Christie's record-breaking art auction from the personal collection of Monsoon founder

Christie's has announced its highest-value single-owner collection ever - estimated to sell for up to £126.7m.

Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection spans almost 200 works from the personal collection of the British businessman, who founded fashion retailer Monsoon.

The sale includes works by Francis Bacon, Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Hurvin Anderson, among others.

The collection features two paintings from distinct stages of Bacon's career - 1978's Figure in Movement and Study for a Figure, which is estimated to have been painted around 1945.

The first is expected to sell for between £14m and £18m, while the second is expected to fetch between £4m and £6m.

The whole collection is expected to sell for around £86.5m to £126.7m and it will be offered in three dedicated sales during Frieze week in October.

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The auction house has said The Peter Simon Collection "stands as one of Britain's foremost modern and contemporary art collections".

Speaking about his collection, Simon said: "I focused on the British artists who first attracted me, as well as more contemporary artists then emerging on the scene, always aiming to build links and foster dialogue across different worlds.

"It gives me great pleasure to now offer part of my collection to others, freeing my mind and my walls to start in a new direction.

"I hope these works can thrill their new owners and enhance their lives in the way they have done for me."

Also featured are modernist works from Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth - including Nicholson's 1934 (relief), hand-carved from a single piece of wood and expected to fetch between £1m and £2m.

Hepworth's 1948 work on paper, The Hands And The Arm, is estimated to sell for up to £250,000.

Works by other important artists from the School of London, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff, are also featured in the sale, including Study of Primrose Hill and Christ Church, Stormy Day, Summer.

Those pieces are estimated to sell for up to £3m and £600,000, respectively.

Additional works in the collection include Joan Miro's 1925 Peinture (Les amants - Adam et Eve), Fernand Leger's Le Siphon, and Pablo Picasso's Crâne, lampe, poireaux, pichet, painted just days before Europe celebrated the end of the Second World War.

That piece was last displayed in a public exhibition more than 25 years ago.

Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection will be presented in a special exhibition at Christie's London from 26 September until 1 October.

The auction will take place online from 1 October until 20 October, with the evening sale on 14 October and the day sale on 15 October.

(c) Sky News 2026: Christie's record-breaking art auction from the personal collection of Monsoon founder