Sotheby’s and Christie’s together hope to sell up to £500m in artworks during their February auctions in London beginning next week.

If realised, the amount would be 20 per cent more than last year, which was itself 50 per cent more than the year before. Highlights of the Impressionist and Modern, and the postwar and contemporary, art sales include works by Francis Bacon, known for depicting contorted human forms, and Andy Warhol, a key figure in the pop art movement.