Art collectors are many but patrons are increasingly rare—and Pauline Karpidas certainly falls into the latter group. Known for her deep collecting of Modern and contemporary art, as well as her generous support of rising British artists, she has often been likened to previous “grand dame” collectors like Peggy Guggenheim and Dominique de Menil.
This September, Karpidas’s extraordinary private collection will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s London. Spanning some 250 lots from her eccentric London home, the trove features Surrealist masterworks by René Magritte, Leonora Carrington, and Les Lalannes. The collection is expected to fetch in excess of £60 million ($81 million)—the highest estimate ever placed on a single collection at Sotheby’s Europe.
“This collection is a perfect case of more is more,” said Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, in a phone call. He added that Karpidas loves to collaborate with artists, designers, and tastemakers, but at the end of the day, the scope of the collection is undeniably “her.”
“She was a collector who is very studious and has a voracious appetite,” he said, noting that her “intellectual curiosity” shines through in this collection.
Pauline Karpidas. Courtesy of the Karpidas Family Archive.
Raised in the industrial city of Manchester, in northern England, Karpidas moved to Athens in the 1960s to set up a boutique called My Fair Lady. There, she met her husband Constantinos Karpidas, a shipping magnate who introduced her to art. He also acquainted her with Alexander Iolas, the legendary Greek-American dealer who’s often credited with discovering Andy Warhol. Allegedly, Iolas came out of retirement in 1974 to help Pauline lead the couple’s art collecting.
Iolas’s influence is evident in this group of works coming up for sale. One of the foremost dealers of Surrealist works in the U.S., he introduced Karpidas to Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and other figures from the movement. Through the 1970s and ’80s, she collected deeply, often buying works directly from single-owner and artist-estate sales. “The provenance of these works is truly incredible. It’s like a ‘who’s who’ of the principle artists and protagonists of Surrealism,” Barker said, noting that she purchased from the collections of André Breton, poet Paul Éluard, and artist William Copley.
He added that hers is one of the “deepest and most comprehensive” troves of Surrealist works to come to market. “She has an Ernst in every medium.” Moreover, her holdings chart the influence of the movement through contemporary works by the likes of Warhol and Jeff Koons as well as the designs of Les Lalanne.
A view of Pauline Karpidas’ salon, London home. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Surrealist Highlights
Among the highlights of the sale is Magritte’s La Statue volante (1940–41), an enigmatic painting from the final decade in the artist’s career that revisits his iconic Venus de Milo theme. The waves in the composition reference the seascapes of Armenian painter Vartan Makhokhian. Karpidas acquired the painting 40 years ago, in 1985, and it can be traced directly back to Iolas, who presented it in a landmark 1959 show at his New York gallery that catapulted Magritte to renown in the U.S. (The Surrealist’s major MoMA survey would follow a few years later, in 1965.) Estimated to fetch £9 million to £12 million ($11.9 million to $15.9 million), it’s the most expensive work on offer.
Last November, Magritte’s famous painting L’empire des Lumières (1954) fetched $121.2 million at Christie’s in New York, setting a new auction record for the Belgian Surrealist painter.
René Magritte, Tête (1960). Est. £300,000-500,000. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Another 10 works by Magritte will be offered in Sotheby’s evening sale, including La Race blanche from 1937 (est. $1.32 million to $2 million) and a 1960 sculpture, Tête (est. $397,000 to $662,000), which was nestled among books on a shelf in Karpidas’s home. She acquired the latter in 1987 from Sotheby’s as part of a studio sale of pieces from the artist’s widow’s estate. Les Menottes de Cuivre (est. $397,000 to $662,000), a reproduction of the Venus de Milo, is believed to have been made for the landmark “Surrealist Exhibition of Objects” in 1936.
