Modernist masterpieces head to London auction

An important work by Spanish modernist painter Joan Miro is expected to fetch upwards of 10 million pounds at an auction of impressionist and modernist master pieces in London next month.The 1933 oil painting, which is called "Peinture" and depicts abstract facial features, is being sold by a Swiss private collector and has not been displayed publicly for several years."It's truly a key work from the artist in the middle of the surrealist movement," said Caroline Lang, a co-president at Sotheby's Switzerland.Experts have valued the work at between seven and 10 million pounds (8.4 - 12 million euros) when it goes on the auction block February 8.Other works at the Sotheby's sale in London include those by Gustav Klimt, Salvador Dali, Paul Cezanne and others.A piece by Claude Monet, "LEntree de Giverny en hiver", has not been shown in public since it was painted in 1885.The work is expected to reach up to 6.5 million pounds (7.8 million euros).The 1946 Dali oil painting, "Oasis," is expected to reach a similar amount.A piece by Georges Braque, called "L'Oliveraie" is one of the artist's non-cubist works.