Phillips (auctioneers)

Phillips de Pury & Company is a London beheimatetes auction house specializing in Contemporary Art, Photography, Design of the 20th - and 21st centuries, as well as jewelry. Phillips has offices in New York City, Berlin, Paris, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, Brussels, Buenos Aires, and Geneva. The sale of the house be performed in London, New York and Geneva. In addition, Phillips offers private sales and consulting services, for example in the construction of private art collections.

History

The auction house was founded in 1796 in London the young entrepreneur Harry Phillips. Phillips had previously left Christie's after James Christie had refused him an increase in his salary. During his time at " Christie's ", he married Sarah Mitchell, with whom he had three children. His youngest son, William Augustus, should later continue to run the company.

Little is known about the origin of Harry Phillips, not even about where he had his good contacts with the aristocracy. In its first year, he managed to conduct 12 auctions and win well-known clients of Christie's for his house. He also introduced new methods of customer loyalty in his house one, including elaborate receptions on the eve of an auction - now an integral part of the sale. Thanks to his business acumen and skillful self-representation Harry Phillips quickly gained the trust of the British aristocracy, entrepreneurial success was immediate. Quick, he was able to conduct auctions for outstanding personalities of his time, including Napoleon and Beau Brummel. When Harry Phillips died in 1840, he bequeathed to his son William Augustus, a strong and thriving company.

William changed in 1879 the name of the house to " Messrs Phillips & Son " In 1882 this was again, after his stepson William Frederick made ​​to " Phillips, Son & Neale " to a shareholder. This name was retained until the 1970s to finally return back to the First and perform auctions as " Phillips " under the ownership of Christopher Weston and Christopher Hawkings. In the following three decades, the company aims to achieve a reputation as a training center of art experts and antiquarians. For many employees Phillips was considered a stepping stone to later find employment at Christie's or Sotheby's, where a generally higher conversion was achieved and therefore there was a prospect of a lucrative income. This meant that customers preferred to auction their most valuable pieces at Christie's and Sotheby's, since it was known that many of the best experts of Phillips had already come across in these houses. Nevertheless, we succeeded Phillips especially in antiques build an excellent reputation and to revive this market again. The main reason is that Phillips perceived by the customers of this division as accessible and open than the perceived for some as intimidating houses of Christie 's and Sotheby's. 1999 Christopher Weston sold its majority stake in the holding company 3i, which made the operations of Phillips profitable and shortly thereafter its share for a substantial profit at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton sold. LVMH appointed the art dealer Simon de Pury and Daniella Luxembourg for management, prompting a renaming of the company in Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg took place.

After a series of loss-making shops Simon de Pury took over the majority of the shares of the company and a limited business model. The newly formed company Phillips de Pury & Company is now mainly active on the modern art and contemporary art field. In October 2008 the company was bought by the Russian group of investors Mercury, which is led by Leonid Friedland and Leonid Strunin. To acquire the majority of the shares, Mercury had to pay an estimated total of $ 60 million. The realignment and specialization of the business unit was a success, the company operates profitably since then and is in a steady growth.

Simone de Pury chairman resigned on December 21, 2012. The company announced plans to change from January 2013 back to the previous name of Phillips.

Board and Advisory Committee

Manager

  • Michael McGinnis

Advisory Committee

  • Maria Bell
  • Janna Bullock
  • Lisa Eisner
  • Lapo Elkann
  • Ben Elliot
  • Lady Elena Foster
  • H.I.H. Francesca von Habsburg
  • Marc Jacobs
  • Ernest Mourmans
  • Aby Rosen
  • Christiane zu Salm
  • Gloria of Thurn and Taxis
  • Jean -Michel Wilmotte
  • Anita Zabludowicz
Types of business entity Chief Executive Officer Beau Brummell Privately held company Juergen Teller Jean-Michel Wilmotte
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