Dermatologist Fredric Brandt’s $15 Million Art Collection Heads to Phillips

Fredric Brandt.<br>Photo Patrick McMullan.

Fredric Brandt.
Photo: Courtesy Patrick McMullan.

Works by artists including Damien Hirst, Yoshitomo Nara, Rudolf Stingel, and Christopher Wool, once owned by famed dermatologist Fredric Brandt, go to the auction block October 14 at Phillips London.

The contemporary art sale will include some 200 works from his holdings, according to the New York Times. He also collected artists such as John Baldessari, Keith Haring, Anish Kapoor, Yayoi Kusama, Marilyn Minter, and Xavier Veilhan.

Brandt committed suicide in April at age 65. Friends said that in addition to suffering from depression, he was devastated by a satire of him in an episode of the Netflix comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. His clients included Madonna, Kelly Ripa, and Stephanie Seymour, and other well-heeled devotees. The plastic surgeon to the stars had homes in New York and Miami.

A self-made man, Brandt grew up the son of a Newark candy store owner and became known for his Botox treatments. His line of skin care products sold in nearly 50 countries. His own face showed the evidence of his innovative practice.

“I always try things on myself,” he told the Times in a 2013 interview. “That way I can see if it works or it doesn’t work. And it gives people reassurance.”

The art world took notice of Brandt, too; “Frankenboob” artist Amalia Ulman, known for a project in which she underwent plastic surgery, interviewed him at New York’s Swiss Institute in 2013.

Phillips CEO Edward Dolman told the Times that the auction house beat out its competitors with a third-party minimum price guarantee.

Related stories:

Art Collector and Celebrity Dermatologist Fredric Brandt Dead at 65


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