Kay Saatchi artworks to go up for auction

Mueck's work was introduced to the Saatchis by Paula Rego, his mother-in-law

Works by the likes of Lucian Freud, Paula Rego and Ron Mueck from the collection of Kay Saatchi are to go on sale later this year.

Mueck's 1996 work, Big Baby, and Rego's Looking Back are among the items on offer at a Christie's auction in London on 28 June.

Mueck's Big Baby (1996) was his first documented work as an artist and has an estimate of £800,000 to £1.2m.

Saatchi played a key role in the emergence of the Young British Artists.

Married to Charles Saatchi for 15 years, she co-curated over 30 shows at the Saatchi gallery.

She also co-curated the controversial Sensation exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1997.

Sensation featured many works produced by the Young British Artists movement - or the YBAs - including those by Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin.

Saatchi is selling some of her collection as she is moving to Los Angeles after 25 years living in London, although she will continue to have a base in the capital.

"It was a privilege to be in London at such a significant moment in the development of contemporary British art," she said.

Five rare Freud drawings dating from the 1940s could fetch a collective total of more than £1m, according to Christie's estimates.

Other works from Saatchi's collection to be auctioned include those by Sam Taylor-Wood and Andy Warhol.