Phillips has sold $1.9 million worth of art from the holdings of disgraced art advisor Lisa Schiff—and the sales are not finished yet.
According to a list provided by a Phillips spokesperson, the house has so far sold 231 pieces from Schiff’s collection of contemporary art. The result of $1.9 million is roughly in line with an estimate set two years ago.
In September 2024, Artnet News reported that bankruptcy trustees had retained Phillips to sell some 220 pieces from Schiff’s collection—as well as the inventory of her defunct business, Schiff Fine Art—to benefit her creditors, with a combined presale estimate of about $2 million. Schiff’s creditors include collectors Candace Carmel Barasch and Richard Grossman.
The most recent Schiff works to hit the block were a 2022 painting by Corydon Cowansage for $7,095 (est. $6,000–$8,000) and a 1987 Richard Prince print on a T-shirt mounted on board, for $51,600 (est. $20,000–$30,000), both of which sold in an online auction that concluded earlier this week.
In October 2024, Schiff pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to defrauding clients out of $6.5 million, and as part of a plea agreement was ordered to forfeit around $6.4 million. In March, 2025, she was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison.
The Schiff sales at Phillips began in November 2024. The most expensive work sold to date is a 2021 painting by Joel Mesler, Untitled (Bananas), that brought in $69,850 in the “New Now” sale in February 2025.
Artworks haven’t been the only Schiff material in the auctions. There’s also been design and jewelry. A chair by Fernando and Humberto Campana brought in an above-estimate $38,100 in December 2024, and three Hemmerle rings sold for prices ranging from $16,510 to $27,940 in a jewelry sale last year.
A representative for Phillips said the house will continue selling works from Schiff’s holdings but did not specify how many. Next to hit the block, in mid-July, are two works by Richard Prince, one by Chris Ofili, and one by Raymond Pettibon, estimated to together sell for a total of between $145,000 and $205,000.
Phillips isn’t the only auction house selling Schiff material. Earlier this month, a group of 17 lower-value works were included in a two-day online sale from Millea Brothers Auctioneers based in Boonton, New Jersey. The low estimates ranged from $300 to $3,000, with five of them failing to sell. The tranche of works totaled $20,325, with the highest price, of $9,000, going to a 2010 Damien Loeb painting estimated at $1,500–$2,500.
