Polaroid Wall, Dash Snow (2005) all images via Phillips de Pury

This week we have been reporting on the Post-War and Contemporary evening sales in New York and last night Art Observed was on site at the final auction of the week – a smaller, more boutique event at Phillips de Pury in the meatpacking district of the city overlooking the celebrated Highline railway and Hudson River that was overseen by Simon de Pury himself.  Unlike the multi-million totals achieved at Sotheby’s and Christie’s Contemporary evening sales, Phillip’s modest sale brought in a grand total of $7,099,250, within the pre-sale estimate of $5.8 – $8.4million.

Ice Bucket, Jeff Koons (1986) sold under estimate $230,500

More text, images and related after the jump…..
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Simon de Pury DJing at the opening of his exhibition ‘PUREPURYGRAPHY’ in Berlin via Interview

Auctioneer Simon de Pury of Phillips de Pury & Company has stepped out from behind the rostrum and into the role of exhibiting artist at a show this fall at the upscale clothing store The Corner Berlin in Berlin’s fashionable Mitte district. The exhibition is comprised of 40 large-scale photographs taken by de Pury on his various travels, under the title ‘PUREPURYGRAPHY.’ Another 400 photographs are included in the accompanying catalogue. The photographs range wildly in subject matter and style, touching on luxury brands, contemporary art, urban architecture, and nature. At the opening of the exhibition, de Pury, who said his “ultimate musical hero is Prince,” DJed a mix of 80s hits and power pop, a night given the title of PUREPURYPOP, which Interview called ‘a blissful Bar Mitzvah-style bash.‘

PUREPURYGRAPHY
DJ Da Pury is in da Berlin house [The Art Newspaper]
A First Time for Everything [Interview]
Simon de Pury Exhibits Photos, Spins Turntables [Lindsay Pollack]
In the Air: Star Ambitions [Artinfo]
The Talented Mr. de Pury [Luxury Culture]
Purepurygraphy, Berlin [Harper's Bazaar]
The art market: The talented Mr De Pury [Financial Times]
Best Link Ever! It’s Hammertime for Simon de Pury! [Art Fag City]

Simon de Pury’s ‘Multiple Choice.’ via PUREPURYGRAPHY

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200 One Dollar Bills, Andy Warhol

Last night’s Postwar and Contemporary Sale at Sotheby’s, New York easily outmatched their rival Christie’s sale the night before with a total of $134,438,000 and only 2 lots unsold. While 59% of works sold over their pre-sale estimates, it was Andy Warhol‘s 200 One Dollar Bills, which sold for $43,762,500 over an estimate of $8-12million, that catapulted the total sales revenue way over the initial estimate of $67-97 million.

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Violins, Violence, Silence, Bruce Nauman. Record for a neon by Nauman – $4,002,500

More text, images and related links after the jump…..
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Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Trophy Wife,’ depicting Stephanie Seymour, currently going through a messy divorce from Peter Brant, who owns the piece

-Recent court filings in the divorce of Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour reveal disputes over nearly 50 works by Andy Warhol, as well as works by Richard Prince, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Julian Schnabel, and a bust of Seymour made by Maurizio Cattelan [Vanity Fair]

-And in related, Udo Fritz-Hermann Brandhorst, an heir to Germany’s Henkel AG & Co. fortune, settled out of court a dispute with his former mistress over two works by Damien Hirst [Bloomberg]

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Allison Schulnik’s music video for Grizzly Bear’s ‘Ready, Able’

- Painter Allison Schulnik’s claymation music video for Grizzly Bear’s ‘Ready, Able’ via The Flog

-Tracey Emin reading her new book of poems “Those Who Suffer Love” and “Strangeland” at University Settlement as part of Performa 09 [Supreme Being]

-Also related, a round-up of Performa 09 includes a “Pasta Sauna” based on the Futurist Manifesto, Tacita Dean, William Kentridge, Merce Cunningham and more [Financial Times]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week…

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Brill Box, Andy Warhol (1964) via Phillips de Pury

