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A major private art collection owned by billionaire Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne is set to go under the hammer in London this June, with auction house Sotheby's expecting the sale to exceed £150 million ($204 million) and potentially break the city’s record.
The collection brings together leading names of modern art, including Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse and Lucian Freud, alongside works by Egon Schiele, Amedeo Modigliani, Francis Bacon, Chaim Soutine and Gustave Caillebotte.
According to Sotheby’s, many of these works have remained out of public circulation for decades, a factor that adds to both their rarity and importance within art history. The auction house indicated that the June sales, combined with related events scheduled in the same period, could turn into the highest-value auction week ever held in London.
Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, described the collection as a concentrated group of museum-quality works, particularly in the field of modern figurative painting, which broadly refers to artworks that recognizably represent the human form.
He noted that many pieces have not appeared on the market for decades, if at all, underscoring their rarity and historical weight. Barker framed the upcoming auction as “one for the history books,” linking it to the September sale of the Pauline Karpidas collection, which reached £101 million ($137 million) and set a London record for a single-owner auction.
He added that the earlier sale helped build confidence across the international art market, pointing to strong global interest in collections shaped by a clear and consistent vision.
Among the standout works is Klimt’s 1902 full-length portrait Bildnis Gertrud Loew (Gertha Felsovanyi), which carries an estimated value of £20–30 million ($27–40 million). The painting was once owned by a patron of the artist but was later looted by the Nazis in Vienna, a reference to artworks seized during World War II, many of which have since become the subject of restitution efforts.
More recently, the work has been displayed at the Neue Galerie, a New York institution known for showcasing German and Austrian art.
In the lead-up to the auction, highlights from the collection will be exhibited in both New York and London, offering international collectors a chance to view the works in person before bidding begins.
Barker described the decision to present the collection in London as a “full-circle moment,” noting that the works will be displayed with a level of care that reflects their cultural significance.
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