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Lot Essay
Neil Phillips was born in Montreal in 1924. He was interested in art and history all his adult life, which began at the early age of 18 when he joined the Royal Canadian Navy, serving on the HMCS Lethbridge from 1942-1945. Early on he recognized the global aspects of the post-war world and chose to pursue French-based and English-based law degrees from McGill University and Yale University. His 1952 book United States Taxation of Foreign Entities is still widely used.
Phillips developed a true "renaissance" enthusiasm for collecting. Although he had a natural instinct for beauty, he did not collect objects simply for the sake of their beauty, but rather, each work of art had to have a sense of history. This passion lead him into many fields of collecting, including European paintings, drawings and works of art, Chinese art, silver and coins, as well as antiquities. The spirit and scope of the Phillips collection recalls that of Henry Walters, founder earlier this century of the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. Phillips generously shared his passion with others, as works from his collection were loaned to major museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.
Phillips developed a true "renaissance" enthusiasm for collecting. Although he had a natural instinct for beauty, he did not collect objects simply for the sake of their beauty, but rather, each work of art had to have a sense of history. This passion lead him into many fields of collecting, including European paintings, drawings and works of art, Chinese art, silver and coins, as well as antiquities. The spirit and scope of the Phillips collection recalls that of Henry Walters, founder earlier this century of the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. Phillips generously shared his passion with others, as works from his collection were loaned to major museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.