Key facts
- Joe Lewis's art collection, valued at over £200 million, is heading to auction at Sotheby's in London.
- The collection comprises 48 works by renowned artists including Modigliani, Klimt, Picasso, and Freud.
- Amedeo Modigliani's 'Nu assis au collier' is expected to fetch over £45 million.
- The pre-sale estimate for the collection is the highest ever for a single-owner collection in Europe.
- The collection will be on public display at Sotheby's London until June 23.
Masterpieces from the collection of Joe Lewis, the billionaire former owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club, are set to go under the hammer at Sotheby's in London. The collection, valued at over £200 million, features 48 works by artists including Amedeo Modigliani, Gustav Klimt, Pablo Picasso, and Lucian Freud.
Sotheby's has opened a pre-sale exhibition for the Lewis Collection, which is expected to break records as the highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on a single-owner collection in Europe. The star piece is Modigliani's 1917 nude, 'Nu assis au collier,' which is anticipated to sell for over £45 million.
Other significant works include Klimt's 'Portrait of Gertrud Loew' (£20-30 million), Degas' bronze sculpture 'Petite danseuse de quatorze ans' (£18-25 million), and Picasso's 'Buste de femme,' a portrait of his muse Dora Maar (£12-18 million). Lucian Freud's 'Sleeping by the Lion Carpet,' a nude portrait of his model Sue Tilley, is also among the highlights.
Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby's Europe, described the collection as extraordinary, noting the intense psychological profiling evident in each masterpiece. The collection will be on public display at Sotheby's London until June 23. The 25 highest-value works will be auctioned on June 24, followed by the remaining lots the next day.