by Vincent Noce
Since 2008, the auction house has belonged to Leonid Friedland and Leonid Strunin, the owners of Russian luxury group Mercury. Today, there are calls for its boycott. Contemporary art star Anish Kapoor considers "Phillips as legitimate a target as the Chelsea football club", formerly owned by Roman Abramovitch. "Nobody should be doing business with Russia right now," says contemporary art collector Andy Hall, whom a Phillips official called after he criticized the firm on Internet. Apparently, he was not convinced. "It would be total hypocrisy to continue buying and selling through this Russian company," Hall told The New York Times. Click here to read more