Additional Surrealist treasures abound. Salvador Dalí’s Portrait de Gala Galerina (1941) is a rare and serene drawing of his muse and wife Gala, created in wartime exile and once owned by British poet and noted Surrealism patron Edward James. Carrington’s The Hour of Angelus (1949), painted in Mexico and estimated at £600,000 to £800,000 ($794,650 to $1.05 million), blends Catholic iconography with Mesoamerican and Irish mythologies, reflecting the artist’s personal and spiritual influences.
Leonora Carrington, The Hour of Angelus, est. £600,000-800,000. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Personal Relationships
Karpidas developed close relationships with many of the artists she collected, including François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, over 60 works by whom will also go under the hammer. She formed a trusting friendship with the artists after visiting their workshop outside of Paris, before they made it big, and she has supported their work ever since.
Coming to auction are many never-before-seen commissions made specially for Karpidas, such as Claude’s Crocodile Stools (1999), the origins of which are as surreal as the works. In 1972, Claude allegedly paid a midnight visit to a local zoo to pick up a recently deceased crocodile—a strange deal brokered by fellow artist Nikki de Saint Phalle, who was friendly with the zoo’s director. The crocodile carcass allowed Claude to produce highly faithful replications of the animal in future works. Karpidas’s stools are estimated between £180,000 to £250,000 ($238,000 to $330,000).
Claude’s whimsical Butterfly Chandelier from 2012 (est. $198,000 to $265,000) and her extraordinary owl-motif bed, also from 2012 and estimated between £200,000 to £300,000 ($265,000 to $397,300) are also up for grabs, as is a sculptural Aux Canards Table (est. $794,650 to $1.05 million) by François-Xavier, which was the centerpiece of Karpidas’s kitchen.
Claude Lalanne, Crocodile stools (1999). Est. £180,000–250,000. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
A complete Les Lalanne indoor garden will be the centerpiece of the presale exhibition, which will take over Sotheby’s Bond Street galleries from September 8, ahead of the evening and day auctions on September 17 and 18.
The sale wouldn’t be complete without a few works by Andy Warhol, who became a cherished pal of Karpidas after they were introduced in 1978. Warhol was commissioned to do a portrait of Karpidas in his signature quad-panel style, but the pair ended up bonding over their mutual love of Belperron and JAR jewelry designs, leading to a long-term friendship. The Sotheby’s auction will offer four major paintings by the artist. Among the top lots are two works from the artist’s “Art from Art” series, both inspired by Edvard Munch: Madonna and Self-Portrait with Skeleton’s Arm (After Munch), estimated between £1.5 million and £2 million ($2 million and $2.65 million) and The Scream (After Munch), which is expected to sell for £2 million to £3 million ($2.65 million to $3.97 million).
‘The Right Moment’
Karpidas said she has always seen herself as a temporary custodian for artists’ creations. “It feels like the right moment for the pieces that make up my London home to find their next generation of custodians,” she said in a statement. Her London residence was the perfect canvas for her distinctive collecting vision. With the help of interior designer Jacques Grange, it was filled with animal prints, bold colors, and bookcases brimming with volumes on art, dreams, and philosophy.
“This is by no means an ending, as I will continue to live among art, read books, collect new works, and support artists,” Karpidas said. In addition to collecting, she is known for championing contemporary British artists, especially YBAs like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Additionally, she has been a benefactor of the Tate in London for many years and supported the New Museum’s education center in New York.
An alternative view of the salon, the walls hung with artworks. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Sotheby’s Barker said this is the right moment in the auction calendar, too. “Collections like this are getting scarcer and scarcer,” Barker said. “We chose to present this in September ahead of the many big fall sales in October and November, when it could really command the attention it deserves.” Moreover, despite the art market’s contraction over the last two years, demand for Surrealist work has soared.
It’s not the first time Sotheby’s has sold works from Karpidas’s collection. In October 2023, Sotheby’s Paris held two days of auctions dedicated to works from her Hydra home. The grand total of €35.6 million ($37.6 million) soared past its presale estimate of €11.8 million to €17.1 million ($13.6 million to $19.7 million). The result marked the highest value single-owner sale across France that year.