Phillips de Pury opens flagship New York gallery

Phillips de Pury gallery exterior
The exterior of the New Phillips de Pury exhibition space at 450 Park Avenue
(Image credit: TBC)

Phillips de Pury's new flagship gallery in New York has got off to an auspicious start. The inaugural 'Carte Blanche' and 'Contemporary Art Part I' auction at the 20,000 sq ft space on Park Avenue fetched an epic $137 million - its most successful to date - with Andy Warhol's 'Men in Her Life' (1962) going for $63.4 million alone, the second highest figure ever paid for a Warhol at auction.

The new three-floor space on the corner of 57th Street and Park Avenue has undergone an extensive nine-month renovation in readiness for launch. Combined with the success of the auction, the gallery will help cement Phillips de Pury's position as a serious contender on the New York art scene.

Also under the hammer were works by the likes of Takashi Murakami, Paul McCarthy, Thomas Schütte and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Curated by Philippe Ségalot, an influential private art advisor and former international head of contemporary art at Christie's, the auction was the first in a series of Carte Blanche sales to be devised by artists, collectors and gallery owners. It follows a bumper week for the art market in New York, with successful sales of impressionist and modern art also coming from Sotheby's and Christie's.

The exterior of the New Phillips de Pury gallery

The three-story space has undergone an extensive nine-month renovation in readiness for launch, and its first joint auction, comprising 'Carte Blanche' and 'Contemporary Art Part I'

(Image credit: TBC)

Phillips de Pury gallery in New York

The gallery will help cement Phillips de Pury's position as a serious contender on the New York art scene

(Image credit: TBC)

'Grosse Geist No. 16' by Thomas Schütte

One of the Carte Blanche lots: 'Grosse Geist No. 16' by Thomas Schütte, 2000. Image courtesy of Thomas Schütte and Phillips de Pury & Company

(Image credit: Thomas Schütte and Phillips de Pury & Company)

Abstract sculpture made of thick black felt

'Untitled' by Robert Morris, 1967. Image courtesy of Robert Morris and Phillips de Pury & Company

(Image credit: Robert Morris and Phillips de Pury & Company)

'Stephanie' by Maurizio Cattelan

'Stephanie' by Maurizio Cattelan, 2003. Image courtesy of Maurizio Cattelan and Phillips de Pury & Company

(Image credit: Maurizio Cattelan and Phillips de Pury & Company)

'Charlie' by Maurizio Cattelan

'Charlie' by Maurizio Cattelan, 2003. Image courtesy of Maurizio Cattelan and Phillips de Pury & Company

(Image credit: Maurizio Cattelan and Phillips de Pury & Company)

Candies in blue wrappers, endless supply



'Untitled' (Portrait of Marcel Brient) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, 1992. Image courtesy of Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Phillips de Pury & Company

(Image credit: Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Phillips de Pury & Company)

ADDRESS

Phillips de Pury & Company
450 West 15 Street
New York NY 10011

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

Malaika Byng is an editor, writer and consultant covering everything from architecture, design and ecology to art and craft. She was online editor for Wallpaper* magazine for three years and more recently editor of Crafts magazine, until she decided to go freelance in 2022. Based in London, she now writes for the Financial Times, Metropolis, Kinfolk and The Plant, among others.