Sotheby’s has unveiled the full scope of its June Modern and Contemporary sales in London, on view from 18 June until 23 June, ahead of sales on 24 and 25 June. The works to be offered carry a combined estimate in excess of £300 million, ranking among the strongest auction seasons London has seen.
The season is anchored by Masterpieces from The Lewis Collection, a group of 48 works presented across a dedicated evening auction on 24 June and as a cornerstone of the Modern Day Auction on 25 June, carrying an estimate in excess of £200 million. Assembled over decades by Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne, the group is led by Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu assis au collier (est. in excess of £45 million) and Lucian Freud’s Sleeping by the Lion Carpet (est. £25 million to £35 million), the culminating work from his portraits of Sue Tilley. It is further distinguished by Edgar Degas’ Petite danseuse de quatorze ans (est. £18 million to £25 million) and a suite of seven works by Pablo Picasso led by a portrait of Dora Maar (est. £12 million to £18 million), together with works by Klimt, Schiele, Caillebotte and Bacon. The June sale follows four School of London masterpieces from the collection offered at Sotheby’s London in March, which realised a total of £35.8 million, or $48 million.
Two works by Claude Monet, painted nearly four decades apart, are a defining highlight of the Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction on 24 June. Leading the pair is Nymphéas (1907, est. £30 million to £40 million), the highest estimate ever placed on a work by Monet to come to auction in Europe. It is complemented by Camille assise sur la plage à Trouville (1870, est. £7 million to £10 million), a rare portrayal of the artist’s first wife. Both were formerly held in major American collections and will be presented in London for the first time.
Further evening highlights include Mark Rothko’s Untitled (1959, est. £4 million to £6 million), a work on paper making its auction debut following its inclusion in the exhibition of the artist’s paintings on paper at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and Wassily Kandinsky’s Fragment zu Improvisation II (Trauermarsch) (1909, est. £4 million to £6 million), appearing at auction for the first time. They are joined by Peter Doig’s Cabin Essence (1993 to 94, est. £10 million to £15 million) from his Concrete Cabin series, and Banksy’s Love Is In The Air (life size) (2011, est. £3.5 million to £5.5 million), the largest iteration of the image to appear on the market and appearing at auction for the first time.
Other evening lots include Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly at Glenrowan (1956 to 7, est. £600,000 to £800,000) and Alberto Giacometti’s Buste d’homme (New York II) (conceived 1965, this example cast by Susse Fondeur, Paris in 1972, est. £1.2 million to £1.8 million), both from the collection of David and Shoshanna Wingate; Noah Davis’s Untitled (Kids in Front Yard) (2010, est. £300,000 to £400,000); and Hurvin Anderson’s Untitled (Beach Scene) (2003, est. £1.8 million to £2.5 million).
The Contemporary Day Auction on 25 June features artists including Damien Hirst, Lisa Yuskavage, George Condo, Lucio Fontana, Annie Morris, Yoshitomo Nara and Tracey Emin. It also includes a group of works from the Artists for Kettle’s Yard campaign, gifted ahead of the institution’s 70th anniversary in 2027, with proceeds benefiting The Jim and Helen Ede Fund Endowment Campaign; contributors include Rana Begum, Antony Gormley, Megan Rooney, Caroline Walker, Ben Nicholson and Lucie Rie. The Modern Day Auction, also on 25 June, is led by Pablo Picasso’s Portrait de Dora Maar (est. £600,000 to £800,000) and spans a century of work by artists including Degas, Kees van Dongen, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Frank Auerbach, Egon Schiele, Vincent van Gogh and Pierre Bonnard.
(Press Release)
