LONDON, 13 SEPTEMBER – A selection of works from the art collection of Mario Testino captured the imagination of collectors at Sotheby’s in London this evening at Part I of ‘Shake It Up’, an auction to benefit the Museo MATE, Lima Peru. Testino’s interest as a collector is wide-ranging, with no fewer than 45 different nationalities represented in the collection. With bidding from every continent, this evening’s sale saw exceptional results for artists from Europe, the United States and Latin America.

The auction opened with a flurry of bids for Zaarke, 2000, a panting by the German-born Turner Prize winning artist Tomma Abts, which sold for £193,750, over seven times its pre-sale estimate – establishing a new record price the artist. There was also great competition for the second lot of the evening, Pile, 2008, a monumental canvas in metallic paint by the American artist Jacqueline Humphries. The painting sold to a phone bidder for £193,750, setting the second artist record in as many lots.

The top lots of the evening included the enigmatic double-portrait Two, 2004 by Belgian painter Michaël Borremans, which sold for £872,750 following a prolonged bidding battle in the saleroom. Blue Sauna, 2003, a tiled interior by Brazilian artist Adriana Varejão realised £488,750, while the highest price of the evening was achieved for Tauba Auerbach’s mesmerising painting from 2010 which sold above its high estimate for £824,750.

This evening’s sale realised a total of £6.3 million, proceeds from which will benefit the Museo MATE, Lima, established in 2012 to promote and support culture in Peru. The Shake It Up sales will enable the expansion of the centre’s programme of exhibitions, residencies and education initiatives (more information on MATE can be found here).

A further 207 works from collection will be offered tomorrow in Part II of the Shake It Up auction. Bidding is also open until 15 September for the online sale of 88 photographs from the Mario Testino collection, with prices starting at £100 – please find press release attached for further information.