Phillips

Era of pop art and protests also brought fresh design beyond the earlier ‘tool’ template

Gustave Le Gray’s 'Souvenirs du Camp de Châlons' sold at Phillips in London.

In the wake of new sanctions on Russia, auction houses Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams have cancelled sales of Russian art in London scheduled for June.

A number of UK auction houses have stopped taking bids from buyers in Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Phillips has appointed Jean-Paul Engelen to the newly created role of president, Americas. In addition, he will continue as worldwide co-head of 20th century and Contemporary art.

Despite – or perhaps because of – the pandemic, three of the top international auction houses posted record or near-record results for 2021.

When Phillips held an auction in London on November 10 in association with Maak Contemporary Ceramics of selections from the collection of Dr John P Driscoll, it produced a number of record-breaking prices for Hans Coper (1920-81) and ended with a new auction high for the studio potter of £520,000 (ATG No 2518).

If ever there were a price to demonstrate just how important condition has become in the top end of the collecting market then it is the record-breaking SFr2.55m (£2.065m) for a reference CK2915 Speedmaster at Phillips (26/21% buyer's premium) in Geneva on November 5.

Two big-name sources – the Cox collection and the Macklowe collection – lead the way as Modern and Contemporary art market shows recovery from pandemic impact