The Foujita Lexicon: Works from the Lewis Collection

Masterpieces by Foujita to be offered in a dedicated auction in Hong Kong

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August 20, 2026 9:07am EDT

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Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, Mon Portrait, 1924. Estimate: 8,000,000 - 1,200,000 HKD.

Dear collectors,

This season, Sotheby’s in Hong Kong has the distinct honour of presenting The Foujita Lexicon: Works from the Lewis Collection. The most comprehensive collection of works by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita ever to come to market, this single-artist evening auction follows the record-breaking success of Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection, which opened The London Sales in June.

Carefully assembled over more than 25 years, this encyclopaedic overview of Foujita’s oeuvre provides a unique perspective on the artist’s singular achievements, covering each decade of his practice. It is rare to encounter such a complete collection of a single artist’s work in private hands, reflecting the rigorous collecting practice represented by The Lewis Collection.

Learn More

Foujita moved from Tokyo to Paris in the early years of the 20th century. There he became a celebrated figure of the École de Paris, counting Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Diego Rivera as friends and colleagues. Over the following six decades, across multiple continents, Foujita produced works of timeless beauty that elegantly bridged Eastern and Western traditions. Among his most celebrated innovations were the grand fond blanc paintings, in which subjects emerge against porcelain-like white backgrounds, as seen in Nu assoupi sur la table or Chatte et chaton, and his original reinterpretations of European fables, exemplified by Le rêve (Hommage à La Fontaine).

Left to right: Le rêve (Hommage à La Fontaine), 1949. Estimate: 4,000,000 - 6,000,000 HKD. Nu assoupi sur la table, 1927. Estimate: 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 HKD.

The Foujita Lexicon: Works from the Lewis Collection is the first-ever auction in Asia dedicated entirely to Foujita’s genre-defining work. It provides a rare opportunity to engage with masterpieces from each decade of the artist’s career, across subject-matter and techniques.

Plan Your Visit

I invite you to experience these works for yourself. Highlights will be on view in Shanghai from 29-30 August and in Taipei from 12-13 September, ahead of the exhibition in Hong Kong from 22-27 September.

The Foujita Lexicon: Works from the Lewis Collection will be presented alongside the Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Auction in Hong Kong on 28 September.