London’s calling

ONLY a few years ago it seemed that Cork Street, W1, for so long home to London’s modern and contemporary art galleries, was doomed to go the same way as neighbouring Bond Street, where art and antiques were largely being supplanted by fashion. West End rents and the establishment of major international contemporary-art businesses away from Mayfair, like superstores on ring roads, already threatened the Cork St dealers and, when major redevelopment began, their time seemed to be up.

Several, as had others in the Bond Street area, relocated