Sotheby's already expect the Ullens collection, assembled during a period of determined acquisition over the past 20 years, to be a major summer highlight and are planning a world tour for the collection.
After journeying to the Far East, the United States, France and Switzerland, it will be on view in London from May 29-June 7 and from June 28 until the sale day of July 5.
Spanning the first half of the 19th century, the 14 works range from naturalistic British coastal scenes to impressionistic European views. The six Swiss landscapes include four works from the 1840s, among them Lungernsee, a loosely drawn depiction of Lake Lucerne, and the snow-capped mountains of the Wetterhorn, c.1848, that carries an estimate of £2m-3m.
Such price levels - governed no doubt by the record £5.2m achieved at Christie's in June 2006 for the masterpiece The Blue Rigi - value the Baron Ullens' Turners at a collective £10m-15m.
