Modigliani nude sets European auction record at London art sale
Key takeaways
- A London auction of artworks from billionaire Joe Lewis's private collection raised $392.6 million on Wednesday, led by an Amedeo Modigliani nude portrait that set a European auction record.
- Forty-eight works by artists including Picasso, Magritte and Klimt, amassed by Joe Lewis, the ex-owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, are being auctioned on Wednesday and Thursday.
- Lewis, 89, transferred his majority stake in the London football club to a family trust in 2022 and is now worth £5.8 billion, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
A London auction of artworks from billionaire Joe Lewis's private collection raised $392.6 million on Wednesday, led by an Amedeo Modigliani nude portrait that set a European auction record. The first sale featured 48 works by artists including Pablo Picasso, René Magritte and Gustav Klimt. Lewis, former majority owner of Tottenham Hotspur, transferred his stake to a family trust in 2022.
By: FRANCE 24 Staff members pose next to Amedeo Modigliani’s 'Nu assis au collier', during a media preview by Sotheby's in London to highlight masterpieces from the Lewis Collection, with an initial estimate of at least 200 million pounds ($267 million) © JUSTIN TALLIS, AFP The first part of a London auction of a museum-worthy private art collection raked in $392.6 million Wednesday, powered by an Amedeo Modigliani nude portrait that set a new European record.
Forty-eight works by artists including Picasso, Magritte and Klimt, amassed by Joe Lewis, the ex-owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, are being auctioned on Wednesday and Thursday.