The Collection of Ole Faarup – recognised as one of Denmark’s most important art collectors – comes to Christie’s London saleroom this October.
Assembled over fifty years, the collection features work by major contemporary artists including Peter Doig, Chris Ofili and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Proceeds from the sale will benefit The Ole Faarup Art Foundation, established to help younger artists by placing their work in museums and public collections in Denmark and around the world.
Ole Faarup was one of Denmark’s most visionary art collectors, renowned across Europe for his discerning eye and commitment to contemporary art. His passion began in the 1960s while working for Georg Jensen in New York City and developed when he returned to Denmark in the 1970s, in tandem with his successful furniture and design business, 3Falke.
Having initially focused on Danish artists such as Per Kirkeby, Ejler Bille, Sonja Ferlov Mancoba and Asger Jorn, he expanded to include international artists with a particular focus on acquiring works early in artists’ careers.
Now the collection will be presented in a series of sales with an overall estimate of £16,000,000–22,000,000. Highlights include:
Peter Doig’s Country Rock (1998–99, estimate: £7,000,000-10,000,000), a monumental painting featured on the catalogue cover of Doig’s 2008 Tate retrospective. Depicting Toronto’s iconic rainbow tunnel – originally painted in 1972 as a tribute by a grieving teenager – it exemplifies Doig’s fascination with place, memory, and myth.
Ski Jacket (1994) also by Peter Doig. Offered at auction for the first time, this painting was made in the year of Doig’s Turner Prize nomination (estimate: £6,000,000-8,000,000).
Chris Ofili’s Blossom (1997, estimate: £1,000,000-1,500,000). Created one year before he became the first black artist to win the Turner Prize, Blossom is widely regarded as one of the artist’s most important works. It was prominently exhibited under Ole Faarup’s stewardship, also featuring on the cover of the Tate Britain catalogue for Ofili’s 2010 retrospective and in Chris Ofili: Night and Day at the New Museum, New York (2014–15).
Untitled by Jean-Michel Basquiat (estimate: £300,000-500,000). Realised in 1982, the year of Basquiat’s breakout debut at the Annina Nosei Gallery and his inclusion in documenta VII, the work captures a pivotal moment in the artist’s meteoric early career.
Also work by renowned Scandinavian and Danish artists such as Karin Mamma Andersson, Asger Jorn, Per Kirkeby and Sonja Ferlov Mancoba; prominent artists from the Neue Leipziger Schule including Neo Rauch, Matthias Weischer and Daniel Richter, and works by leading YBAs, such as Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Gary Hume.
Morten Kroon, Chairman of The Ole Faarup Art Foundation: “In keeping with his deep passion for contemporary art and unwavering support for emerging artists, Ole Faarup made the generous decision to leave his estate to the newly established Ole Faarup Art Foundation. The Foundation’s purpose is to acquire and donate works to public museums and collections, ensuring broad access to contemporary art. We are proud to partner with Christie’s on this important sale, which will help carry forward Ole’s legacy of championing young talent and enriching museum collections both in Denmark and internationally”.
The Collection of Ole Faarup features 140 lots and will be offered in a series of sales, starting with the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale on 15 October and the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on 16 October 2025, alongside a dedicated online auction (8–21 October 2025).
For further information: christies.com
Image: Portrait of Ole Faarup. In the background: Chris Ofili, Blossom, 1997. In the foreground: Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Splitting the Difference, 1999. Photograph by Lauridsen Carsten. Photo: Alamy/Ritzau courtesy CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2025
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