First Sotheby's auction in Saudi Arabia finds 'extraordinary result' for Arab artists

The auction house's head of sale tells The National that the firm will focus on well-known and Arab names for future events

The auction totalled more than $17 million, with records set for pioneers of Arab art and three artworks selling for over $1 million. Getty Images

The first Sotheby's auction in Saudi Arabia was held in Diriyah on Saturday, with results showing a particularly strong demand for modern, contemporary, Middle Eastern and digital art among collectors in the kingdom.

Works by Pablo Picasso, James Turrell and Saudi artist Mohammed Al Saleem each tripled their estimates, with one third of bidders coming from Saudi Arabia, 30 per cent of participants under the age of 40 and majority of contemporary pieces sold going to local bidders.

"Modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art all outperformed my expectations," Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of sale for fine art, tells The National.

The total sale reached $17,283,840, with three pieces selling for more than $1 million. About 2,500 attended the Origins exhibition ahead of the sale with an additional 700 visitors attending panel discussions. The event itself was filled beyond its capacity, with many standing along the sides of the 250-seat space to witness the sale.

"It was clear that in the future, we need to focus more on bringing established names, particularly because the Picasso produced an extraordinary result, with a lot of the bidders being local."

Picasso's Fleurs, a work on paper from 1948, was estimated to sell for between $50,000 to $70,000, but sold for $204,000.

There was a particular interest for artists who have an established footprint in Saudi Arabia. Turrell's installation, The Light Underneath, sold for $660,000, estimated at $120,000 to $180,000. The American artist, 81, unveiled plans for an installation in AlUla last year.

"It was fascinating to see how much excitement there was around digital art overall. We hadn't seen a price like this for a James Turrell in a long time, which was extremely exciting."

Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of sale for fine art, (far right) says that modern and contemporary Arab art exceeded his expectations. Getty Images

Another digital piece, Refik Anadol's Machine Hallucinations, Space, is an "AI data painting" according to the artist and sold for $900,000.

Local and regional work was of particularly interest. In addition to Al Saleem's O'God, Honor Them and Do Not Honor an Enemy Over Them selling for $660,000, all works by Saudi artists outperformed estimates, including pieces by Abdulhalim Radwi, Ahmed Mater and Maha Malluh, totalling $1.1 million.

Other Arab artworks outperformed estimates, including Syrian artist Louay Kayyali's Then What??, which depicts the Nakba, selling for $900,000, which is a new record for the artist. Palestinian artist Samia Halaby's Blue Trap (In A Railroad Station), painted in the 1970s, sold for $384,000. Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda Choucair's sculpture Secret of the Cube went for $144,000, and fellow countryman Aref El Rayess's Untitled, which depicts his time in Saudi Arabia, sold for $108,000.

Pieces by Saudi and Arab artists in particular surpassed estimates, with several reaching respective records. AFP

While several fine art pieces were not sold, Baghestani says that Sotheby's has received a number of post-sale offers for the works, including for Colombian artist Fernando Botero's Man on Horse sculpture, which was estimated to sell between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000.

The piece was one of two works from the artist offered in the sale, both by Botero's son, also named Fernando Botero, who was in attendance and gave a public talk on his father's legacy on Friday. Botero's painting Society Woman sold to a bidder in the room, who stood up to shake the hand of Botero Jr after the gavel struck.

While the star of the show was fine art, there were a number of notable sales in the luxury and sports memorabilia categories, including a game-worn Michael Jordan jersey from the 1998 NBA playoffs, featured in a key moment of the Netflix documentary The Last Dance. The piece sold for $960,000, with four Cristiano Ronaldo match-worn jerseys selling for a total of $151,200.

While the luxury section, held after the fine art and with fewer remaining in attendance, featured far fewer sales, there were a number of notable pieces that were sold, including a diamond Himalaya Birkin by Hermes ($336,000), a commissioned Cartier Crash ($228,000), a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona ($240,000) and a pair of pendant Graff earrings ($780,000).

The success of the sale likely means that this will not be the last auction to be held in Saudi Arabia, though the organisation and selection will be altered in subsequent events held by Sotheby's.

"There are a few things that I expected to sell, but that's the risk and beauty of auction. Overall, this is an extraordinary result," says Baghestani.