London’s major spring auctions traditionally mark the start of the sales season and often serve as a barometer for the year ahead, offering early indications of market trends and buyer demand. For this year’s Marquee Week, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s have assembled significant works from leading private collections, with a focus on Modern, Surrealist, and Contemporary art.
Sotheby’s programme centres on the Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction on March 4, which features works from three major collections. The sale includes four paintings from the School of London, consigned from the collection of entrepreneur Joe Lewis: Francis Bacon’s Self-portrait (1972), painted after the suicide of his partner George Dyer (estimate £8–12 million); Lucien Freud’s Blond Girl on a Bed (1987) and A Young Painter (1957–58) (£6–8 million and £4–6 million respectively); and Leon Kossoff’s Children’s Swimming Pool, 11 O’Clock Saturday Morning, August 1969 (1969), widely regarded as the artist’s masterpiece (£600,000–800,000).
"This remarkable group brings together Bacon, Freud, and Kossoff at the absolute peak of their powers—each a masterpiece in its own right. These are paintings that speak with extraordinary directness to the human condition—to vulnerability and despair, intimacy and desire" said Oliver Barker, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe.
See also: Francis Bacon: The Tragic Artist
Another private collection in the sale, whose owner remains unnamed, spans half a century of modern art. Among the leading works is Claude Monet’s Maison de jardinier (1884), painted in Italy and once owned by John Singer Sargent (estimate £6.5–8.5 million). It is one of only ten paintings created during Monet’s time on the Italian Riviera, most of which are now in museum collections. Also featured are Paul Signac’s Marseille, le port (1934), painted during the artist’s final stay in the south of France and long held by his family (estimate £4–6 million); Edgar Degas’s Scène de ballet (1885; £2.5–3.5 million); and Fernand Léger’s Les Hommes dans la ville (1919; £4–6 million).
See also: The Scandal Behind Degas' Little Dancer
On the group, Helena Newman, Chair of Sotheby’s Europe and Chair of the Worldwide Impressionist and Modern Art Department, commented: "Their appearance together this March offers an outstanding opportunity to acquire masterpieces that chart an illuminating arc through the development of early modernism."
The third major group in the auction, presented as Beyond the Canvas: Masterpieces from a Private German Collection, focuses on Lucio Fontana. Held by the same collector for sixty years, the selection offers a rare overview of the artist’s exploration of space. Five works by Fontana will be offered, led by Concetto spaziale (1960; estimate £8.5–12 million). The group also includes Alberto Giacometti’s Femme debout (1960/1964; £2.2–2.8 million) and Sam Francis’s Untitled (1962; £600,000–800,000).
See also: Lucio Fontana: The Man Behind the Cut
Claudia Dwek, Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s, explained: "To encounter five works of this calibre - spanning every major chapter of Fontana’s practice - within a single collection is extraordinarily rare. Each piece marks a different breakthrough in his lifelong investigation of space and gesture, but together they form the most complete portrait of an artist who redefined the possibilities of art in the post-war world."
Sotheby’s sales on March 5 conclude with The David Hockney Sale: The Arrival of Spring, alongside the Contemporary Day Auction and the Modern & Modern British Day Auction, which includes works from the collection of Erich and Senta Goeritz.
See also: David Hockney: Star of Contemporary Art
Christie’s main London auctions also take place on March 5, beginning with the 20th/21st Century Evening Sale, which brings together significant consignments from European and American collections. The sale is led by Wassily Kandinsky’s large-scale Le ronde rouge (1939), a major work from the artist’s late Paris period, when his interest in the natural sciences led him to combine geometric and biomorphic forms (estimate £10.5–15.5 million).
See also: Wassily Kandinsky: 10 Facts to Know
Keith Gill, Deputy Chairman for 20th/21st Century Art at Christie’s, said: "Le rond rouge is recognised as a key work from Kandinsky's Paris period: a powerful, vibrant and large scale expression of his enduring commitment to abstraction, experimentation, and the emotional power of colour and form. It is an honour to present this masterpiece in our London season, as I remember the work well from its long term loan to The Courtauld Gallery."
Other highlights include Henry Moore’s King and Queen (1952–53; £10–15 million), Pablo Picasso’s Le peintre et son modèle (1964; £7–10 million), Claude Monet’s Le Parc Monceau (1878; £5.5–8.5 million), and two works by Gerhard Richter, Schober (1984; £6–9 million) and Abstract Painting (1991; £4.5–6.5 million). Works by Bridget Riley, Cecily Brown, and Cy Twombly will also be offered.
Christie’s will also stage the 25th edition of The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale, the only international auction dedicated exclusively to Dada and Surrealism and their continuing influence.
See also: Surrealism and the Subconscious
The leading lot, René Magritte’s Les grâces naturelles (c. 1961; £6.5–9.5 million), comes to auction for the first time after twenty-five years in a Swiss private collection. Another major work by the artist, Le choeur des sphinges (1964; £5–8 million), is consigned from a Belgian collection. Additional highlights include Paul Delvaux’s La Ville lunaire (1944; £2–3 million), along with works by Joan Miró, Toyen, Dorothea Tanning, Pablo Picasso, Odilon Redon, and Max Ernst.
See also: Dorothea Tanning: If Dreams Could Talk
Olivier Camu, Deputy Chairman of Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department, explained: "The Art of the Surreal has, for over three decades, defined the market for Surrealism, and this 25th edition reaffirms its unique relevance and authority. Bringing together museum-quality works by 15 artists [...] the sale presents exceptional works from private collections, all fresh to market, with many offered at auction for the first time."
The day concludes with the Modern Visionaries Evening Sale, dedicated to the collection of Belgian collectors Roger and Josette Vanthournout. In addition to works by Magritte, Ernst, and Moore, the sale features Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Nets (1960), one of its highlights (estimate £2–3 million).
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The Vanthournout collection will also be presented in a day sale on March 6 and an online auction running from February 25 to March 12. Further sales at Christie’s include the Impressionist and Modern Art Day and Works on Paper Sale on March 6, followed by the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale and Spellbound: The Hegewisch Collection Part II on March 7, which presents the second part of the collection of Hamburg entrepreneur Klaus Hegewisch. Christie’s Marquee Week concludes with the online sale Post-War and Contemporary Art Online (February 25–March 11).