Last week ArtObserved was on site for the Modern and Impressionist auctions at Christie‘s and Sotheby‘s in New York. Tonight, November 10, ArtObserved is set to attend Christie’s for the first auction of the fall ‘Contemporary Week’ in the city. After their record-breaking sale on November 4, Sotheby’s Emmanuel Di-Donna stated that “when you have the right property…you get fireworks.” In light of this, much is to be expected this week with Phillips de Pury, Christie’s and Sotheby‘s all stating that they are offering the most important and rare works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Willem De Kooning, Ed Ruscha and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Ilona on Top (Rosa Background), Jeff Koons (1990) via Sotheby’s

More text, images and related links after the jump…..
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Pablo Picasso’s ‘Homme à l’épée’ estimated to sell between £5-7 million via Christie’s

The summer auction season starts next week with the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sales in London at Christie’s on Tuesday, June 23, and at Sotheby’s the following evening.  Both sales feature a late Picasso painting,part of his Muskateers series, painted by the artist on successive days and both titled ‘Man with a sword.’  The Sotheby’s Picasso is estimated to sell between £6-8 million and the Christie’s Picasso is estimated between £5-7 million. Both auction houses each offered a Muskateer painting in the spring auctions, with one failing to meet its reserve and the other selling for $14.6 million. This era of Picasso’s works has been enjoying a wave of popularity after Gagosian Gallery’s ‘Mosqueteros’ exhibition (as covered by AO here) earlier this spring gaining record attendance, as well as two major museum shows in Paris and London focusing on the artist’s late career. The Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sales take place on Thursday, June 25 at Sotheby’s, Monday, June 29 at Phillips de Pury, and Tuesday, June 30 at Christie’s.  Though healthy sales at Art Basel last weekend have boosted confidence in the market, this season’s estimates are down over 70% from last year.

Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Phillips de Pury Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Monday, June 29, 2009
Sotheby’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Thursday, June 30, 2009
Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale with Specialists Helena Newman and Alexander Platon [Video; Sotheby's]
Contemporary Art Evening Sale with Specialists Oliver Barker, Cheyenne Westphal and Alexander Branczik [Video; Sotheby's]
En garde! Rival houses offer Picasso musketeers [Reuters]
Can Buying Impressionist Art Make You Happy? [Wall Street Journal]
Christie’s Resumes Cutting Jobs After May N.Y. Auctions Decline [Bloomberg]
Battle of the Picasso paintings [TelegraphUK]
London Sales Estimates Down 70 Percent From Last Year [Artinfo]
Warhol, Prince Works Fail to Save Art Sales From 70% Decline [Bloomberg]
After Basel, Dealers Have High Hopes for London Sales [Wall Street Journal]
Artworks by Goya, Fragonard, David and Turner for Sotheby’s July Old Master Paintings Auction [Art Auction Publicity]
Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Art Auction Expected to Take £20 million [Art Auction Publicity]
Doig painting of Canadian childhood could fetch $3 M [Montreal Gazette via Art Market Monitor]
Duchamp, Miró, Marc, Monet and Picasso Highlight Christie’s Auction of Impressionist and Modern Art [Artdaily]
London Contemporary Art Auctions [The Art Collectors]
Phillips de Pury & Company Announce Highlights of the Forthcoming London Contemporary Art Sales [Artdaily]
Picasso, Monet and Giacometti, for Sotheby’s Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art [Art Auction Publicity]
Sotheby’s London Contemporary Art Evening Sale to Present Three Rare Andy Warhol Paintings [Artdaily]
The art market: Picasso endures [Financial Times]
Art Market Watch [Artnet]
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Simon de Pury at the helm at the auction in front of the Philip Guston

Last night’s contemporary auction at Phillips de Pury fell short of its low estimate of $12.2 million, bringing in $7.7 million, with 12 of the 43 lots going unsold.  The sale’s highlight, an untitled Robert Gober sculpture of a Farina cereal box valued at $2.5-3.5 million, went unsold with only one bid at $1.6 million.  An untitled Anish Kapoor sculpture, estimated at $800, 000-1.2 million, also was met with no bids.  However, one of the auction highlights, Philip Guston’s painting, ‘Anxiety,’ was the highest selling lot, going for $1 million, just making its low estimate. John Baldessari’s painting, ‘Person with Pillow: Desire/Lust/Fate,’ sold for $290,500, missing its estimate of $300,000-400,000.  It had sold at Sotheby’s a year and a half ago for nearly double that amount.  Many artists however, such as Zeng Fanzhi, whose show just concluded at Acquavella Gallery in New York and was covered by Art Observed here did break auction records (work shown below), the details of which are after the jump.

