British Art Sale

Part 1 of Sotheby's three-part sale of the Evill/Frost Collection, unassumingly described by Sotheby's as the greatest collection of 20th Century British art ever to come to the market, broke records left, right and centre and took more than double what pre-sale estimates had predicted. Stanley Spencer's Sunflower and Dog Worship from 1937 went under the hammer for a record £5.4m (CLICK). Lucian Freud's Boy on a Sofa (1944) sold for £1.5m. This work has an interesting story attached to it. Freud allegedly caught this boy, Billy Lumley, breaking into his flat and persuaded him to sit for this portrait (title link). The auction continues today.