The "obscene" work of the most expensive modernist broke the European record of Sotheby's

The work of Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) from the famous series of nude portraits became the main lot of Sotheby's in London and went for £48.2 million (more than $ 63 million). This is reported by the Artnet portal.

The sale became a new European record for the artist's works.

"Sitting naked with a Necklace" (1917-1918) is part of a series of nude portraits that once caused a scandal in Parisian art circles: one of Modigliani's early exhibitions was even closed by the police because of the "obscenity" of the images. The portrait was a key lot in the sale of the collection of British billionaire, former owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club Joe Lewis.

Sotheby's positioned the billionaire's collection as a "museum-level collection." It has been formed for several decades as a targeted investment and curatorial strategy. The collection includes 48 lots, including works by Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt, Francis Bacon, Marc Chagall and other authors. With a total estimate of the collection (preliminary expert value assessment) of £150-£280 million, it was fully sold for £306 million, which also broke the record for the sale of a collection from one owner in Europe.

Modigliani did not achieve commercial success during his lifetime and died at the age of 35, but today his works are consistently among the most sought-after and expensive works of modernist art. His portraits and nudes regularly set price records at Sotheby's and other leading auction houses in the world.