(ENLARGE)

Embrace, the fine art fair organized by Mark Karelson in conjunction with the National Black Arts Festival, got a stellar report card for its inaugural run.

Dealers, who came from the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast, gave it uniformly high marks for professionalism, presentation and the quality of the work on view.

Underwhelming attendance, which totaled about 5,000, apparently did not dampen their enthusiasm; dealers don't expect huge profits at a first-time fair.

"When you go to a fair for the first time, you hope to break even," said Philadelphia dealer Ron Rumford, who estimates his expenses at $12,000 to $14,000.

Rather, they come to see how the fair is run and assess the potential market. Embrace passed muster.

"Mark's team was as good as any I've ever [worked with]," said B.E. Noel, a private dealer in New York.

She said Embrace's location, in Karelson's Mason Murer Gallery, has a leg up on most fairs Ñ such as New York's Ñ which are held in all-purpose exhibit halls. The gallery offered proper walls, spaces and lighting, an environment in which "the work looks its best," Noel said.

"There's a group of serious collectors here, people who travel, are knowledgeable and watch the market closely," Rumford says.

And they did buy. Some Atlanta collectors took home artwork priced in the five-figure range.

Karelson attributed the quality of the vendors to Drs. Savon and Jeff Hines and Greg Head, well-connected Atlanta collectors who went to bat for the fair and persuaded respected galleries to come. He attributes the low attendance to the fair's newness and a mere three months of lead time Ñ not enough time to market it effectively. Byrma Braham, a longtime dealer who is opening Avisca Fine Art in Marietta this month, suggested that it suffered from competition with other NBAF events.

Nevertheless, she says, "They created a solid foundation." She, like other dealers interviewed, plans to come back next year. They will perhaps be joined by some of the nonparticipating dealers who were seen scouting the fair, including one from Paris.

In fact, more than one commented that the challenge next year may be that too many apply to take part.

Patrons Savon and Jeff Hines (from left) join artist Benny Andrews and Karen Briggs, NBAF development director, at Embrace. About 5,000 people attended the fair.