Phillips Contemporary Auction Falls Short of Estimate [NY Times]
Phillips Limps to the Finish Line [Artinfo]

Zeng Fanzhi’s ‘Little Boy’ via Phillips de Pury sold for $446,500 against estimates of $250,000-300,000

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Philip Guston’s ‘Anxiety’ via Phillips de Pury, estimated to sell for $1-1.5 million.

The last of the post-war and contemporary art auctions takes places tonight at Phillips de Pury & Company in New York.  Pre-sale estimates are $12.2-17 million for 43 lots. Highlights include a late Philip Guston painting, a sculpture of a Farina cereal box by Robert Gober, estimated at $2.5-3.5 million, and an Anish Kapoor sculpture, estimated at $800,000-1,200,000.  AO will be on site to cover the auction, starting at 7pm tonight.

Phillips de Pury & Company
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New York Contemporary Art Part I Sale
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Thursday, May 14, 2009, 7pm
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450 West 15th St
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New York, NY

Phillips de Pury & Company
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Phillips de Pury & Company Announces the Highlights from its Forthcoming New York Contemporary Art Part I Sale [Artdaily]

Jeff Koons’s ‘Baroque Egg with Bow (Turquiose/Magenta)’ via NY Times goes on sale at Sotheby’s with estimates between $6-8 million

The spring Post-War and Contemporary Art auctions take place this week in New York at Sotheby’s tonight, Christie’s tomorrow night, and Phillips de Pury on Thursday night. Last week’s Impressionist and Modern Art auctions, covered by AO here, and also here, brought in far less than a year ago, but considering the economic climate were viewed as middling successes (aside from Sotheby’s spectacular Picasso and Giacometti flops).  However, the contemporary sales will be more of a litmus test for a chastened market.  After years of record-setting sales, this year all three auction houses have reined in the estimates, no longer providing the guarantees to sellers that burned them last fall.

Sotheby’s is offering 49 lots, with total estimates of $52–72.2 million, compared to the $362 million it brought in last spring. Highlights include an untitled painting by Martin Kippenberger of a fat man with balloons and Jeff Koons’s ‘Baroque Egg with Bow (Turquiose/Magenta),’ part of the artist’s ‘Celebration’ series, which includes ‘Hanging Heart,’ a sculpture that set the record for a living artist at auction in the fall of 2007. While ‘Hanging Heart’ sold for $23.6 million, ‘Baroque Egg with Bow (Turquiose/Magenta)’is expected to sell for $6-8 million.  Christie’s is offering 54 lots, with total estimates of $71.5–104.5 million.  On the catalog cover is Jean-Michel Basquiat’s ‘Mater,’ a rare occurrence of a female figure within Basquiat’s oeuvre, expected to sell for $5-7 million. A number of works from the collection of Betty Freeman are also up for auction, including David Hockney’s portrait of the philanthropist in her home, ‘Beverly Hills Housewife,’ estimated to go for $6-10 million.  Lastly, Phillips de Pury & Company is offering 43 lots, with estimates of $12.2–17 million. Highlights from that sale include a Robert Gober sculpture of a Farina cereal box, estimated at $2.5-3.5 million, and a late, figurative painting by Philip Guston, estimated at $1-1.5 million.

The sales also include a number of Minimalist works by artists such as Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol Lewitt, and Agnes Martin.  Many experts view these works as under-priced, and present more in museum collections than private collections.  This round of sales sees fewer works by the Pop artists that made headlines in the boom times like Warhol and Rauschenberg.

