FSU Art BFA ’15 Kylie McGinnis Interns with Phillips Auction House
Phillips Contemporary Auction 2012
As told by Kylie McGinnis:
My internship with Phillips auction house this summer stemmed from an internship I had received two years ago. At that time, I had recently completed summer pre-college at Pratt Institute and desired more New York City pursuits within the realm of “real-world art”. I also wanted to discover ways people make a living while dealing with art on an everyday basis. I got the internship this summer because I had those ties with the auction house from that point in time. During the internship, I do a lot of research projects regarding an “artist quote database” that Phillips uses when they come out with catalogs showcasing a certain artist’s work that they will auction. I also do a lot of library projects and have had to travel to Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and the MoMA to pick up books for their library collection that in turn strengthen their database as well as inform Phillips about artwork they may want to auction in the future. I am also taught the programs used to create layouts for the catalogs they put out regarding future auctions. I have recently been given a project related to the layout of a catalog. My short-term goals within this internship are to learn as much as possible about this as a career opportunity, and to get a feel for it and complete it flawlessly. My long-term goal with this internship is to be ready to apply for an internship with Christie’s, particularly with their department tied to Japan. This will exercise my minor, Japanese language, and will be a great way for me to combine my love of art and the language. I would like to do this as soon as next summer, but it may not happen until after I graduate. So far, I have learned that Phillips is a very professional environment, as well as a very comfortable environment to work on design projects and to just deal with art on an everyday basis. I love particularly the fact that the first floor of the Park Avenue location is a gallery space. I would certainly recommend this internship to other students.