Phillips de Pury & Company

Phillips de Pury & Company
Anthony O'Neil · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Name	Phillips de Pury & Company
Industry	Auction house
Founded	1999
Founder	Simon de Pury, Daniella Luxembourg
Headquarters	New York City

Phillips de Pury & Company is a contemporary art auction house and commercial gallery founded in 1999 that operated auction rooms and private sales across New York City, London, and Zurich. The firm specialized in postwar and contemporary art, design, photography, and editions, engaging with collectors, institutions, and estates. Its activities intersected with major figures and organizations in the art market such as Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Gagosian, David Zwirner, and Pace Gallery.

History

The enterprise emerged from the careers of auctioneer Simon de Pury and art dealer Daniella Luxembourg amid the late-1990s expansion of the global art market influenced by events like the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and economic trends following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Early operations connected with collectors and museums including the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum, and Whitney Museum of American Art, while participating in fairs such as Art Basel, Frieze Art Fair, and TEFAF Maastricht. Throughout the 2000s the firm opened salesrooms and showrooms in neighborhoods linked to the market, near Chelsea (Manhattan), Mayfair, and Zurich. The company’s evolution mirrored structural shifts experienced by Christie's and Sotheby's during sales volatility in the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recovery.

Ownership and Leadership

Founders included Simon de Pury, an auctioneer who had previously worked at Sotheby's, and Daniella Luxembourg, associated with galleries and institutions like the Israel Museum. Ownership changed when private equity and investment interests such as those tied to Eurazeo and collectors in Saudi Arabia and China became active in the global market. Leadership teams featured executives who had moved between firms including Phillips (auction house), Bonhams, Christie's, and gallery principals from Hauser & Wirth. Key board members and advisors included figures connected to the International Council of Museums and trustees from institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Gallery, London.

Operations and Business Model

The firm operated auction rooms, private sales, and galleries, offering categories spanning postwar art, contemporary art, photography, design, and prints. Its business model combined curated evening and day sales with private treaty transactions resembling practices at Gagosian Gallery and Sotheby's Contemporary Art Department. Operations relied on provenance research connected to collections such as The Phillips Collection and archival materials comparable to those used by curators at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Logistics partnerships were formed with specialists who had worked with institutions like Tate Modern and MoMA PS1 for shipping, conservation, and cataloguing. The house engaged in international marketing campaigns timed with fairs including Art Basel Miami Beach, FIAC, and Art Basel to attract buyers from regions such as Russia, China, and United Arab Emirates.

Notable Auctions and Sales

Sales included high-profile lots from estates and collections once associated with collectors like Peggy Guggenheim, Gertrude Stein, and patrons linked to museums such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Several auctions offered works by artists who achieved market prominence alongside those sold at Christie's and Sotheby's, with comparable marquee results to sales of pieces by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francis Bacon, and Lucian Freud. The house staged sales featuring photography comparable to collections auctioned at WestLicht Photographica Auction and design sales referencing objects in the Victoria and Albert Museum and Cooper Hewitt. Private treaty transactions and single-owner sales involved estates represented by firms similar to Sotheby's Contemporary Art and galleries like Hauser & Wirth.

Artists and Estates Represented

Phillips de Pury & Company conducted auctions and private sales for artists and estates including those of Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Anish Kapoor, and Marcel Duchamp-adjacent collections. The house engaged with photographers and designers whose archives align with holdings at the International Center of Photography, Centre Pompidou, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Estate management and representation practices referenced precedents set by institutions like the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat and agencies such as the Artists Rights Society.

Controversies and Legal Issues

The company’s operations intersected with market controversies common to the auction world, including disputes over provenance, restitution claims related to works displaced during wartime similar to cases handled by the Terezin Declaration frameworks and litigations resembling those before the New York Supreme Court or High Court of Justice in London. Legal challenges also mirrored disputes involving Christie's and Sotheby's over valuation, export licenses comparable to rulings by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, and authenticity controversies like high-profile cases heard at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Public scrutiny included media coverage in outlets akin to The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Art Newspaper.

Category:Auction houses