T his week, Sotheby’s hosted The London Sales—two thrilling days of auctions led by Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection. The Lewis Collection, which included masterworks by Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Gustav Klimt and more, realized £306.6 million ($406.2 million) making it the most valuable single owner collection sold at auction in London. Taken together with the Modern & Contemporary Day Auctions, the grand total came to £420.5 million (556.5 million).

Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and auctioneer for this single-owner sale, Oliver Barker started it all off with the first lot of the Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection evening auction, Gustave Caillebotte’s Portrait de Paul Hugot. The instant and fierce bidding battle that followed set the stage for a night of deep bidding from collectors around the world. The bidding for Caillebotte’s imposing portrait alone, which appeared at auction for the first time in more than 30 years, extended over 10 minutes and included nine bidders. The final hammer price for the artist’s most ambitious male portrait was £10.3 million ($13.6 million), far exceeding the high estimate of £4.5 million.

But the star lot of the sale was one of the most important works by Amedeo Modigliani ever to come to market: Nu assis au collier, a nude portrait which, at the time of its debut, scandalized the Parisian art world. The artwork sold to an Asian collector for £48.2 million ($63.9 million), the highest price ever achieved in Europe for the artist.

Lucian Freud’s Sleeping by the Lion Carpet was also offered last night for the first time at auction, having been held in The Lewis Collection since it was acquired from Acquavella Galleries in 1996, the year it was completed. The monumental piece sold for £29.3 million ($38.8 million) after an estimate of £25-35 million.

In all, 70% of the works from the Lewis Collection achieved prices in excess of their high estimates. This includes Gustav Klimt’s ethereal full-length portrait Bildnis Gertrud Loew (Gertha Felsőványi), which was pursued by seven bidders before selling for £36.2 million ($47.9 million). In the last quarter century, only five major portraits by the artist—including this work—have sold at auction, each one of which has exceeded its top estimate, often by multiple factors.

Following the Lewis Collection, Helena Newman, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, Impressionist and Modern Art, took over the rostrum to host the Modern & Contemporary Evening Sale which was led by Claude Monet’s Nymphéas which was originally shown in the now-legendary exhibition of the artist’s water lilies at Galerie Durand-Ruel in 1909. Five bidders vied for the piece before the hammer came down at £40.8 million ($54 million) making it the most valuable Impressionist work sold at auction in Europe in over a decade.

Later, Banksy's large and formidable iteration of Love Is In the Air was offered at an estimate of £3.5-5.5 million. It sold for £6.4 million ($8.5 million). An Untitled work on paper by Mark Rothko made its auction debut after having recently been featured in the celebrated exhibition of the artist’s paintings on paper at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.. The work set off a spirited 10-minute bidding battle before selling for £9 million ($12 million) following a high estimate of £6 million.

All in all, the historic night set a new record for the highest ever auction total achieved in a single night in Europe with £393.4 million ($520.7 million).

On Thursday 25 June, the sales recommenced with the Contemporary and Modern Day Auctions the latter of which included Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection. In total, the sales achieved £27.1 million ($35.8 million). The Contemporary Auction was led by George Condo’s Zombie Modernism, which surpassed its high estimate hammering at £832,000 ($1,098,573).

Bidders paid tribute to the late David Hockney by pushing a print of his iPad drawing The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East to double its low estimate, finally achieving £512,000 ($676,045). Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale more than doubled its high estimate, selling for £358,400 ($473,231).

The Modern Day Auction was led by Pablo Picasso’s intimate work on paper, Portrait of Dora Maar, which doubled its low estimate, selling for £1.3 million ($1.7 million). Henri Matisse’s exuberant Paysage nearly doubled its low estimate, achieving £576,00 ($760,550).

“This season has truly been one for the history books,” said Barker, adding “There is something singular about London in June.” Indeed, it was a spectacular few days featuring incredible collections and extraordinary art. “If there is one message to take home from this moment,” said Barker, “it is that London’s capacity to inspire, to convene, and to lead on the world stage remains as powerful as ever.”