Artistic Perfection: Haute 5 Art Galleries in New York City

Phillips de Pury
First founded in London in 1796 by Harry Phillips, the Phillips de Pury & Company has been setting the pace since it’s inception. To win business early on, the company hosted elaborate receptions before auctions, which is a tradition and simply mandatory practice in the auction process today. Once the go-to for art collectors Napoleon, Marie Antoinette and Beau Brummel, and later owned by Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, in 1999, the company has aligned itself throughout the years with luxury. Currently owned by Mercury Group, the luxury retail company, Phillips de Pury offers consistent quality of auctions and art exhibitions across the globe, including London, New York, Geneva, Berlin, Brussels, and Milan.

Phillips de Pury & Company is located at 450 West 15th St., New York, NY

Gagosian Gallery

Larry Gagosian is perhaps one of the most well known names in the art world today. With exhibitions from Modern icons Alexander Calder, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein to Contemporary artists Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, and Ed Ruscha, Gagosian galleries can be found from New York’s Madison Avenue to Central Hong Kong and Rome to London in between. Consistently driving sales despite economic hardships in the country, Gagosian caters to a discerning clientele of the world’s most powerful elite and celebrities. He frequently hosts dinners and soirees at his Upper East Side Townhouse and enjoys his summers entertaining the like of Mick Jagger and film producer David Geffen at his $8M East Hampton’s estate.

Chelsea: Gagosian Gallery is located at 555 West 24th St.
Upper East Side: Gagosian Gallery is located a 980 Madison Ave.

Lombard-Freid Projects

If the discovery of new works inspires a creative drive,  Lombard-Freid Projects specializes in globally oriented artists on the rise. Premiering the zeitgeist of China, Middle East, Africa, just to name a few, Lombard-Freid offers a selection perfectly timed for an investment. Their artists participate in Biennales and collected by Museums. Well selected pieces inspire deeper questioning and a rigorous conversation among the artist, the art, the viewer, and society as a whole with complexities of cultural and political currents dissected and brought to the forefront. Lombard-Freid offers a gallery experience of raw intellectual pursuit.

Lombard-Freid Projects is located at 531 West 26th St., New York, NY

Deitch Projects

Opened by Jeffrey Deitch, a Connecticut native with an MBA from Harvard, in 1996. The gallery will be transitioning to LA this summer, so only a few more months to enjoy it’s playful offerings in the two downtown locations and one in Queens. An eclectic blend of emerging artists, Vanessa Beecroft, Justin Lowe, to well known estates, such as the late artist Keith Herring. Jeffrey Deitch is the type of art dealer who walks a comfortable line of conversation among the billionaires of the world, Soho elite, and Graffiti artists. The official last day is June 1, 2010, so enjoy Deitch Projects while you can.

Deitch Projects is located at 18 Wooster St., New York, NY

Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

Though not an art gallery, a New York selection of the finest offerings in Modern and Contemporary Art would not be complete without a mention of the world renowned Museum of Modern Art. Located in the heart of Midtown, the museum is perhaps the most important entity in developing and collecting modernist art. With over 300,000 books and periodicals it holds a plethora of resources. First developed in 1928 by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and her friends, it was opened on November 7, 1929. Since it’s inception, it has held a distinguished honor as having what is considered by most the best collection of modern Western masterpieces in the world, including Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, The Dream by Henri Rousseau, the Dance by Henri Matisse, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso and Number 31, 1950 by Jackson Pollock and many more. MOMA also holds a number of distinguished events and galas with the most powerful players in the art world today.

Moma is located at 11 West 53rd St., New York, NY