DALLAS, TX.- The second annual Dallas Art Fair presented by Veuve Clicquot will return to the city on Friday, February 5 through Sunday, February 7, 2010. A preview Gala will be held on Thursday evening, February 4, benefiting Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. From mid-morning to early evening over the three days of the fair, visitors may visit and purchase art from renowned art dealers and experts from across the United States and Great Britain.

Celebrating modern and contemporary art, the 2010 Dallas Art Fair will showcase paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photographs from post war artists represented by more than 50 prominent art dealers. Galleries that will be joining the 2010 Dallas Art Fair for the first time include Babcock Galleries, New York; D’Amelio Terras, New York; Hedge, San Francisco; Modern Art, London; and Timothy Taylor Gallery, London.

Among the returning galleries are Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco; Dunn and Brown Contemporary, Dallas; Edlin Gallery, New York; James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe; Jason McCoy, Inc., New York; John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco; Lora Reynolds Gallery, Austin; Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, New York; and William Shearburn Gallery, St. Louis.

Artists scheduled to be exhibited include Carl Andre, Charles Burchfield, John Chamberlain, Stuart Davis, Tom Friedman, Adam Fuss, Philip Guston, Donald Moffet, Man Ray, Bruce Nauman, Cornelia Parker, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Cy Twombly, and George Widener.

Located at the Fashion Industry Gallery (f.i.g.), within walking distance of world-class cultural institutions of the Dallas Arts District including the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Meyerson Symphony Center and the newly-opened AT&T Performing Arts Center, this event will again draw established and aspiring art collectors and enthusiasts from throughout the Southwest.

“The positive response the galleries had to participating in and being part of the first Dallas Art Fair was underlined by their cultivation of new patrons,” said Chris Byrne, co-founder of the Dallas Art Fair and noted art dealer. “Testimony to the success is the great number of returning galleries along with spectacular new additions. Dallas is a vibrant cultural center and important galleries want to be a part of the burgeoning art community here.”

Along with co-founder and Brook Partners CEO John Sughrue, Byrne envisioned giving those attending the 2009 fair an experience usually found at Art Basel Miami or London’s Frieze Art Fair. Over 5,500 people attended the inaugural Dallas Art Fair event.

“I was delighted that the community embraced the Dallas Art Fair as much as they did. It was a defining moment in the Dallas art scene and we are confident that the 2010 event will be an even greater success. The Dallas Arts District has become an international cultural destination due to the excitement and support Dallas has given us and cultural centers such as the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center and the AT&T Performing Arts Center,” said John Sughrue.

The Dallas Art Fair will once again host an art-centric Symposium Series, with scheduled presentations on Saturday and Sunday. The two-day event, “Finding Frida,” will bring together an international panel of experts to debate the authenticity of the Noyola collection of approximately 1,200 drawings, journals, letters, paintings and other items whose owners maintain they are handmade by Frida Kahlo, but which others have denounced as fakes. The panel also will present an overview of the methods and challenges of authenticating newly discovered art works. Admission to each symposium is included with the purchase of a Dallas Art Fair ticket.

On Thursday evening prior to the official Friday morning opening, the preview Gala will give art patrons an exclusive opportunity to view and purchase art before the event opens to the public.

A limited number of 2010 Dallas Art Fair VIP tickets are available at $400 each. In addition to a three-day pass to the Dallas Art Fair and a ticket to the Preview Gala, benefits include invitations to the Dallas Art Fair Sponsor and VIP reception hosted by Neiman Marcus Downtown January 20 and a private cocktail reception February 5 at The Goss Michael Foundation, a reception in Houston hosted by media sponsor PaperCity January 5, one reserved seat at the Saturday and Sunday Dallas Art Fair Symposiums, a semi-private tour of the Fair personally guided group tour of the show prior to opening on Friday morning, and more.

Dallas Art Fair tickets are $20 per person per day which includes an exhibitor program. Guests can also purchase a 3-day pass for $40 per person. Special ticket prices are available for students, seniors (62+) and groups (10+).