JAKARTA - A collection of modern art owned by billionaire Joe Lewis and his daughter, Vivienne, will be auctioned by Sotheby's in London in June. Its value is estimated to exceed 150 million pounds, or around 204 million US dollars.
According to a report by Anadolu Agency quoted on Saturday, May 2, this auction has the potential to set a new record in London. If combined with other sales in the same period, Sotheby's could even record the highest value auction week ever held in the city.
The collection contains the works of major names in modern art. There is Egon Schiele, Amedeo Modigliani, Francis Bacon, Chaim Soutine, Gustave Caillebotte, Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, and Lucian Freud.
Sotheby's said many of the works in the collection had not appeared on the market for decades. The rarity was one of the main attractions of the auction.
Sotheby's Europe chairman Oliver Barker said the collection was a rare collection of museum-quality works, especially modern figurative paintings, as reported by Anadolu Agency quoting The Guardian.
"Many are unseen in the market for decades - perhaps never - which shows their rarity and significance in art history," Barker said.
He called the auction a "worthy entry into the history books". The auction was held after the sale of Pauline Karpidas' collection in September, which reached 101 million pounds or 137 million US dollars. The sale set a London record for an auction by a single collector.
Barker said the sale of Karpidas' collection helped restore confidence in the international art market.
"The sale is a tangible proof that collectors around the world are very inspired by a collection built from a single vision, full of coherence, rarity, and history," he said.
The main works from Lewis' collection will be exhibited first in New York and London before being auctioned.
One of the most highlighted is the full-body portrait of Gustav Klimt in 1902, Bildnis Gertrud Loew (Gertha Felsovanyi). The painting is estimated to be worth 20 million to 30 million pounds, or 27 million to 40 million US dollars.
The painting has a long history. The work was once owned by a Klimt patron, then looted by the Nazis in Vienna. Later, the painting was exhibited at the Neue Galerie.
Barker said presenting the collection in London was a "moment of coming back to the starting point". According to Baker, the works will be exhibited with special attention due to their cultural importance.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
