A dazzling collection of modern art belonging to the former owner of British soccer club Tottenham Hotspur is expected to fetch a record amount when it goes up for auction next month.
Paintings by Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, Egon Schiele, Amedeo Modigliani, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud are among the dozens of masterpieces being sold by UK billionaire Joe Lewis and his daughter, Vivienne, at Sotheby’s in London in June.
Experts at the auction house estimate the collection will sell for more than £150 million ($204 million) overall. This would make it the most valuable single collection ever to be offered in London, Sotheby’s said in a press statement.
Highlights include Klimt’s 1902 full-length society portrait of Gertrud Loew (Gertha Felsőványi), which could sell for between £20 million ($27 million) and £30 million ($41 million). Schiele’s early piece “Danaë” –– painted when he was just 19 –– is likely to sell for somewhere in the region of £12 million ($16 million) to £18 million ($25 million), according the statement, as is Modigliani’s “Homme à la pipe (Le notaire de Nice).”
These are among the auction highlights that will be on public display at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York from this weekend until May 18.
Also up for sale are “Two Studies for Self Portrait” by Bacon, valued at £8-12 million ($11-16 million); Gustave Caillebotte’s “Portrait de Paul Hugot,” expected to sell for £3.5-4.5 million ($4.8-6 million); and Freud’s “Woman in a Grey Sweater” for £3-4 million ($4-5.5 million).
Although some of the works have appeared on loan at museums around the world, “many have not been seen on the open market for decades, if at all,” according to Sotheby’s.
Lewis was the majority owner of the Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur until 2022, when he handed over his stake to the Lewis Family Trust. He is also the founder of private equity company Tavistock Group, of which his daughter, Vivienne Lewis, is senior managing director.
A spokesperson for the Lewis Collection said they hope to inspire a new generation of collectors “with works that have been a source of joy and fascination for us, and that have shaped our own collecting journey over many years.”
That said, the sale does not mean they are no longer collecting, they added. “While this public sale represents a significant staging post, our journey as collectors is far from over –– we remain committed to the avant-garde painters of today, much of whose work is informed by the artists showcased here.”
Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, said of Lewis in the press release: “Joe Lewis grew up amid the creative ferment of post-war London, the city of Bacon, Freud, and Kossoff, where the School of London first ignited his passion as a collector. That early spark developed into a broader passion for figuration, and from that into one of the world’s most important private collections of Modern art, with works that have been shown and celebrated in museums across the globe.”
“Now, in the city where this story began, it is a privilege to present these works together as the most valuable private collection ever offered in London. Truly a full circle moment.”
Magnus Resch is an art market expert who teaches at Yale. He told CNN: “This sale shows how dependent the market has become on single-owner collections. They create moments of excitement and strong prices — but they also mask a much thinner underlying market, especially outside the very top end.”
“With a major generational wealth transfer ahead, we’ll see more collections like this come to market, often bringing rare and previously unseen works,” he added.
