Barbara Hepworth, LS Lowry, Henry Moore and Bridget Riley to contemporary figures, allowing visitors to see British art not as a series of isolated reputations, but as a living conversation across generations.

That’s part of the story, but it’s not just about rediscovering the market. It’s a chance to take another look at who was ignored, whose work didn’t suit the tastes of the times, whose careers were interrupted or overshadowed, and which artists suffered because they worked outside established centers of influence.

The answer is not always a comfortable one. The history of British art is full of artists, particularly women, local practitioners, and artists who resisted easy categorization, and whose work did not receive the attention it deserved. Reexamining them is necessary to correct an incomplete picture.

The same instinct should shape our approach to contemporary art. There is pressure on up-and-coming artists to arrive with a ready-made identity. The market likes descriptive names and clear narratives. But artists often take even longer to develop. The most interesting jobs are not always immediately legible, and the most important careers rarely follow a straight line.

That’s why a focused platform is so important. Spotlight: Contemporary at British Art Fair gives individual artists and their galleries room to showcase their practices in more depth, rather than as just another name in a crowded line-up. Pippa El-Kady Brown, Marlene Hartmann Rasmussen and Bethany Holmes point to a wide range of contemporary British practices, from paintings shaped by memory, dream logic and atmosphere, to narrative sculptures rooted in folklore, landscape and mythology.

Digital practices will also be part of that conversation. Our ‘Spotlight: Digitalism’ section highlights digital works created or exhibited in the UK, not as a fashionable addition, but as part of a long history of artists testing the tools of their time. For British art to remain vital, we need to make space for paintings and sculptures, crafts and photographs, and works that exist through cords and screens.

None of this means that British art is a closed or parochial category. Britain has always had international connections and artists working in the UK today draw from a very wide range of cultural influences. However, the public’s understanding of ‘British art’ may still be narrow. The challenge is not a lack of talent. Rather, it’s about making sure your talent has the space, support, and visibility to grow.

The practical pressures are real. The Guardian’s 2024 report on studio provision in the UK cites research by Acme which showed that only 12 per cent of London artists surveyed were able to make a living solely from their practice, and nearly one in three doubted whether they would be able to continue working professionally within five years. Studio costs, unstable incomes, and extensive living expenses shape not only the artists’ lives, but the art that audiences ultimately see.

Trade shows, collectors, dealers, museums and charities all have a role to play here. Our work at this year’s UK Art Fair, including an exhibition on midlife and late-life creativity with PensionBee and a showcase with our charity partner Outside In) It shows the different kinds of infrastructure artists need: gallery advocacy, public visibility, professional support, and pathways for marginalized people into the art world.

Our partnership with Outside In is particularly important. This national charity supports artists who face significant barriers to the art world due to health, disability, social circumstances or isolation. The fair will celebrate its 20th anniversary with “Into the Woods,” an exhibition of works created on paper, canvas, and wood by Manuel Bonifacio, Drew Fox, Jasna Nikolić, and Sara Rivers. The participation of these artists is more than just a bonus to the fair. This is a reminder that if we are to take serious account of British art, we need to ask who is admitted.

The same principle applies to collecting. A healthy art world depends on curiosity. The advice I give to anyone looking to start a collection is simple. Please do not collect names. Gather ideas. The work that sticks in your mind may not be the work of the artist that everyone is talking about. It may not be listed in the auction headline. But if it continues to reward your attention, there’s probably something worth investigating.

This does not mean giving up judgment. Provenance, condition, and context are very important. Buyers should ask questions and seek professional advice. However, the best collections have a unique perspective, so your collection should not just follow trends. They create connections across time and media. Overlooked 20th century and contemporary artists. A picture next to a pottery piece. In addition to what I acquired after many years of research, I also made some small purchases.

So what happens next? I suspect the answer is not one dominant movement, one trending vehicle, or one anointed generation. The future of British art will probably be more pluralistic and more interesting than that.

The next artists we have come to consider essential may be working outside the established spotlight, in a medium that the market has not yet fully embraced, or away from London and the usual centers of attention. They may be artists we have overlooked.

That possibility is not a weakness of British art. That’s one of our strengths. Despite all the uncertainties surrounding the cultural sector, this remains an unusually rich moment. Important works are being reevaluated, new generations are finding their voices and a wider range of artists are challenging our assumptions about what British art is. The story is still far from complete. And perhaps that’s the most encouraging thing.

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