Rare and Spectacular Master Works Highlight Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Art Sale [Artdaily]
Little Warhols [NY Mag]
Phillips de Pury & Company Announces the Highlights from its Forthcoming New York Contemporary Art Part I Sale [Artdaily]
The art market: Skinny sales and demoted billionaires [Financial Times]
Jeff Koons’s rabbit: market news [Telegraph]
The Art Market Is Back? Now That’s Surrealism [WSJ]
Sotheby’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale [Sotheby's]
Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale [Christie's]
Phillips de Pury Contemporary Art Part I Sale [Phillips de Pury]

The late Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge

A look into Christie’s coming Yves Saint Laurent sale, the largest single owner sale in auction history [Economist]
An interview with artist Jenny Holzer [Art21]
A review of Denis Dutton’s book “The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure and Human Evolution” which attempts to define art within a socio-biological context [NYObserver]

Bernd Runge, now at the helm at Phillips de Pury via Tattler.ru

Ex-VP of Conde Nast (and ex-East German Stasi secret police spy) appointed by newly Russian owned Phillips Auction house as CEO and in related, Ex-British Petroleum CEO to run the Tate museum group [Bloomberg]
Sotheby’s discontinues the practice of allowing art to be bought at auction with credit cards [NYMag]

Guernica – By Pablo Picaso via Pdx.edu

Picasso’s Guernica to adorn Whitchapel Gallery reopening in April [ArtNewspaper]
Christie’s combines 19th Century European Art, Old-Master Paintings, Old Master Drawings and British Drawings into one department to create an umbrella category for art between 1300 and 1900 [NYTimes]
The complicated process behind creating and selling forged Russian artwork [Forbes]

New York and Berlin gallerist Javier Peres, much a part of the success of Dan Colen, Assume Vivid Astro Focus, and Terrence Koh, opines on the “new, new school’ and the ways of the market [NYObserver]
The “serene mastery” of Italian painter Giorgio Morandi [WallStreetJournal] now at showing at the Met [ArtObserved]
In art market layoffs: Damien Hirst cuts up to 17 of the 22 in his studio [GuardianUK] and Pace Wildenstein cuts as well [Blackbook]

The highest priced “antique” on UK’s Antiques Roadshow is a £1m model of Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North [GuardianUK] more here [BBC]
The Museum of Modern Art is armed with a Twitter account [ArtFagCity]
On the heels of his recent no-sale at Phillips, [Art Observed] Damien Hirst is sanguine on the art market: “What goes up must come down” [ArtInfo]
Over 1/2 of the best selling artists of last year were Asian [Independent]
Global art dealer Jan Krugier dies at the age of 80 [ArtForum]

“Untitled (77/23 — Bernstein)” (1977) by Donald Judd sold for $3,218,500 against an estimate of $4.0 million, via ArtInfo

PHILLIPS DE PURY’S CONTEMPORARY ART SALE, New York, Thursday, November 13th

Total Lots Offered: 51, originally 56
Total Lots Sold: 30
Total Sales Value: $9.6 Million
Total Sales Pre-Auction Estimate: $23-$32 Million

Before Phillips de Pury’s Contemporary Art sale began in New York on Thursday evening November 13th, five works were withdrawn, including John Currin’s Standing Nude from 1993 (est. $500–700,000), pictured below, Richard Prince’s Untitled (Tire Planter) from 1999 (est. $120–180,000), and an Anselm Kiefer work. Total sales were $9,608,700, which was less than half of the low estimate of $23 million. By way of comparison, a comparable Phillips sale a year ago fetched $42.3 million. In the end, 41% of the lots (21 lots) were unsold (51% unsold by value) and those that did sell did so at below estimates. Anything estimated to sell at more than $1 million was either withdrawn or went unsold. In attendance were collectors such as Adam Lindemann, Stavros Merjos, Stefan Edlis of Chicago, Maria Baibakova, Mera and Don Rubell, Zurich dealer Doris Ammann, and executives from the Russian luxury goods giant Mercury Group which, as covered by Art Observed here, recently purchased the Phillips de Pury auction house.

Despite the dismal outcome of the totals, Phillips de Pury’s in the end appeared prescient versus its competitors Sotheby’s and Christie’s who both got crushed by over guaranteeing works in a down market, by contrast, Phillips guaranteed none of the 51 works offered, save for a single neon text 2005 sculpture by Kendell Geers, which had a low estimate of $60,000 and sold for $56,250. In a comparable sale last November, Phillips guaranteed about half the lots.

