Phillips is one of the best and most reputable auction houses in the world, which has long been the destination for serious collectors and connoisseurs to sell and buy the finest and most important works of contemporary and modern art. Founded by Harry Phillips in 1796, Phillips is now headquartered in London and New York, with offices in Hong Kong, Geneva, Moscow, Paris, Tokyo, and many other cities throughout the globe. This auction house conducts sales in various categories, including jewelry, luxury watches, design, photographs, and certainly contemporary art. One of its latest auctions was held on June 7 in London and brought truly impressive results.
The top lot at Phillips London Evening & Day Editions Auction was the untitled work by Cy Twombly, an American painter, sculptor, and photographer, known for his very characteristic painting style of scratched, scribbled lines and expressive drips. This work, which was created by the artist at Rauschenberg’s Untitled Press in Captiva Island, FL in 1971, represents a series of six colorful lithographs, all signed, numbered, and dated. Estimated at $400,000 – 530,000, it was sold for almost $650,000, thus becoming the most expensive artwork hammered at Phillips London Evening & Day Editions Auction.
Among other highlights that went under the hammer on June 7 were “Reflections on Girl, from Reflections Series” by Roy Lichtenstein (sold for $215,700, more than doubling its high estimate), “Blind Minotaur Guided Through a Starry Night by Marie-Therese with a Dove” by Pablo Picasso (sold for $99,500, almost reaching its high estimate of $106,200), “Laugh Now” by Banksy (sold for $39,800, exceeding its high estimate by $13,300), and “Santiago de Compostela, from Cathedral” by Damien Hirst (sold for $41,500, exceeding its low estimate by $8,300). The next Phillips 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale will be held in London on June 26.