Going below the hammer with Sotheby’s this September, Pauline Karpidas’ art and design collection is probably one of many world’s most beneficial and eclectic. The British collector and humanities patron has a penchant for Surrealism, and her London house is stuffed with masterpieces by Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, René Magritte, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, amongst others.
Pauline Karpidas, the art collector
(Image credit: Courtesy Sotheby’s • Karpidas Family Archive)
Born in Manchester, she moved to London and met her future husband shipping magnate Constantine Karpidas (himself a collector of 19th-century and impressionist art) as a student. According to Karpidas, it was he who opened her eyes ‘to the beauty of wonderful things’ and encouraged her lifelong collecting journey to begin.
Pauline and Constantinos Karpidas
(Image credit: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
A visit to Greek gallerist Alexander Iolas’s home in Athens helped Karpidas uncover Surrealist painters, and the 2 labored carefully to assemble her assortment of artworks (she satisfied him to return out of retirement to work along with her). That second additionally marked the start of Karpidas’ artwork schooling, because the budding collector spent the next a number of years totally immersed in up to date artwork tradition by way of readings and visits to main museums and galleries.
A portrait of Alexander Iolas by Giorgio De Chirico, 1937, a part of Karpidas’ assortment
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Sotheby’s)
Her assortment grew organically from there, the results of a mixture of instinct, exploration, schooling and recommendation from Iolas. However what adopted was additionally a collection of unimaginable encounters with artists and creatives, for whom Karpidas grew to become a patron and good friend – these included Warhol, François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne (the husband-and-wife duo generally known as Les Lalanne), Paloma Picasso, Ernst, Peggy Guggenheim, and extra.
‘Ever since my journey into the arts began, I have had the great honour of meeting a world of wonderful individuals who have made this collection possible, from Alexander Iolas, who opened my eyes and was my mentor, to many of the incredible artists themselves,’ recalls Karpidas. ‘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. 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 treasures of Karpidas’ London home
Inside Pauline Karpidas’ home
(Image credit: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
The upcoming sale will feature most of the contents of Karpidas’ home, including bespoke design commissions that were created for the space. ‘Pauline is a true visionary, championing the concept of living with art and design in dialogue,’ says Jodi Pollack, Sotheby’s chairman and co-worldwide head of 20th Century Design. ‘The design in her London home was anchored by a trove of pieces by Les Lalanne, many of which the market has never seen before.
A detail of Structure Vegetale, a bronze bed by Claude Lalanne, from Pauline Karpidas’ bedroom
(Image credit: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
‘So many of these are unique commissions, personalised to Pauline’s taste and ethos, and representing today the very pinnacle of Les Lalanne’s creativity and artistic legacy. The choreography of Pauline’s extraordinary home was further elevated by [more] unique commissioned works by pioneering designers such as André Dubreuil and Mattia Bonetti. The totality of the assemblage is a real artwork type and imaginative and prescient.’
A view of the staircase, with the banisters and bookcase by Mattia Bonetti, and a Lanterne by Claude Lalanne. Held on the partitions are a collection of etchings by Pablo Picasso
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Karpidas met Les Lalanne in 1978, visiting them of their workshop outdoors of Paris, and have become one in all their first collectors, after they weren’t but well-known. Included within the Sotheby’s sale can be an owl-adorned mattress, anticipated to fetch over £200,000, and a butterfly chandelier, going for £150,000. Different items are a monkey desk, a bronze Ganesh, in addition to furnishings and jewelry.
A element of Karpidas’ drawing room bookcase, a singular creation by Mattia Bonetti
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Bespoke items by Swiss Paris-based sculptor and designer Mattia Bonetti embrace mirrored frames for Karpidas’ lounge home windows, a set of ten eating chairs, and a library that initially held her huge artwork e-book assortment and sculptures that blend genres and eras, from a Roman marble head from the first century AD to a 1967 René Magritte bronze.
The bookcase with René Magritte’s La Race Blanche bronze sculpture from 1967
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Karpidas’ style in design is decidedly eclectic, with a wealth of supplies, types and colors coexisting throughout the gathering. A pair of brilliant blue Hervé Van Der Straeten lamps, as an example, flank a Mattia Bonetti mattress of the identical hue, whereas Francis Picabia’s Untitled (L’Espagnole) painting is hung close by.
A element of Francis Picabia’s, Untitled (Espagnole) in a bed room at Pauline Karpidas’ London dwelling
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
All this and extra – from objects by Puiforcat and Fornasetti to daring sofas designed by Jacques Grange and made by Maison Decour – combines on this unimaginable assortment.
From 8-16 September 2025, will probably be doable to view the total lot earlier than the public sale.
Sotheby’s 34–35 New Bond Avenue, London W1A 2AA
Desk aux Serpents by Claude Lalanne, in Karpidas’ salon. The bronze and copper desk, adorned with designs of leaves and snakes, was created in 2017
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
Choupatte by Claude Lalanne perched on a desk by Diego Giacometti, in entrance of a settee by Mattia Bonetti
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
The salon with Mattia Bonetti’s bespoke library
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
A element of the upstairs touchdown showcasing Andy Warhol’s portrait of Man Ray from 1974 (the Warhol Marilyns are usually not included within the public sale), hung above a cupboard completed in gold leaf by Mattia Bonetti
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Sotheby’s)
