MOVING ON...Well, it is official: Sotheby's London's Philippe Garner has jumped ship to Phillips auction house, where he will take over worldwide direction of photography and 20th and 21st century design for the firm. It is likely that Roger Therond's famed photo collection will follow Garner, as well as possibly Andre Jammes' final installments (yes, there is still more left). Those auctions could make for a potent start for Garner at this house, and could finally put Phillips on the map when it comes to the photography market in Paris and New York. Phillips already owns Tajan, which was the major Paris house for photography in recent years. It is possible that Phillips will now become a major player in photography and decorative art due to Garner's impact, but it is still too early to see how all of this shakes out. It is certainly welcome news to see that the talented Garner is still working in the photo trade, but will Phillips be the right horse? We will have to follow this one closely. Now if I can only get them to send me catalogues...
MORE MOVING ON...After just one year, Rick Wester has left Gagosian Galleries to pursue photography projects privately. Wester had previously headed up Christie's worldwide photography efforts...
STILL MORE MOVING ON...My former assistant director, Phillip Prodger, has also just been appointed Assistant Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the St. Louis Art Museum. As the press release reads: Phillip brings to the Art Museum experience as a guest curator at Stanford University's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, where he curated exhibitions on the photographer Eadweard Muybridge, as well as at the Natural History Museum in London, where he curated an exhibition on photographs collected by Charles Darwin. He has also been a curatorial intern at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and a lecturer in photography at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Phillip holds a B.A. from Williams College, an M.A. from Stanford University, and has submitted his dissertation for a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge on "Art and Artists in the Circle of Charles Darwin." He has published numerous articles on the history of photography, and is the author of "Time Stands Still: Muybridge and the Instantaneous Photography Movement," a book forthcoming from Oxford University Press. My congratulations to both him and his respective institution...
JAIL TIME FOR TAUBMAN...Former Sotheby's chairman and still controlling stockholder (although frantically searching for a buyer before the stock price drops completely out of sight) Arthur Taubman has lost his legal appeal and has reported to jail. Taubman began serving a prison sentence in a Rochester, MN prison hospital at 1 p.m., August 1. Jack Fox, a spokeperson, said Taubman had no outstanding medical problems but would probably be held in the medical unit because of his age...Meanwhile the settlement credit coupons that were supposed to go to Sotheby's and Christie's customers may finally be on their way. The US Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit just upheld the earlier decision. Unless someone else appeals this latest court determination, the coupons should start to head out the door soon...Moody's lowered ratings on about $200 million of debt securities from Sotheby's, questioning the auction company's strategies as it seeks a buyer of a controlling interest. Sotheby's stock has dropped recently in daily trading to as low as single figures...
A NEW NYC PHOTO SHOW...Add the weekend and Monday following the fall auctions in New York to your hotel reservations. Photography at the Armory (the name is definitely confusing because the show will be held at the Jacob Javits Center) is scheduled in an odd Friday to Monday timeframe immediately after (and even during Christie's) the NY fall auctions. The show management expects to get 80-90 dealers to show their wares--both vintage and contemporary, a la Paris Photo. Vintage Works has signed up for the show, which, if it comes off, runs from October 25-28, 2002.
Share This