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The Armory Show, The International Fair of New Art, is the largest contemporary art fair in New York, and one of the largest in the world. It originally started in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair, an art fair held in the rooms of the Gramercy Hotel in New York City, and was founded by four art dealers: Colin De Land, Pat Hearn, Matthew Marks and Paul Morris . The fair quickly outgrew its location and became The Armory Show in February 1999. It was first held at the 69th Regiment Armory , the site of the legendary Armory Show of 1913 that introduced Modern art to America and for which it was named, and is now held annually in Pier 94 on New York City’s west side. In 2007, The Armory Show was bought by Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.

The event, which lasts four days, has attracted crowds of up to 52,000 and reported sales of up to $85 million . Due to The Armory Show’s success, a number of smaller fairs follow the same schedule. This, in conjunction with other institutions that also schedule special events at the same time, have led to the term “Armory Week”.

Starting in 2002, The Armory Show has commissioned artists to provide visuals for the fair. These artists include Karen Kilimnik (2002), Barnaby Furnas (2003), Lisa Ruyter (2004), Jockum Nordström (2005), John Wesley (2006), Pipilotti Rist (2007), and John Waters and Mary Heilmann (2008). In 2006 The Armory Show began publishing an annual series of prints by the commissioned artists to benefit the Pat Hearn and Colin de Land Cancer Foundation and the Pat Hearn and Colin de Land Acquisition Fund at The Museum of Modern Art.

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