Art collection could fetch £15m

Seurat Le Tas de Pierre could fetch nearly £1m

A Dutch businessman's vast art collection valued at £15m and includes works by Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet and Cezanne is up for auction.

The Dr Anton CR Dreesmann Collection goes on display at Christie's in London ahead of its four-day sale later in the month.

The 1,300 pieces, including a Seurat estimated to fetch up to £900,000, will be split between London and Amsterdam.

The businessman and entrepreneur collated his vast art collection over 40 years after inheriting his interest from his grandfather.

'Personal quest'

Dr Dreesmann died in 2000 and his family are selling off much of the collection, broken up into five sales categories.

The auction, which starts on 9 April, includes a Van Gogh portrait of the Sien and a dune landscape, each with estimated price tags of up to £180,000.

Van Gogh's Sien:facing left is valued at £150,000

Christie's Amsterdam chairman Jop Ubbens said: "Dr Anton CR Dreesmann fulfilled a personal quest to find beautiful and rare objects across the whole spectrum of artistic endeavour for more than 40 years.

This sale commemorates a passionate collector."

Noel Annesley, Christie's Fine Art Specialist Group chairman, added: "It is extremely rare in recent times to witness the vision of a collector with such a wide-ranging enthusiasm and appetite for works of art."

Gold mouse

The following day, the European Furniture and Works of Art and Chinese Export Porcelain sale will take place, including clocks, textiles and sculptures.

Old master pictures and drawings, portrait miniatures, gold boxes and objects of vertu will be also be auctioned off.

Among the more curious items is an early 19th Century Swiss antique gold mouse automaton with fur of white enamel and pearls valued at up to £80,000.

The final sale will be held at Christie's in Amsterdam in Holland on 16 April and will contain Dutch works reflecting the nation's culture, craftsmanship and tastes over many centuries.