The gathering of British socialite, collector, and humanities patron Pauline Karpidas will hit the public sale block at Sotheby’s London on September 17 and 18.
Described by the home because the “biggest assortment of Surrealism to emerge in current historical past,” it contains masterpieces by René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Leonora Carrington, and Max Ernst. The sale is predicted to fetch £60 million ($81 million), the very best estimate ever positioned on a single assortment at Sotheby’s in Europe.
The gathering, which additionally includes distinctive items of furnishings, adorned Karpidas’ London dwelling. She was impressed to start out accumulating 50 years in the past after an encounter with the late Greek American gallerist Alexander Iolas, who superior the careers of Magritte, Andy Warhol, and plenty of different outstanding artists.
“Ever since my journey into the humanities started, I’ve had the good honour of assembly a world of fantastic people who’ve made this assortment attainable—from Alexander Iolas, who opened my eyes and was my mentor, and lots of the unbelievable artists themselves,” Karpidas stated in a press release. “I’ve at all times seen myself as a short lived custodian for his or her creations, and it appears like the precise second for the items that make up my London dwelling to seek out their subsequent era of custodians. That is certainly not an ending, as I’ll proceed to stay amongst artwork, learn books, acquire new works and help artists, as I’ve performed for thus a few years now.”
Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s Europe chairman, informed ARTnews that Karpidas “suits seamlessly into the legacy of ‘grande dame’ collectors and patrons who’ve come earlier than her—and she is going to little question encourage many for years to return.”
Barker stated being concerned within the sale has been one in all his “profession highlights.”
“There’s merely no different assortment like that of Pauline Karpidas,” he added. “From the extraordinary calibre of the artworks to the limitless tales of deep friendships and collaborations, this can be a window right into a particular world of boldness, conviction and insatiable curiosity.”
Works by Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle, Tves Tanguy, and Dorethea Tanning may even be offered.
Karpidas, who is understood for constructing shut friendships with lots of the artists she collected, was born in a modest home in Manchester earlier than she moved to Athens within the Nineteen Sixties, the place she met her future husband, the Greek transport magnate Constantinos Karpidas.
In October 2023, Sotheby’s Paris offered works from the {couples}’ dwelling on the Greek island of Hydra. The 2-day public sale realized greater than €35 million ($40 million), marking the very best single-owned sale in France that yr.
Final yr celebrated the centennial of the start of Surrealism (the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto was in October 1924). Main exhibits have been placed on on the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Fashionable Artwork Museum of Fort Price, amongst different museums, whereas public sale costs for Surrealist artists have soared just lately. In 2024, Christie’s sold Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (The Empire of Gentle) (1954) for $121.2 million in New York, a document for the painter at public sale.
The works and furnishings for the sale on the finish of September will go on public view at Sotheby’s New Bond Road showroom on September 8.
Associated Articles
