Established in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair by dealers Colin De Land, Pat Hearn, Lisa Spellman, Matthew Marks and Paul Morris, the annual fair is now held every fall for four days and attracts crowds of 65,000.

[4] Founded in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair, the first iteration of the fair was held in the rooms of the Gramercy Hotel in New York City by five art dealers: Colin De Land, Pat Hearn, Lisa Spellman, Matthew Marks and Paul Morris.

The opportunity to celebrate this revolution in American art and culture led The Armory Show to preserve its name despite venue changes.

[14] The Armory Show comprises five integrated sections presenting contemporary and modern art.

Past recipients include: Kapwani Kiwanga, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Xu Zhen, Liz Magic Laser, Theaster Gates, Gabriel Kuri, Susan Collis, Ewan Gibbs, Mary Heilmann and John Waters, Pipilotti Rist, John Wesley, Jockum Nordström, Lisa Ruyter, Barnaby Furnas, and Karen Kilimnik.