The auction house exodus continues, this time at Phillips, where Ed Dolman has resigned as executive chairman. He has held that position since 2021, having joined the firm as chief executive in 2014. Dolman will remain in post until May 2025, when he will move into a consultancy role.
Dolman says it has been a “privilege” to work with a “world-class team at Phillips”, but it is now time for him “to turn to new pursuits and to explore new ways of engaging in the world of art”. The Art Newspaper understands there are no immediate plans to fill Dolman’s soon-to-be-vacant role of executive chairman.
Following eight years with Phillips, the auction house’s deputy chief executive Amanda Lo Iacono will also step down this month in order to pursue other opportunities. It is not clear whether anyone will be appointed to her position.
For the past year, in addition to his role as executive chairman, Dolman has been managing global operations at the auction house—taking on this responsibility after Stephen Brooks stepped down as chief executive in January. At that time, Phillips said Brooks’ resignation, which came after he had been in the role for less than three years, was for personal reasons and was unrelated to the auction house’s falling sales in 2023, when Phillips reported a 15% drop in sales from the previous year.
Martin Wilson, who took over as chairman of the British Art Market Federation (Bamf) just under six months ago after a long career as a leading art lawyer, has been appointed chief executive of Phillips. Wilson has been on the auction house’s executive board since 2019, serving as the firm’s chief legal officer. No decision is believed to have been taken as to whether he will remain in position at Bamf; Wilson could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a statement, Wilson says: “Edward Dolman's extraordinary career has left an enduring legacy in the auction world. Having worked together across different organisations over the past 16 years, I have seen first-hand how universally respected and admired Mr. Dolman is, both for his ability to build business and for the inspiration he provides to colleagues at every level of the organisation. It has been a privilege to collaborate with him throughout my career, and I look forward to shaping the next chapter of Phillips together.”
Dolman says in a separate statement that Wilson’s “strategic approach and deep understanding of the art market will be invaluable as Phillips continues to innovate and grow”.
Dolman’s resignation caps another difficult year in the art market, particularly for the struggling auction sector. Sotheby’s is cutting at least 100 people from its global staff following an earlier round of approximately 50 redundancies in London this summer. There have been “a few redundancies” at Bonhams, according to its chairman Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, while Christie’s has so far avoided redundancy consultations.
During his tenure, Dolman tripled Phillips’ annual sales total, led the formation of the Modern and contemporary art department and pushed ahead with the auction house’s expansion in Asia. He opened new headquarters in Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York and Paris, among others, and led the auction house’s digital expansion. Dolman also helped the auction house weather multiple storms, including pandemic lockdowns, the softening of the market and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which put pressure on Phillips and its Russian owners, the Mercury Group.
Before joining Phillips, Dolman served as the director of the office of Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority. Prior to that, Dolman spent 27 years at Christie’ where he started out as a porter before becoming a specialist and then advancing to chief executive, a role he served for 11 years.