Frieze London 2025 returns with the 23rd edition of the annual art extravaganza from Oct. 15-19 in Regent Park, showcasing modern works from more than 280 international galleries. For nearly as many years, the world’s four largest auction houses—all of which were founded in London—have hosted their own art sales over the course of this frenzied week to capitalize on the influx of art collectors in town for Frieze, its sister fair Frieze Masters, and satellite fairs like the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. Auctioneers go all out for blockbuster lineups, featuring art world icons from Claude Monet to Banksy.
Sotheby’s kicks off the festivities with another selling exhibition in the spirit of their EROS/THANATOS show amidst last month’s Hong Kong auction week. A rep from Sotheby’s Hong Kong told Maxim that this unconventional approach caters to collectors who prefer buying from shows. For London, Sotheby’s has chosen a flashy array of legends like comic book artist Roy Lichtenstein, Minimalist sculptor Donald Judd, and Italian canvas-slasher Lucio Fontana at Hamiltons—London’s premier photography gallery, led since 1983 by Tim Jeffries, the Green Shield Stamps heir best known for romancing beauties like Claudia Schiffer.
On the auction front, Sotheby’s has only ever offered contemporary art (which is a contentious term that generally means art by living artists) during these London sales. This year, they’re hosting three auctions in partnership with Parisian fashion house Celine: an October 16 Evening Sale led by the late Irish-British painter Francis Bacon’s beloved “Portrait of a Dwarf” (1975) (est. $8,045,910 – $12,068,865), a larger October 17 Day Sale led by Andy Warhol’s pastel “Guns” (1981-82) (est. $603,443 – $871,640), and another sale of 17 works from David Hockney’s 2011 series of iPad drawings honoring English spring. The consignor has held these prints since buying them from the recently shuttered Los Angeles gallery L.A. Louver in 2014.
Christie’s will also host four events this Frieze week, starting with a 20th/21st Century Evening Sale on October 15. The auction will feature 61 lots by the likes of Spanish cubist Pablo Picasso, French Surrealist René Magritte, and French Impressionist Paul Cezanne—plus three newsworthy works by leading 20th century British portraitist Lucian Freud, all from one esteemed private collection. Among these, Freud’s “Self-portrait Fragment” (ca. 1956), which is slated to sell for $10,727,880 to $16,091,820, could prevail as the week’s most expensive work.
The next day, Christie’s will host a Post War and Contemporary Day sale. Leading the 145-lot sale is German sculptor Thomas Schütte’s “Groβer Frauenkopf (Large Female Head)” (2021-24) (est. $536,394 – $804,591), which the current owner bought directly from Schütte last year. Four hours later, Christie’s will start selling drawings from the collection of German fruit merchant Klaus Hegeswich. This sale—the first in a trilogy—will feature a buffet of big names, including a self-portrait by Norwegian Expressionist Edvard Munch (of “The Scream” fame) and a sheet of frenzied horses and dogs by French Art Nouveau artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The star, though, is Picasso’s second-ever etching “Le repas frugal” (1905) (est. $2,011,477 – $3,352,462)
Per usual, Phillips is bringing the freshest possible lineup of highly current artists to their set of Modern & Contemporary sales—like American self-portraitist Sasha Gordon, who just opened her debut show at mega-gallery David Zwirner, and French painter Claire Tabouret, whose hand-painted Los Feliz abode made headlines this summer. Two works by Jean-Michel Basquiat will lead the house’s 26-lot Evening Sale on October 16. A 1982 work on paper “Untitled (Pestus)” is expected to achieve $2,685,600 to $4,028,400, and a 1985 canvas “Untitled” could fetch $1,611,360 to $2,417,040. Canvases are usually more expensive than works on paper. What’s more, “Untitled” (1985) is a rare Basquiat female nude. Nevertheless, “Untitled” (Pestus) could prove pricier because it “is an unusually large scale work on paper, which are very rare to come to market,” Olivia Thornton, Phillips’ Head of Modern & Contemporary Art in Europe, told Maxim.
Plus, “Untitled” (Pestus)” hails from his highly coveted breakout year. The next day, four different artworks by three Americans (street artist Keith Haring, abstractionist Frank Stella, and Pop artist Robert Indiana, creator of Philadelphia’s “love” sculpture)—plus German sculptor Tony Cragg—are tied to lead Phillips’ 111-lot Day Sale, all bearing estimates of $241,254 to $335,075.
Bonhams will also host two 20th & 21st Century sales—a 13-lot Evening Sale led by Monet’s idyllic “La route de Giverny” (1885) (est. $2,000,000 – $2,700,000), followed by a 73-lot Day Sale where French Fauvist Raoul Dufy’s seaside scene “Régates à Deauville” (1935) headlines with an estimate of $200,000 to $270,000. Bonhams, considered the “small-fry” of the big four auction houses, “has been teething in its contemporary art offerings for some time,” experts noted in 2022. Alas, contemporary art is what gives Frieze week life.
Bonhams is rising to the occasion, harmonizing relics from last century like a snappy backstage sketch by Francoise Gilot—the only woman to survive dating Picasso—with contemporary treasures like a Banksy piece spray painted on a flag (est. $67,000 to $94,000). Besides, Bonhams’ prevailing expertise in selling items beyond ultra high end contemporary art could pay off—auction houses have come under fire for their impact on living artists. For now, however, let the London sales begin.