A collection of masterpieces by artists including Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Lucian Freud, and Francis Bacon is expected to fetch more than £150m at Sotheby’s in June. The works have been consigned by Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne, whose family owns Tottenham Hotspur.
Among the highlights is Klimt’s 1902 portrait Bildnis Gertrud Loew, depicting Gertha Felsöványi, a member of Viennese society. The painting was stolen by the Nazis and last auctioned by Sotheby’s over a decade ago. Also on offer is Amedeo Modigliani’s Homme à la pipe (Le Notaire de Nice), unseen in public for nearly 50 years, estimated at £12-18m.
Egon Schiele’s early masterpiece Danaë, completed when he was 19, is expected to break the artist’s auction record with an estimate of £12-18m. A rare double self-portrait by Francis Bacon from 1977 is valued at £8-12m.
Sotheby’s Europe chairman Oliver Barker called the collection the “most valuable private collection ever offered in London”, noting it represents a “full-circle moment” for Lewis, whose passion began with post-war School of London artists. The auction follows last September’s sale of the Pauline Karpidas collection, which totalled £101m.
