The Society of London Art Dealers Ltd

Founded in 1932, The Society of London Dealers Ltd is a not-for-profit organisation for enhancing public confidence in responsible fine art dealing. Today it has 185 members throughout the UK who have been carefully vetted for their business integrity and art expertise.

Hiro, Balenciaga, ‘Four Sided Dress’, 1967. © Hiro
Hamiltons Gallery
Pier Leone Ghezzi (1674 – Rome – 1755) “Paolo de Matteis in his studio”
Oil on canvas, 39.5 x 29.5 cm
Trinity Fine Art Ltd

Membership

Membership of the Society is open to UK registered Art Market Participants (AMP’s) engaged in the sale of all forms of the fine arts. Membership covers a wide range of disciplines within the fine arts but is restricted to companies invited and/or vetted by the Executive Committee. To be considered for membership a dealer must have been in business for at least three years and be prepared to sign a written undertaking to comply with all relevant regulations, for example Anti Money Laundering, and uphold the Society’s Code of Ethics*.

Installation view: ‘Yinka Shonibare CBE RA: Free The Wind, The Spirit, and The Sun’,
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London (2023). Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York.
Photo by Mark Blower.
Stephen Friedman Gallery

Activities

The Society represents the interests of its members in discussions with the UK government and other professional bodies on art trade issues. These include Anti Money Laundering regulations, VAT legislation, import and export regulations for art works and Artist’s Resale Rights. We facilitate access to professional advice on taxation and legal matters including training on, for example, Anti Money Laundering. We commission template documents on, for example, Terms & Conditions of Sale. We publish a quarterly newsletter and arranges webinars for members on key issues of the day, for example, Blockchain Technology.

Barbara Hepworth, Curved Stone with Yellow, 1946, white stone with one face painted yellow
Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert

Cooperation with other organisations

The Society is a founder member of the British Art Market Federation (BAMF) which was set up in 1996 to represent the interests of the art trade in discussion with the government and other bodies. The Society also cooperates closely with its sister organisations, The British Antique Dealers Association (BADA) and the Association of Art and Antique Dealers (LAPADA), with whom it has regular discussions on a wide range of matters.

DAVID HOCKNEY, OM, CH, RA (b.1937). Self-Portrait, July 1986
21 ¾ x 8 ½ in (27.6 x 21.3 cm)
Christopher Kingzett Fine Art

International

The Society is a member of the Federation of European Art Galleries Associations (FEAGA). It also has close relations with the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) and with the French Syndicat des Antiquaires.

The world Columbus knew – Ptolemy’s Second Projection, and the first map signed by its author.
PTOLEMAEUS, Claudius; translated by ANGELUS, Jacobus, and edited by Nicolaus GERMANUS. Cosmographia. Ulm, Lienhart Holle, 16 July 1482.
Daniel Crouch Rare Books Ltd

Website

The Society runs an up to date website at www.slad.org.uk giving details of all its member firms with direct links to their own websites listing the names of the artists they deal in and in many cases details of items of stock, upcoming exhibitions etc.

DEALER SEARCH

Executive committee

The business and affairs of the Society are governed by an Executive Committee elected from the membership.

Committee members

Special advisers

  • Julian Agnew

  • Lady Angela Nevill

  • Patrick Bourne

  • The Hon Michael Tollemache

  • Sir Thomas Lighton

  • Johnny Van Haeften