Asia Week New York got off to a great with its gala reception at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Due to the impending snowstorm, the question on everyone’s mind was whether to open or not. Auction houses scrambled to re-arrange their schedules, but many of the dealers decided to keep their doors open and carried on with business as usual despite the inclement weather.

Dr. Robert R. Bigler, here from Ruschlikon, Switzerland said:  "As we come from the land of cheese, chocolate and high mountains, this little winter episode does not really impress us." Dr. Bigler reported that he had several very interesting clients and curators.  “It was very worthwhile for us,” he said.

Gabriel Eckenstein of BachmannEckenstein JapaneseArt, another Swiss dealer from Basel, reported that he had 30 visitors that resulted in sales.

“Believe it or not, it has been wildly crazy today with drop-in clients who are typically too busy during the week and reside nearby, or curators and museum directors from out of town,” said Joan Mirviss of her eponymous Madison Avenue gallery. “It has been most worthwhile to be open today.” 

Francesca Galloway and Christine Ramphal braved the elements and opened their Pahari Paintings show. "We were delighted to find that there was a steady flow of visitors to our gallery," said Ms. Ramphal.

Michael C. Hughes reported that he had several museum curators and several clients stop by his gallery. “It was definitely beneficial to remain open today," he said.

“We were at our 82nd Street gallery at 10am sharp and had half a dozen intrepid visitors, including a curator,” said Brendan Lynch of Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd., Indian painting specialists from London. “I’m happy to report that we made four sales!”

Asia Week New York will continue through March 18.