00:00Well it's a really special day here at Sotheby's. We're just opening now the pre-sale exhibition for the masterpieces
00:06from the Lewis Collection and we're absolutely thrilled at Sotheby's to be opening the doors on what is now the
00:11most valuable pre-sale estimate that's ever been put on a private collection offered anywhere in Europe. It's really exciting.
00:16And what's great for us is so often we're entrusted with wonderful collections devoted maybe to one artist or possibly
00:22a movement of art like abstract expressionism but to have one collection of this nature which is defined solely by
00:29portraiture is truly unique and actually as you walk around the galleries and you can see examples behind me there
00:34is this kind of intense psychological kind of profiling of everything and every work is a masterpiece too and it's
00:40really extraordinary.
00:41It's such a difficult thing to really pick out highlights from a collection of this importance and prominence you know
00:47I mean ones that spring to mind of course are the wonderful portrait of Gertrude Lowe behind me this extraordinary
00:53Gustav Klimt painting but then again you've got the great 14 the Petit Danseurs de 14 ans the wonderful Degas
00:58sculpture which is extraordinarily rare to market we have the Medigliani New which is one of only seven paintings exhibited
01:04during Medigliani's life which were highly controversial at the time but of course have been seen now retroactively as these
01:11incredible maidens these incredible maidens these sort of new interpretation of the female nude and then who could forget Sue
01:16Tilly the great Lucien Freud painting which has recently been on exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and is arguably
01:21I think the greatest Lucien Freud painting ever to make its way to market as well.
Commenti