Phillips de Pury

Phillips de Pury
Name	Phillips de Pury
Birth date	1965
Birth place	London, England
Occupation	Auctioneer, Art Dealer, Gallerist
Years active	1980s–present

Phillips de Pury is a British-born auctioneer and art dealer known for founding contemporary art salesrooms and commercial galleries that influenced the international art market. He has been associated with major auction houses, high-profile collectors, and commercial exhibitions across London, New York, Geneva, and Los Angeles. His career intersects with major figures and institutions in the contemporary and modern art worlds.

Early life and education

Born in London in 1965, he grew up amid postwar British cultural shifts that involved figures such as David Bowie, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Lucian Freud, and Francis Bacon. He attended schools where alumni include names like Rupert Murdoch, Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, Margaret Thatcher, and later pursued studies linked to institutions associated with Courtauld Institute of Art, Central Saint Martins, Royal College of Art, and Goldsmiths, University of London. Early exposure involved visits to institutions such as the Tate Modern, National Gallery, Saatchi Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, and auction rooms of Sotheby's and Christie's.

Career and Phillips de Pury & Company

He began his career at established houses, working alongside departments that connected with auctioneers and dealers like Phillips, Sotheby's, and Christie's while engaging with collectors such as Charles Saatchi, Eli Broad, François Pinault, David Geffen, and Paul Allen. In 1999 he founded an eponymous firm that staged sales integrating contemporary practices associated with artists like Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Gerhard Richter, and Cindy Sherman. The company expanded internationally with salesrooms and galleries in cities that include New York City, London, Geneva, and Los Angeles, and collaborated with institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Guggenheim Museum, Serpentine Gallery, and Tate Modern.

Auctioneering notable sales and clients

His auctioneering career involved consignments and sales that featured works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Egon Schiele, and Mark Rothko, and later focused on contemporary names like Banksy, Ai Weiwei, Kara Walker, Richard Prince, and Takashi Murakami. High-profile clients included collectors and institutions such as Leon Black, Steven A. Cohen, Magnus Resch, J. Paul Getty Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and corporate collections like Deutsche Bank and UBS. He conducted specialist sales that intersected with events like Art Basel, Frieze Art Fair, TEFAF, FIAC, and Armory Show, often attracting coverage connected to publications including The New York Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and ARTnews.

Business ventures and partnerships

Beyond auction rooms, he developed gallery projects and commercial partnerships with dealers and curators linked to Marian Goodman Gallery, Gagosian Gallery, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Pace Gallery. He launched ventures that involved advisory relationships with collectors and family offices such as Rothschild family, Sackler family, Bloomsbury Publishing, and media partners including Time Warner and Condé Nast. Strategic collaborations placed him in networks with investment firms and service providers like Goldman Sachs, Lazard, Christie’s International plc, and logistics firms associated with DHL and FedEx for international transport of artworks.

Controversies and legal issues

His career attracted scrutiny around commercial practices, spurring disputes that involved collectors, creditors, and former partners and intersected with legal practitioners and jurisdictions including High Court of Justice (England and Wales), New York Supreme Court, Swiss courts, and regulatory bodies tied to HM Revenue and Customs and Internal Revenue Service. Public controversies engaged media outlets such as BBC News, The Telegraph, Bloomberg, Reuters, and Vanity Fair. Disputes touched on consignment terms, authenticity debates involving experts from institutions like Kunsthaus Zürich and provenance issues linked to collections with histories involving Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, and postwar restitution cases similar to those heard in contexts like the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art.

Personal life and philanthropy

In private life he has been associated with cultural philanthropy, supporting exhibitions and programs at organizations like Tate Modern, Frieze Foundation, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and charities including Amnesty International, UNICEF, British Red Cross, and local arts education initiatives connected to Royal Academy of Arts and National Portrait Gallery. His social and professional circles include collectors, curators, critics, and artists connected to galleries, auction houses, and museums across Europe, United States, and Switzerland. He has participated in panels, lectures, and benefit auctions alongside figures from institutions such as Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, Oxford University, and Cambridge University.

Category:British art dealers Category:Auctioneers