Billionaire Joe Lewis, the former owner of Tottenham Hotspur, is set to auction four significant works from the School of London at Sotheby’s London on March 4. The selection is headlined by a 1972 Francis Bacon self-portrait estimated at £8 million, alongside major paintings by Lucian Freud and Leon Kossoff. This marks the first time Lewis has publicly sold works from his renowned collection, which is estimated to be worth approximately $1 billion and is famously housed in part on his superyacht.
The sale is a major event for the art market, as Lewis has historically been a discreet but powerful force, once holding a 30% stake in Christie’s and being linked to record-breaking transactions like the $90.3 million sale of David Hockney’s 'Pool with Two Figures'. The auction comes at a time of heightened scrutiny for Lewis following a 2024 insider-trading conviction in the US. The appearance of these high-caliber figurative works without guarantees will serve as a key barometer for the strength of the blue-chip modern British art market.