Phillips, de Pury & Company LLC · New York, NY United States

If creating a masterpiece is hard enough, ask Phillips, de Pury & Company how difficult it can be to sell one. Finding it hard to compete with auction giants Sotheby's and Christie's, the auction house has scaled back its operations. It has exited the impressionist and modern art market (traditionally the most lucrative area of art sales) almost entirely -- limiting its sales to American and contemporary art, design, jewelry, and photography. Until late 2008, the company was owned by Simon de Pury (co-owner Daniella Luxembourg left the company years ago, prompting the name change from Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg). Mercury Group bought a majority interest in the firm in October 2008. To read the full description, subscribe now.