$9.6 Million at Phillips De Pury [ArtNet]
Phillips Sale Totals Less Than Half the Low Estimate [New YorkTimes]
Phillips Goes with the Downward Flow [ArtInfo]
Hirst Painting Flops at ‘Brutal’ New York Art Auction [Bloomberg]

more story and pictures after the jump…

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Duane Hanson’s “Flea Market Lady” staffs Emmanuel Perrotin’s booth at Frieze via New York Magazine

In the midst of perhaps the most spectacular global financial and credit market cave-ins ever experienced, The Frieze Art Fair in London, one of the three largest contemporary art fairs, felt a slowdown in some attendance indicators, sales volume and pricing; a harbinger of similar buyer sentiment reflected in anemic sales totals from all of the three major contemporary art auctions that followed in London over the weekend from Sotheby’s, Phillips and Christie’s respectively. In light of the true magnitude of the global wealth disrupted in recent weeks, overall, the output of the Frieze art fair and the concurrent contemporary art auctions likely could have been worse. The following is a roundup of the news and images looking back from the close of the Frieze fair as well as detailed summaries of each auction.

Takashi Murakami’s “Tongari-Kun” 2004. Though it was headliner of the Phillips Auction on Saturday, it failed to sell. Image via Phillips

Newslinks, images and more on the Frieze Art Fair and on the Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips auctions after the jump…

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Cory Arcangel’s “Golden Ticket” to the 2008 Frieze Art Fair via Artnet

With over 150 galleries, The Frieze Art Fair, set in London’s Regent’s Park, began selling works by over 1,000 artists on October 15. Since its first year in 2003, the Frieze fair has grown to be regarded as the youngest and perhaps the most cosmopolitan and cutting edge of the global fairs, which include Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach and the Venice Biennial. The fair, which runs until the 19th of October, and the London auctions that will occur this evening and this coming weekend, mark the first major opportunity for transparency into the the status of the global art market since the widespread financial turmoil began. Following Damien Hirst’s groundbreaking, clearing house, £111.5 million, direct-to-market auction of his own work at Sotheby’s last month (as covered by ArtObserved here) the market has had some clouds brewing over it, with beginning indications of weakness manifesting in events such as Sotheby’s lackluster first evening sale of contemporary Asian art in Hong Kong earlier this month (as covered by ArtObserved here), which sold £7 million against expectations of £30 million to another auction that same weekend in which Sotheby’s sale of modern 20th-century Chinese art left over a third of the lots unsold. More recently, the Singapore Art Auctions were also a dissapointment.

London’s Frieze Prepares for a Chill [Wall Street Journal]
Crisis Imperils U.K. Art Fairs, $183 Million Sales, Dealers Say and Auction Houses Guarantee Top Lots; Dealers See Falling Demand and Paltrow, Saatchi, Zhukova Browse Frieze Art as Sales Go Slowly, Aguilera Parties, Damien Hirst Has a Head Case: London Art Buzz [Bloomberg]
Deep Frieze: UK’s hottest art fair braces itself for the chill of the banking crisis and Prank canvas [GuardianUK]
Frieze Art Fair: Super-rich to cast economic crisis aside and Andy Warhol’s Skulls up for auction [Telegraph]
All the fun of the fairs: the art world gathers for Frieze [Independent]
The Post-Materialist | Frieze Art Fair [TheMoment]
Diary: Frieze Frame [ArtForum]
Frieze Factor [Artnet]
Frieze: First night blur [ArtReview]
Frieze Art Fair 2008 [Frieze Art Fair]

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A silica gel sculpture “Communication” by Cang Xn in the new Saatchi Gallery via Reuters

One of the most influential art collectors, Charles Saatchi, who years ago jump started the careers of the Young British Artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, has opened his new gallery in Chelsea in Central, London. The neoclassical former military barracks from 1801 known as the Duke of York Headquarters building is the now home to Saatchi’s gallery and his opening exhibit called “The Revolution Continues: New Art From China.” Within the space, a standard “white cube” internal architecture, the inaugural group show features works of art from the most of the top contemporary Chinese artists. Duke of York Headquarters buildings provides an impressive 70,000 square feet of space of gallery space, and in its past life was the military headquarters and barracks for the Duke’s soldiers.

Also notable is that the new Saatchi Gallery, a huge space that compares with City or National arts spaces in its scope and quality of offerings, is entirely free, due to a corporate sponsorship by Phillips de Pury & Company, which only this week was purchased by the Mercury Group of Russia, as reported by Art Observed yesterday here.

Saatchi Gallery Website
Saatchi Gallery Opens at Duke of York’s HQ Building, Chelsea [Artdaily]
Saatchi leads Chinese revolution with video here, and more video here [BBC]
Classical frame for Saatchi’s brand-new look [Financial Times]
Art guru Saatchi back with new gallery, China show [Reuters]
Saatchi’s New London Gallery Hails Britart, Chinese Revolution [Bloomberg]
Charles Saatchi’s old favourites – made in China [TimesUK]
Stuck with Saatchi [ArtReview]
The Revolution continues at the new Saatchi Gallery [TimesUK]
The verdict on Saatchi’s new gallery and Dog chews and Mao [Independent]
Saatchi Gallery: great space, shame about the art and Saatchi gallery: a study in blandness [GuardianUK]
Last scene by Saatchi and Charles Saatchi: Did I say that? and Is it third time lucky for Saatchi gallery? [GuardianUK]
Saatchi Gallery Opening – London [Jean Pigozzi for Colette]
Update: Opening of the Week: Saatchi rolls out the red carpet [Independent]

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Simon de Pury, Chairman and Co-Founder of Phillips de Pury, via Getty Images

Phillips de Pury, a pre-eminent auction house with a strong contemporary art and photography focus, has been bought by Mercury Group, a Russian luxury retail group that owns top shelf department stores selling Gucci, Prada, Ferrari, Maserati, Rolex and other high end names.

Phillips was acquired in 1999 by Bernard Arnault who is the chairman of Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessey. Following that acquisition by Arnault, Simon de Pury and Daniella Luxembourg, both art dealers, ran the auction house then called Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg. In March 2004 Simon de Pury acquired majority control of the firm which was then renamed Phillips de Pury.

Coincidentally, the acquiring firm Mercury Group, headed 41 year old self made billionarie and tobacco tycoon Igor Kesaev, owns the shopping center that was the site of Sotheby’s preview of contemproary art, as reported by AO in April. Simon de Pury will stay at the helm of the company as Chairman, and will remain an important shareholder. According to de Pury, who was quoted in the company’s press release, the ‘strategic partnership’ with Mercury will “allow us to provide a unique platform to new and fast growing markets.”

Press Release: Phillips de Pury announces partnership with Mercury Group
Russian Group Buys Auction House [NYTimes]
Russian Luxury Retailer Acquires Phillips [ArtInfo]
Russia’s Mercury Group Buys London Art Company Phillips de Pury [Bloomberg]
Phillips de Pury sold to Russian group [Financial Times]
Phillips auction house is sold [Wall Street Journal]
Phillips de Pury hopes takeover will secure future sales [DesignWeek]
Newslinks for Wednesday, September 24, as summer’s China-focused news comes to an end, Autumn news centers on Russia [AO]

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Forbidden Love, Faile (2006) via TAC
Lot 230: Forbidden Love, Faile (2006) / Estimate: $21,700 – $36,100 / Hammer Price: $39,703

On Saturday, September 6th, Phillips de Pury & Company held it’s Saturday @ Phillips sale featuring some of the most notorious names in Street Art. Until now, there had never been a Street Art auction of this magnitude. Many of the artists featured at the September 6th Saturday @ Phillips had never been to auction before, because of the nature of their work, and the anonymity of Street artists. The end total including premium was just under $850,000. Those that sold for the most and exceeded their estimates were works by Faile, Andres Serrano, Carcel Dzama, Swoon, and Banksy. Although one of Banksy’s pieces sold for over double its estimate, the well-known street artist also had two pieces among the unsold lots.

