Longtime ABAA member Elizabeth Phillips passed away on December 14, 2015, after a short illness. She was born on November 5, 1958 in Philadelphia and grew up in Paris, France; Dutchess County, New York; and Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. Ms. Phillips studied book arts at Mills College, received a BA in English Literature and Art History from Oberlin College in 1980 and was subsequently awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 1980-81 to study the livre de peintre in Europe. Her business, Elizabeth Phillips Rare Books, was created shortly after her return to the United States in 1982. She has been a member of the ABAA since 1983. With a tremendous passion for fine art and literature and her ability to share her expertise with clients, business associates and institutions, Ms. Phillips has been a highly respected private dealer in rare livres d’artistes, specializing in Russian and European avant-garde for the past thirty years. She built museum-quality collections for individuals and institutions, including, the Museum of Modern Art, The Beinecke Library, The New York Public Library, The Library of Congress, The Getty Center, and the Bibliothèque Nationale. In 1993, she co-curated the exhibition "The American Livre de Peintre" at the Grolier Club in New York with colleague Tony Zwicker, co-authoring an illustrated exhibition catalogue of the same title. In 1996, Ms. Phillips was featured in New York Magazine's, “The Best of New York", as one of the premier dealers in the sale of rare artists' books.
She is survived by her two children, Julian and Hannah Phillips Meltzer; her siblings Kate, Miriam and Joshua Phillips; her father, (the painter) Matt Phillips; her stepmother, (photography curator) Sandra Phillips; and her former husband and loyal friend Steven Meltzer. Her mother (artist/writer) Lois Phillips passed away in 2007.
Ms. Phillips’ contribution to her craft and passion for the art she represented will be deeply missed by her clients, business associates, libraries, museums and the associations she served.