The Antiques Trade Gazette wanted to know whether or not the May 6 sale would go ahead as planned, or be moved to London in June, but there was no response to these inquiries from Phillips.
Instead, there have been conflicting reports elsewhere – ranging from one saying that Phillips is to “postpone” the sale, to another that says the auction house is undecided. In a recent interview, however, Phillips chairman Simon de Pury said he would “quite definitely” hold a Spring sale.
However, efforts to secure consignments have been undermined by the fact that it has taken Phillips more than a month to appoint a new head of Impressionist and Modern Art. As reported in the appointments column on page two, Michel Strauss is joining the company from Sotheby’s next week.
A switch of the sales to London would certainly be easier for the UK trade, but it is unlikely that renovations on Phillips premises in Grosvenor Street would be ready for a June sale.
Conflicting reports on Phillips’ art auctions
With less than a month until the crunch series of Impressionist and Modern Art sales in New York, it is still not clear whether Phillips will be joining Sotheby’s and Christie’s at sales which netted the company $124m last year.
