The London season of modern, post-war and contemporary art is all about Surrealism and German Expressionism.

More precisely: by René Magritte and Franz Marc.

Spectacular new records are being targeted for both artists.

In addition, the wide range offers top-class summer Monets as well as top works by the local giants Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud.

Internationally sought-after up-and-coming stars such as the London painters Jadé Fadojutimi, Flora Yukhnovich and Issy Wood, who caused heated bidding wars in the past autumn season, will kick things off among the contemporaries.

To coincide with the opening of the exhibition "Surrealism beyond Borders" at the Tate Modern (until August 29), Sotheby's' Magritte's house lying in the dark against a daylight sky secured "L'empire des lumières", which was rated "in excess of" £45m should set a new record for the Belgian surrealist.

He painted it in 1961 for his muse Anne-Marie Gillion Crowet, from whose collection it was consigned.

Magritte's record price since 2018 is $26.8 million (premium included).

Franz Marc's “Foxes”, which were recently restituted by the city of Düsseldorf to the heirs of the collector couple Kurt and Else Grawi, will go under the hammer at Christie's.

1913's 'The Foxes' is expected to be 'around £35million'.

That would more than double Marc's record price in pounds.

In 2018, Christie's in London sold his 1912 paper work Three Horses for £15.4 million (plus buyer's premium), with an estimate of between £2.3 million and £3.5 million.

Both Marc and Magritte have been given guarantees, the records are secure.

Christie's is expecting total sales of between £189m and £269m for a total of ninety lots in the 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale and The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale on March 1st.

Sotheby's is targeting between £192.4m and £252.8m for 78 lots in the Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction, followed by contemporary auction The Now the following day.

The 20th Century and Contemporary Art evening auction at Phillips has 47 lots expected to total between £29m and £42.21m.

For Christie's, the London season with day and evening auctions (without Shanghai, with an additional online auction) with 566 lots should generate between 209.9 and 299.4 million pounds, Sotheby's is aiming for 272 lots in the day and evening auctions between 213 and 282 million an, Phillips with 192 lots £36.25-52.77m.

At Christie's things get under way in the early afternoon as the London evening sale is preceded by the 20th/21st Century: Shanghai Evening Sale with twenty lots valued at the equivalent of £19.4m to £29.48m.

From Shanghai there is then a switchover to the British capital.

It is hoped that Asian bidders will continue to bid - a concept that has proven itself for Christie's over the past two years.

Christie's is also celebrating the move to its new office in the historic Bund district, overlooking the Huangpu River, with the evening auction in Shanghai led by Basquiat.

The top lot at Christie's London evening sale is Francis Bacon's 'Triptych 1986-7' (estimate £35/55m).

The work is being offered for the first time at auction and was last seen in the major Bacon exhibition at the Center Pompidou in 2020.

However, Franz Marc's “Foxes” could challenge him for the top position.

In third place is Lucien Freud's intimate portrait "Girl with Closed Eyes" (10/15 million), which has been in the same British private collection since 1987.