Christie's holds its first Abu Dhabi art auction on 1 November
MAWASIM, 70 works of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, goes under the hammer at The Abu Dhabi EDITION on 1 November, with a preview there from today.
Christie's is holding its first fine art auction in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The sale, called MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, takes place at The Abu Dhabi EDITION on Sunday 1 November, with the live auction starting at 5pm. A preview of the works opens at the same hotel today, 28 October, and runs until the day of the sale.
The auction house says the sale brings together 70 works made over nine decades by artists from across the Middle East and North Africa. Mawasim means "seasons" in Arabic, and the title marks 20 years since Christie's held its first sale in the UAE, in Dubai in 2006. Some of the works come from the Dalloul Collection and from the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah.
Among the highlights Christie's has named are Composition (1948 to 1949) by the Turkish-born painter Fahrelnissa Zeid, estimated at $500,000 to $700,000; Baghdad Café (The Coffee Shop), a 2016 canvas by the Iraqi painter Faisel Laibi Sahi, at $400,000 to $600,000; and Mahmoud Saïd's 1952 Portrait of Princess Fadia, also at $400,000 to $600,000. Works by Mohammed Chabâa, Ayman Baalbaki, Ali Banisadr, Saliba Douaihy, Paul Guiragossian, Samia Halaby, Mohamed Melehi and Nabil Nahas are in the sale too.
The preview reaches beyond the region. Gulf News reports that it includes pieces by Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko and Pablo Picasso, with three works from Christie's November sales in New York shown in Abu Dhabi first. The outlet says the Kandinsky on view, Betonte Ecken from 1923, carries an estimate of up to $80 million.
The sale opens a busy few weeks for the art market in the capital. Sotheby's holds its own first fine art sale in Abu Dhabi on 10 December, during its Collectors' Week. Christie's partners for MAWASIM include the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, the luxury group Kering and the hotel itself.
The preview at The Abu Dhabi EDITION, from 28 October to 1 November, is the chance to see the works in person before they go to new owners, including the Kandinsky that is heading on to New York. Christie's has not published daily opening hours or said whether visitors need to register, so check its website or call the hotel before you drive over. The auction itself starts at 5pm on 1 November, and all estimates are given in US dollars.