Buyers sue London's Alison Jacques gallery over cancelled sale of Monica Sjöö paintings

Yoed and Natasha Anise are suing London’s Alison Jacques gallery for breach of contract after the gallery cancelled the sale of three Monica Sjöö (1938–2005) paintings following objections from the artist’s estate. The works—Meeting the Ancestors at Avebury (1993), Forest Beings (1997), and Amazon Women of the Bronze Age (1999)—were purchased on 6 October 2023 for £264,000, a 20% discount from the £330,000 asking price. The dispute escalated after the couple met Sjöö’s relatives at a dinner tied to the artist’s retrospective at Modern Art Oxford on 16 November 2023, after which the gallery said the estate had rescinded the sale; the case is scheduled to be heard at the Central London County Court in March 2027. In a counterclaim, the gallery alleges the buyers intended to use the paintings as decoration (including possibly in children’s rooms) and that their adviser, Marie St Germain, misrepresented the couple’s collecting intentions and status.

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