Peter Simon, founder of the Monsoon fashion chain, is selling nearly 200 works in Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection, a Christie’s offering estimated at £86.5m–£126.7m. The three-part sale — the highest-value single-owner group Christie’s London has handled — includes major works by Francis Bacon, Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso and Hurvin Anderson. Highlights include Bacon’s Figure in Movement (est. £14m–£18m) and a rarely seen Picasso. Public exhibition runs 26 Sept–1 Oct, with online bidding from 1–20 Oct.
£126.7m Bidding Storm: Monsoon Founder Peter Simon Puts Nearly 200 Artworks Up for Sale at Christie’s
Peter Simon says he focused on the British artists who first attracted him, as well as more contemporary artists who then emerged on the scene - Shutterstock
Peter Simon, the founder of the Monsoon fashion chain, is offering nearly 200 works from his personal collection in a Christie’s sale that could realise as much as £126.7m. Branded Monsoon: The Peter Simon Collection, the group carries a pre-sale estimate of £86.5m–£126.7m and will be presented across three dedicated sales in October.
Bacon's Figure in Movement is expected to sell for between £14m and £18m - Christie's Images/PA Wire
Christie’s London describes this as the highest-value single-owner collection it has ever offered in the city. The sale brings together major 20th- and 21st-century names including Francis Bacon, Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Hurvin Anderson, alongside British modernists such as Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth.
Peinture (Les amants – Adam and Eve) by Joan Miro, 1925 - Christie's Images/PA Wire
Two works highlight different phases of Bacon’s career: Figure in Movement (1978), estimated at £14m–£18m, and Study for a Figure, believed to date from around 1945 and estimated at £4m–£6m. Ben Nicholson’s 1934 hand-carved relief is expected to fetch £1m–£2m, while Barbara Hepworth’s 1948 work on paper The Hands and The Arm is estimated around £250,000.
Last House by Hurvin Anderson - Christie's Images/PA Wire
The collection also features Joan Miró’s 1925 Peinture (Les amants – Adam and Eve), Piet Mondrian’s 1935 Composition A, With Double Line And Yellow, Fernand Léger’s Le Siphon, Bridget Riley’s Streak 2, Alighiero Boetti’s Mappa, Willem de Kooning’s 1984 Untitled, Jeff Koons’ Baroque Egg With Bow (Blue/Turquoise) and Andy Warhol’s Diamond Dust Shoes.
Hurvin Anderson’s Last House, which featured in his 2017 Turner Prize installation and his 2026 Tate retrospective, is estimated at up to £3m. Also notable is Pablo Picasso’s Crâne, Lampe, Poireaux, Pichet, painted shortly before the end of the Second World War in Europe and not publicly exhibited for more than 25 years.
"A critical part of the DNA of Monsoon is the colours and the prints," Simon said. "In retrospect, I realise this work happily honed an ability to recognise good composition with colour balance... 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."
Joseph Braka, Christie’s specialist in post-war and contemporary art, called the ensemble "one of the finest and boldest ever assembled in the United Kingdom," noting the collection’s strong roots in 20th-century British painting while embracing international voices.
Public exhibition: The collection will be on public view at Christie’s London from 26 September to 1 October. Online bidding runs from 1 to 20 October.
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