A nude portrait by Amedeo Modigliani achieved a record European auction price of $63.9 million at Sotheby’s London sale, propelling the first day of billionaire Joe Lewis’s private art collection event to a total of $392.6 million.
What Happened
On June 24, 2026, Sotheby’s auctioned 48 artworks from Joe Lewis’s private collection, featuring masters like Picasso, Magritte, Klimt, and Lucian Freud. The highlight was Modigliani’s “Nu assis au collier” (Seated Nude Wearing a Necklace), which sold for $63.9 million, the highest price ever paid at auction in Europe for the Italian artist. The sale, held in central London, also included notable pieces such as Gustav Klimt’s portrait “Bildnis Gertrud Loew,” which fetched $47.9 million after competitive bidding, and Lucian Freud’s “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet,” depicting his muse Sue Tilley, which realized $38.8 million.
Key Facts
The auction’s first session amassed a total of $392.6 million from 48 works. Specific results include:
- Modigliani’s “Nu assis au collier”: $63.9 million, European auction record for the artist
- Gustav Klimt’s “Bildnis Gertrud Loew”: $47.9 million, sold to an Asian private collector
- Lucian Freud’s “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet”: $38.8 million
- 23 additional works to be auctioned on June 25, including Picasso’s “Buste de femme” estimated at £12-18 million
- Joe Lewis’s net worth estimated at £5.8 billion (per The Sunday Times Rich List, 2026)
What This Means
The record-setting sale underscores the strength and robustness of the high-end art market, particularly for rare works by iconic artists. This auction exemplifies how blue-chip art continues to attract significant investment from global collectors, underscoring its stature as an alternative asset class. The diverse buyer interest, including prominent Asian collectors chasing Klimt’s work, reflects globalization’s deepening impact on art commerce.
For collectors and investors, these results highlight the enduring demand for provenance-backed masterpieces held in prestigious private collections, which tend to command premium prices. The event also reflects a broader resurgence in blockbuster art sales as confidence returns after recent market uncertainties. Artworks once kept in private hands like those of Joe Lewis now offer public insight into valuations and trends in cultural commodities.
Background
Joe Lewis, former majority owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, assembled this collection over decades, including works from the Vienna Secession movement and modernist icons. Earlier in 2026, four paintings from the same collection by British School of London artists sold for £35.8 million. The current record for a European private collection auction was set in 2009 by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s collection, which sold for €373.9 million.
What Comes Next
The auction continues with 23 further works to be sold the following day, including Picasso’s notable “Buste de femme” from 1938. Collectors and market watchers will keenly observe if this momentum sustains or surpasses other recent milestones in the global art market.
Sources
This article is based on reporting and publicly available information from the following sources:
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