This Saturday, October 14th, sees the first auction at the new London premises of Phillips de Pury and Company, with a sale of ‘Contemporary Art and Design Art’. The auction not only launches the new premises at No.9 Howick Place, London SW1, it also doubles as a celebration of the 210th anniversary of Phillips de Pury, the New York-based specialists in contemporary art, photographs, design and jewellery.

Highlights of the sale include Princes William and Harry (estimate £350,000- 450,000) by Elizabeth Peyton; plus Tim Noble and Sue Webster’s $ (estimate £150,000-200,000), a mixed-media electric sculpture depicting the United States dollar symbol.

Two works by the Polish artist Piotr Uklanski will be for sale. First, The Nazis (estimate £250,000- 350,000), a series of 164 chillingly polished chromogenic photographs of Hollywood portrayals of Nazi commanders. Secondly, Dancefloor (estimate £100,000-150,000), an electric pulsating design of Plexiglass floor tiles reminiscent of the 1970s classic, Saturday Night Fever.

Two stunning abstract paintings by Daniel Richter, Irren Menschlich (estimate £70,000-90,000) and Reibe an die Nation (estimate £90,000-120,000) will be for sale, plus important work by contemporary masters Christopher Wool, Richard Prince and Takashi Murakami, alongside key pieces by Mike Kelley, Bill Viola, Andreas Gursky and Maurizio Cattelan.

In the Design Art portion of the sale, there is a spectacular bench by Ross Lovegrove, Liquid Bench (£70,000-90,000) – an aluminium piece which has been stretched and pulled into a ‘liquid’ form. Meanwhile, mythic forms such as Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s Honda vase (£10,000-15,000) and the unique B.O.O.P. coffee table by Ron Arad (£40,000-60,000) will be for sale alongside Marc Newson’s symbolic Event Horizon Table (£160,000-180,000) and Shiro Kuramata’s poetic Acrylic Stool (£18,000-22,000).

Phillips de Pury’s London premises occupy more than 40,000 square feet and, as well as hosting auctions, will be used to stage selling exhibitions for international photographers, designers and artists – as the company currently does in New York. Following this first London sale, which kicks off at 7pm, there will be a reception, complete with a performance by The Human League.

The auction will be held on 14th October. For further information please visit www.phillipsdepury.com.

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: Phillips de Pury & Company