Sotheby’s Saudi Arabia Debut Sets Records for Arab Artists

Sotheby’s first auction in Saudi Arabia, which was held in Diriyah on Saturday, achieved a little over 17 million (all figures USD), with a third of lots acquired by local buyers.

The results aligned with pre-sale estimates of 14 to 20 million, revealing a solid appetite for art, which accounted for around half of 117 lots offered across fine art, luxury goods, and sports memorabilia.

Local and regionally active artists achieved new highs, with close to a third of bidders hailing from the Kingdom and 30 percent of bidders falling under the age of 40. Significant interest in European modern art and digital art was also noted.

Works by Pablo Picasso (Fleurs, 1948), James Turrell (The Light Underneath, 2006), and Mohammed Al Saleem (God, Honor Them and Do Not Honor an Enemy Over Them, 1977) sold for triple their estimates. Al Saleem was one of the four Saudi artists represented at the auction, all of whom outperformed estimates.

Refik Anadol‘s AI-data painting Machine Hallucinations, Space (2019), found a buyer at 900,000. The work was paid for in cryptocurrency, which Sotheby’s accepted across all lots for the first time, citing the wish to expand its buyers’ pool.

Three works achieved over 1 million, including René Magritte‘s gouache on paper L’État de veille (1958) and Banksy‘s spray paint and oil painting Subject to Availability (2019), both for 1.2 million.

Fernando Botero‘s Society Woman (2003) sold for a little over 1 million to a Saudi bidder. The artist’s nude sculpture Man on Horse (2010), which was estimated to bring in between 1 and 1.5 million, was among works that did not sell during the auction. Both pieces were offered by Botero’s son, who gave a public talk on his father’s legacy on Friday before the sale.

Arab modernists who achieved new records at the auction include Syrian painter Louay Kayyali, whose Then What?? (1965), depicting a group of women during the Nakba, sold for 900,000, and Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda Choucair, whose wood sculpture Secret of the Cube (1977) went for 144,000.

Luxury goods fared less well in comparison, with around half of lots in jewellery and handbags not finding a home.

In tandem with the sale, Sotheby’s opened their offices in Riyadh, where it will conduct private sales. Culture and private investment are among sectors backed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Vision 2030 project, aiming to diversify the Kingdom’s oil-dominant portfolio. —[O]

Main image: Mohammed Al Saleem, O' God, Honor Them and Do Not Honor an Enemy Over Them (1977). Oil on canvas. 100 x 120 cm. Courtesy Sotheby's.