Philips Results [The Art Collectors]
Street art bonanza at Phillips de Pury auction [Design Week]
Saturday @ Phillips [Phillips de Pury]
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White Gloves, KAWS, 2001via Phillips

Phillips de Pury & Company is holding an auction of street art pieces on September 6th, as part of their Saturday@Phillips series. On sale will be a large collection of pieces ranging from paintings, photographs, jewelry, toys, and other various pieces from well-known artists like Kaws, Invader, Judith Supine, Beejoir, and Bast. The auction represents the growing popularity of the street art movement, the influence of which can be seen on fashion shows, advertising, and galleries and museums in the contemporary art world.

The Word on the Street, by Alex Smith [PhillipsArtExpert]
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Urban Art Auction At Phillips de Pury September 6 [Highsnobiety]
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The Word on the Street [Phillips]

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Untitled, Willem de Kooning (1984) via Artinfo

Sold for about $5.6 million.
Estimate was $2.4 million – $4 million.

The Contemporary Art sale at Phillips de Pury and Company monday had some disappointing news to report when 34% of the lots went unsold. Even some of the top by Xang Xiagang and Paul McCarthy found themselves unable to sell. Damien Hirst, who sold 3 of his 4 works in the auction, managed to barely meet his estimate on the ones sold.

Contemporary Market Bruised but Resilient After London Sales [Artinfo]
Market news: London’s contemporary art sales [Telegraph]
McCarthy, Zhang Flop in Tepid London Contemporary-Art Auction [Bloomberg]
London Contemporary Week Lurches Into Action at Phillips [Artinfo]

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Nine Multicolored Marilyns, Andy Warhol (1979-1986) via Phillips

Phillips de Pury & Company is holding it’s Contemporary Art Sale on June 29 and 30. The sale highlights works from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Willem de Kooning, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul McCarthy, and many other distinguished contemporary artists.

Phillips Contemporary Art Sale [Phillips]

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Photo via Will Rocklin for Art Observed

Phillips de Pury & Company opened its Chelsea, New York doors March 25^th from 6:00-8:00pm for an auction preview of “Under the Influence.” Also on view was an emerging artist exhibition, “Associates in New York.”

Under the Influence [Phillips de Pury]
Associates in New York [Phillips de Pury]
Auction Registration [Global Auction Network]

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Sotheby’s via news BBC, Phillips de Pury via Iron Arts, Christie’s via Drexel Daily Digest

This month has been monumentally beneficial to the Contemporary Art Market. Sales rose over 50% within the past three weeks. Over the last month Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips de Pury hosted a series of auctions in London; each producing record breaking results for at least one of their sales.

Auction House’s Revenue Jumps Dramatically [bloomberg]
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“Beetle” breaks Russian Contemporary record [bloomberg]
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Phillips de Pury Children with AIDs Benefit Auction [ArtInfo]
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Breakdown of top February sales [Art Martket Watch]
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Review of February Auctions [NY Sun]
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GO SEE: Sotheby’s contemporary art sale, London, February 27th [ArtObserved]
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Phillips sets 15 artists records in contemporary sale [ArtInfo]
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Fontana, Richter and Meire break records [ArtInfo]
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Contemporary Russian Art Auction, Phillips de Pury, February 28, London [ArtObserved]
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Warhol’s “Three Self Portraits” fetches £11.5 million [CBC]
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Competition between Sotheby’s & Christie’s Impressionist & Modern auctions [NY Sun]
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Sotheby’s Sets Auction Record with $39.7 million Francis Bacon Nude [ArtObserved]
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Sotheby’s Accomplishes Record Quarterly Profits [ArtObserved]

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A piece offered at the auction via Phillips de Pury & Company

A major sale of Russian contemporary artworks will be sold in London on February 28 by Phillips de Pury & Company. The auction represents works largely of ‘unofficial artists’ of the Soviet period. The sale will benefit children with AIDS.

Phillips de Pury
Phillips de Pury, video of the auction collection [Phillips de Pury]
Auctions in London [New York Sun]

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