Phillips, formerly known as Phillips the Auctioneers and briefly as Phillips de Pury, is a British

auction house An auction house is a business establishment that facilitates the buying and selling of assets, such as works of art and collectibles. Overview The auction house is the physical facility where the objects are catalogued, displayed, and presented ...

. It was founded in London in 1796, and has head offices in London and in New York City. In 2022 it was owned by the Mercury Group, a Russian luxury goods company.

History

Phillips was founded in 1796 by Harry Phillips, who had been a clerk to James Christie. The business held twelve auctions in its first year and soon became successful.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and

Beau Brummel George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England, and for many years he was the arbiter of British men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King ...

were among the early patrons. Harry Phillips died in 1840, and the business passed to his son William Augustus, who renamed it Phillips & Son; when his son-in-law Frederick Neale joined in 1882, the company became Phillips, Son & Neale. It was renamed Phillips in the 1970s; it was usually referred to as Phillips, the Auctioneers. In 1998, the company bought Selkirk, then a 168-year-old St. Louis auction house.Carol Vogel (3 April 1998)
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New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In 1999 a majority stake in the company was sold to venture capitalists 3i, who resold it shortly after for a considerable profit. The company was bought in 1999 by

Bernard Arnault Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (; born 5 March 1949) is a French businessman, investor, and art collector. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company. Arnault is one of the richest individuals in the ...

of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton. After a series of disastrous sales and extremely heavy losses, the UK operations were sold to

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...

in 2001 and merged into that company. Most of the rump of the business was closed; some smaller departments were acquired by

Simon de Pury Abram Simon Léonor Christian de Pury colloquially Simon de Pury (born 21 November 1951) is a Swiss auctioneer, art dealer, curator, collector, DJ, and photographer. In 2002, he acquired the majority control of the auction house Phillips. He ha ...

and

Daniella Luxembourg Daniella Luxembourg (born Israel in 1950) is an Israeli art dealer based in London. Biography She was born in Israel. A daughter of Holocaust survivors, she grew up in a suburb of Haifa. She worked for several museums and art institutions and, ...

, who traded under the name Phillips de Pury & Company. In 2002 Simon de Pury acquired majority control of the firm. On 6 October 2008, the company was purchased by the Russian Mercury Group, which paid approximately $60 million for it. De Pury sold his remaining shares to Mercury in late 2012, and left the company. The name was changed back to Phillips. In December 2018 the company signed a contract for retail space at

432 Park Avenue 432 Park Avenue is a residential skyscraper at 57th Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The tower was developed by CIM Group and Harry B. Macklowe and designed by Rafael Viñoly. A part of Billion ...

including the Park Avenue Cube beside the tower, with approximately at the base of the tower and a further underground.

References

{{Authority control, state=collapsed London auction houses Retail companies established in 1796 1796 establishments in England Auction houses based in New York City