Scott Nussbaum ’02, the former vice president in the contemporary art department at Sotheby’s, became the senior specialist and head of 20th-century and contemporary art for Phillips earlier this year.
Phillips has long been considered third-place behind other international art auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, but it has been demonstrating its value as a boutique house that could provide dedication to collections and “bring to bear the expertise of its new team of contemporary-art specialists,” according to a recent article from The New York Times.
“Its roster of new specialists able to attract high-quality material succeeded in making the auction house a player this season,” the article continued. Nussbaum, along with other new specialists, evidently made a difference for the company—Phillips was the only house who experienced an increase in sales this season for contemporary and 20th-century art (a remarkable 10 percent increase, to be exact).
At Hamilton, Nussbaum majored in art history and was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
