Art collection worth over £200m to be auctioned

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News image — Nu assis au collier by Amedeo Modigliani caused a scandal when it was first shown to the public

Rayan Bamhayan, Courtesy Sotheby’s Piece by Amedeo Modigliani, Nu assis au collier, featuring a nude woman. — Nu assis au collier by Amedeo Modigliani caused a scandal when it was first shown to the public

An art collection is estimated to sell in London for more than £200m, the highest estimate for any single-owner collection ever offered at auction in Europe.

The Lewis Collection, which consists of 48 works, is on display at Sotheby's before it is auctioned on 24 June, and features works from artists including Gustav Klimt, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.

A 1917 nude by Amedeo Modigliani, from an exhibition shut down by police on its opening day amid scandal, is expected to fetch more than £45m. It has not been seen in the UK since 1938.

Oliver Barker, Sotheby's European chairman, said many of the works on sale "sent shockwaves through the art world and polite society" when they were created.

PA Media Pieces by Kazimir Malevich, Head of a Peasant, and Lucian Freud, Sleeping by the Lion Carpet, on display at Sotheby's. — Works by Kazimir Malevich and Lucian Freud are part of the collection

Other works up for sale include Freud's Sleeping by the Lion Carpet, which has been estimated to fetch between £25m and £35m, and Edgar Degas' Petite Danseuse de quatorze ans, which is expected to sell for up to £25m.

Seven works from Pablo Picasso are also in the collection, including his 1938 portrait Buste de femme, which is expected to fetch between £12m and £18m.

Rene Magritte's 1965 piece La belle promenade is also included in the exhibition and auction, as is Bacon's Study for Portrait, created in 1976.

PA Media A woman in a gallery looks at a statue of a young ballet dancer. — Petite danseuse de quatorze ans by Edgar Degas is expected to fetch up to £25m

Barker said: "This group of works brings together some of the most powerful, most revolutionary, and most beautiful achievements in 20th-century figurative art.

"Having witnessed the Lewises build this collection with such care and passion over the years, it is a privilege to now see these works presented together."

Masterworks from the Lewis Collection is available for public viewing until 23 June at Sotheby's London. The auction will take place on 24 and 25 June.

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