Inigo Philbrick is a art dealer accused of defrauding dealers and investors out of millions of dollars. He was sentenced to seven years in prison by a New York court today, bringing a saga that has taken the art world by storm to an end.
Early life
Inigo Philbrick was born in Redding, Connecticut in 1987 to a writer father and an art teacher father. When he was three or four years old, his parents moved to the United States. Philbrick grew up in the West Village and had a “bohemian” upbringing.
Inigo studied at the renowned Goldsmiths University in London, which specializes in art and design. Coincidentally, this was also his father’s alma mater. He had a strong bond with art, which he admired despite his lack of talent.
Inigo Philbrick career
After completing his education, Inigo Philbrick began an internship at White Cube, a contemporary art gallery in London, in 2010 under Jay Jopling, a former Goldsmith colleague.
Philbrick rose from intern to head of aftermarket sales in a year. Philbrick quickly established himself among international collectors and investors as an emerging expert on “fashionable contemporary artists such as Rudolf Stingel, Wade Guyton, and Christopher Wool”.
As of 2017, Philbrick’s gallery was grossing around $130 million, a fortune Philbrick did not keep to himself. Philbrick’s legal troubles revolve around two allegations: wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to the charges, Philbrick defrauded its customers by providing them with “materially false and fraudulent claims, representations and promises” and by using false names and signatures during the contracting process. The case that triggered the floodgates was Rudolf Stingel’s Untitled (1956), a photorealistic painting by Pablo Picasso.
In 2015, Philbrick agreed to sell the painting to financial services firm Fine Art Partners for $7.1 million as part of a deal to resell the work together at Christie’s for a reported guaranteed price of $9 million.
The following year Philbrick sold the same work again, this time for a fifty percent stake, to Satfinance for $3.35 million and then again to Guzzini Properties for $6 million. Guzzini then gave the work to Christie’s, where it sold on May 15, 2019, for $6.5 million.
Controversy
Philbrick was sentenced to 84 months in prison Monday afternoon for the $86 million scams. “I offer my unreserved and humble apologies to everyone involved,” Philbrick told Manhattan Federal Court Judge Sidney H. Stein.
His actions have been described as “outrageous and inexcusable,” fueled by “the vanity of youth and early successes,” and he insisted, “My only purpose is to heal the people who have believed in me.” Papers, filed before his conviction, paint a detailed and complicated picture of Philbrick’s life that led to his heinous crime.
Inigo Philbrick biography | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Inigo Philbrick |
| Date of birth | 1987 |
| Age (as of 2022) | 35 years |
| Place of birth | Redding, Connecticut, USA |
| profession | art dealer |
| University | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| qualification | graduate |
Physical Statistics | |
| Height | in feet inches – 6′ 1” – in centimeters – 185cm (approx.) |
| Weight | in kilograms – 77 kg – in pounds – 169 pounds |
| hair color | Brown |
| eye color | Brown |
Inigo Philbrick Family | |
| Father | Harry Philbrick |
| mother | Jane Philbrick |
| sister | – |
| Brothers | – |
Relationship status | |
| Marital status | In relation |
| affair | Yes |
| Who is Inigo Philbrick’s girlfriend? | Victoria Baker Harber |
| children | One |
Personal life
Made in Chelsea’s Victoria Baker-Harber is Inigo Philbrick’s ex-fiancé and their engagement fell through after his arrest. They also had a daughter. They were so in love that she promised to be by his side even after he was sentenced.
Inigo Philbrick net worth
Inigo Philbrick’s current net worth is unknown. But given his penchant for million-dollar deals, we can put it at millions of dollars. His net worth will decrease and he may not be able to continue his current company.
Inigo Philbrick Social media
Inigo is currently active on Instagram where he has 1,541 followers with 388 posts under the name @inigophilbrick. His checking account is only used for business. He has a separate account where he posts images of the artworks he owns.
Facts About Inigo Philbrick
- Philbrick was sentenced to seven years in prison by a New York court on May 24, 2022.
- Inigo Philbrick became known for flaunting his success with private jet travel, $7,000 suits, $55,000 watches, and auction record bidding.
- By 2013, with the help of Jopling, he had established his own gallery in London, which later opened a second location in Miami in 2018.