Sotheby’s London will auction the personal collection of Pauline Karpidas, a longtime patron of the arts and collector known as “Europe’s Peggy Guggenheim.” The sale will take place on September 17th and 18th and is estimated in excess of £60 million ($81.02 million)—the highest estimate ever placed on a single-owner collection by Sotheby’s in Europe. A public exhibition will open on September 8th at Sotheby’s Bond Street galleries.
Karpidas is regarded as one of the most discerning and internationally minded collectors of her generation. The works to be offered include pieces by René Magritte, Max Ernst, Niki de Saint Phalle, Francis Picabia, and Salvador Dalí. “From the extraordinary caliber of the artworks to the endless stories of deep friendships and collaborations, this is a window into a special world of boldness, conviction, and insatiable curiosity,” said Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s chairman in Europe.
Born in Manchester and later based in Athens and London, the collector has spent decades acquiring works through long-standing relationships with artists and dealers. The beginnings of her collection date back to 1974, when she met Greek American dealer Alexander Iolas. Known for discovering Andy Warhol and championing Surrealist artists such as Magritte, Iolas came out of retirement to help guide Karpidas’s acquisitions. Over the years, her residences—most notably in London and on the Greek island of Hydra—have become showcases for Surrealist and contemporary works, set against backdrops of animal prints, saturated color, and custom furniture.
Her collection has a particular focus on Surrealism, especially works by women. The Sotheby’s sale will include pieces by Leonora Carrington and Dorothea Tanning. Even amid market uncertainty, auction prices for both artists have held strong—or even gained momentum. Carrington set a new auction record in May 2024 when Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945) sold for $28.5 million at Sotheby’s. This May, Tanning’s Endgame (1944) fetched $2.34 million at Christie’s, well above its $1 million–$1.5 million estimate.
Karpidas also acquired major works by Pablo Picasso and Warhol, alongside sculptural and design works by Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, Mattia Bonetti, and André Dubreuil. Many of these pieces were originally sourced from notable estates, including those of Man Ray and André Breton.
“I have always seen myself as a temporary custodian for their creations, and it feels like the right moment for the pieces that make up my London home to find their next generation of custodians,” Karpidas said in a statement. “This is by no means an ending, as I will continue to live among art, read books, collect new works, and support artists, as I have done for so many years now.”
The £60 million figure surpasses the previous Sotheby’s benchmark for an estimate on a single-owner sale, set by “Looking Closely,” a 2011 anonymous private sale that carried a £45 million ($60 million) estimate. In the end, the sale overperformed, fetching £93.5 million ($126.45 million).
