Masterpieces by Klimt, Matisse and Freud set for London’s most valuable auction

A major group of masterpieces by some of modern art’s biggest names is to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in what is expected to be the most valuable collection ever offered in London . The works, consigned by Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne – whose family owns Tottenham Hotspur – include paintings by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Amedeo Modigliani, Francis Bacon, Henri Matisse , Chaïm Soutine, Lucian Freud, and Gustave Caillebotte. Sotheby’s said the group is expected to realise more than £150m. Combined with other works coming to the market in June, the sale could make this the highest value week of auctions ever staged in London. Egon Schiele’s Danaë is estimated to fetch £12-18m – a new artist record. Photograph: Sotheby’s Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s Europe chair, told the Guardian the collection showed a rare “concentration of museum-calibre masterpieces” and was especially strong in modern figurative painting. “Many haven’t been seen on the market for decades – if at all – which speaks to both their rarity and art-historical significance,” he said. He described the auction as “one for the history books”. It follows last September’s sale of the Pauline Karpidas collection, which made £101m and became the highest-value single-owner sale staged in London. Barker said the auction was “a real turning point” that helped revive confidence in the global art market. …