“Print is a more democratic medium,” said Temma Nanas of Leslie Sacks Gallery, one of around 80 global galleries returning to the Park Avenue Armory for the annual fair. On Thursday night, April 9, well-dressed patrons marched into the Park Avenue Armory for the newly renamed International Fine Prints and Drawings Association’s (IFPDA) annual Print Fair that kicked off the city's spring fair season.

The fair, which started in 1991 and returns to the Upper East Side fortress, has become a favorite among the city's wealthy collectors and everyday print enthusiasts alike. IFPDA's atmosphere is far more intimate than its counterparts at the autumn art fairs, but another main draw is the comparatively lower pricing.

“I think there’s a comfort level with collectors,” Nanas said to Hyperallergic. “There's a place to find a price point that fits.”

With more than 80 galleries, print studios, and publishers from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, the fair is brimming with intriguing offerings from leading contemporary artists, including Julie Mehretu, David Hockney, and Yayoi Kusama. Visitors could pretend to be a member of NASA’s Artemis II crew by beholding Kiki Smith’s hand-painted watercolor, “Wooden Moon” (2022), at Boston-based Krakow Witkin Gallery's booth. The 12-foot-long work is her largest to date.

At the back of the armory, IFPDA President and Old Masters gallerist David Tunick’s inviting booth featuring Amedeo Modigliani’s “Cariatide Rouge sur Fond Noir” (c. 1914) and several delicate Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec works drew crowds. Toulouse-Lautrec’s “La Clownesse Assise” (1896) and the “Divan Japonais” (c. 1892) advertisement for a Parisian musical establishment, two of his most recognizable lithographs, transported onlookers to a romantic Montmartre cabaret.