‘Head of a girl’ by Frederic, Lord Leighton – estimated at £60,000-80,000 at Sotheby’s.
Head of a girl, is thought to date from the late 1870s when the artist painted a series of head-and-shoulder studies of various Mediterranean models during a visit to Italy, at least three of which have sold at auction before.
An annotation on the reverse states that the painting was in the collection of the Sartoris family – the wealthy politician Edward Sartoris and his wife Adelaide, a famous opera singer, were perhaps Leighton’s closest friends.
The estimate at Sotheby’s sale of European & British Art in London is £60,000-80,000.
