Phillips New Now opens mid-season Contemporary sales with $8m; Ben Enwonwu's next market test at Sotheby's in October; The Wallace Collection decides it can loan its masterpieces and armor.

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Bigger Than the Nigerian Mona Lisa?

The New York Times picks up on the re-discovered Ben Enwonwu portrait that Sotheby’s will sell in London a couple of weeks from now. The work is estimated at £100k as a way to attract bidders but the expectations are far greater because of the recent £1.2m sale of the so-called Nigerian Mona Lisa. Much of the pre-sale publicity focused on the fact that the owner inherited the painting and was surprised to hear of its value after submitting it to Sotheby’s via its valuation app. So it is surprising to read that the artist’s son believes the work has the potential to surpass last year’s record: