The personal art collection of Peter Simon, the founder of British fashion retailer Monsoon, is set to go under the hammer this October in what Christie’s has described as the highest-value single-owner collection ever offered during a single marquee week in London.
The collection, titled Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection, features nearly 200 works of art and is estimated to fetch between £86.5 million and £126.7 million. The auction will take place during the prestigious Frieze week, with the lots divided into three dedicated sales.
Simon, who built his fashion empire on a foundation of vibrant colors and intricate prints, described his approach to collecting as an extension of his work at Monsoon. “In the early days at Monsoon, I would sit with fashion and textile designers sifting portfolio after portfolio to select works on paper which we would convert onto fabric,” he said. “A critical part of the DNA of Monsoon is the colours and the prints. In retrospect, I realise this work happily honed an ability to recognise good composition with colour balance.”
The collection spans a wide breadth of modernist and contemporary masters, including Francis Bacon, Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Hurvin Anderson. Among the most anticipated lots are two pieces by Francis Bacon: Figure in Movement (1978), estimated at £14 million to £18 million, and Study for a Figure (c. 1945), valued at £4 million to £6 million.
Other highlights include Piet Mondrian’s 1935 Composition A, with Double Line and Yellow, and Picasso’s Crâne, lampe, poireaux, pichet, a painting completed just days before the end of World War II which has not been seen in public for over 25 years. Modernist fans will also find pieces by Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth, as well as School of London stalwarts Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff.
Joseph Braka, a post-war and contemporary art specialist at Christie’s, hailed the collection as “one of the finest and boldest ever assembled in the United Kingdom.” He noted that the collection is particularly significant for its early adoption of a “borderless” perspective, incorporating art from across the globe rather than adhering to a single region or movement.
For Simon, the sale marks a transition. “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,” he added. “I hope these works can thrill their new owners and enhance their lives in the way they have done for me.”
The collection will be presented in a public exhibition at Christie’s London galleries from September 26 to October 1. The online auction will run from October 1 to 20, with key evening and day sales scheduled for October 14 and 15, respectively.
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