LONDON.- This summer in London, Sotheby’s will stage a landmark exhibition and sale of masterpieces from the renowned Lewis Collection. Estimated in excess of £150m / $200m, this will be the most valuable single collection ever offered in London, bringing together some of the greatest achievements in modern figurative painting.

Select highlights from the collection will be unveiled to the public at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York’s historic Breuer Building on 2 May, ahead of exhibition and sale in London in June. Highlights on view in New York will include Gustav Klimt’s ethereal full-length society portrait Bildnis Gertrud Loew (Gertha Felsőványi) from 1902 (est. £20–£30m); Egon Schiele’s audacious early masterpiece Danaë, in which all of the artist’s nascent talent is crystalised (est. £12–18m); a major painting by Amedeo Modigliani – Homme à la pipe (Le notaire de Nice) – unseen for almost half a century (est. £12–18m), and Francis Bacon’s stark double self-portrait from 1977 (est. £8-12m), infused with the melancholia of a life blighted by tragedy.

Further major works from The Lewis Collection will be unveiled in the weeks ahead of the London sale this June.

Assembled over decades by Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne, many of the works in the collection have been exhibited in major museums across the globe – a testament to their exceptional art historical significance – and many have not been seen on the open market for decades, if at all.

Born and raised in London’s East End, Joe Lewis felt a natural affinity as a collector with the School of London painters, such as Bacon and Freud, whose work confronted the human condition with an uncompromising intensity. That early passion became the foundation for what is today one of the world’s most important private collections of modern art, shaped by a fascination with the human figure in all its forms. From Klimt, Schiele and Modigliani to Caillebotte, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bacon and Freud, The Lewis Collection captures the radical inventiveness of the leading artists of the 20th century, and includes some of the greatest works of modern figurative painting to remain in private hands.

The June sale follows the presentation of four School of London masterpieces from The Lewis Collection at Sotheby’s London in March, which doubled their combined low estimate to realise a total of £35.8m / $48m. It also follows last September’s record-setting sale of the Pauline Karpidas collection, which achieved £101m / $137m to become the highest-value single owner sale ever staged in London – a title now set to pass to The Lewis Collection.

“Right from the outset, we have been drawn to art that reflects what it means to be human: to works that capture the people who inhabited these artists’ worlds – their friends, muses, lovers and contemporaries – but in very different ways that embody the ambitions and pre-occupations of each artist. We were encouraged to see the School of London works we offered in March so well received – an affirmation both of a movement that has long resonated with us, and of the enduring power of figurative painting. With the group to be offered in June, we hope to spark a similar sense of discovery – inspiring a new generation of collectors to engage with works that have been a source of joy and fascination for us, and that have shaped our own collecting journey over many years. During that time we have – like many of our collector peers – reshaped and refocused the collection. 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.” --- SPOKESPERSON FOR THE LEWIS COLLECTION

“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.” -- OLIVER BARKER, SOTHEBY’S CHAIRMAN, EUROPE