Going, going, on! Sotheby’s art and luxury auction in KSA sets milestones

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

A starlit amphitheatre was the stage on February 8 for the first ever auction dedicated to fine art and luxury in Saudi Arabia. The event, titled Origins and organised by Sotheby’s in Diriyah, Riyadh, attracted throngs of people - the 250-seat space was filled to capacity, with many additional attendees choosing to stand in order to witness the auction.The evening opened with a performance by Saudi Arabia’s leading opera singer, Reemaz Oqbi, who delivered a rendition of a piece from Bizet’s Carmen as well as ‘O Sole Mio’. Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of Diriya Company Group, then welcomed the attendees before handing over to Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s Chief Auctioneer, to open the bidding on what was a landmark moment for the region’s art market, and definitely a historic moment for Sotheby’s.

The gavel next passed to Jessica Wyndham, Sotheby’s Senior Jewellery Specialist. Between them, the two auctioneers fielded bids from collectors in the amphitheatre and on the phones, dialing in from across the region as well as America, Europe and Asia. The sale totalled $17,283,840; nearly 2,500 visitors were present, and over 700 visitors attended the panel discussions. Collectors from 45 countries participated in the auction and almost a third of lots sold to buyers were from within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Over 30 per cent of participants were under the age of 40.

Abstract art on the wall.

No fewer than 7 bidders - including two in the room and one online - chased James Turrell’s light installation The Light Underneath, which sold for $660,000. Turrell’s work is more in the spotlight than ever in Saudi Arabia, with his unveiling of plans for a monumental installation in AlUla, coming up early this year. Refik Anadol’s Machine Hallucinations, Space, inspired by a collaboration with NASA, sold for $900,000. The work has been acquired by the newly established Bity Foundation, a forward-thinking philanthropic initiative at the intersection of art, blockchain, and community engagement. It has been founded by Swiss tech entrepreneur and art collector Gian Bochsler and is managed by advisor Romain Sabah.

Offered from the collection of the artist’s son, Fernando Botero’s Society Woman made a hefty $1 million, following competition from 3 bidders, selling to a buyer in the room. Banksy’s Subject to Availability, from his series of ‘vandalised oils’, sold for $1.2 million. Featuring the Surrealist artist’s iconic motif of the clouded blue sky, René Magritte’s L’État de veille sold for $1.2 million. A work on paper by Pablo Picasso, Fleurs from 1948, sold for $204,000, more than 3 times its estimate. Leading the offering of Saudi art, 4 bidders competed on a painting by Mohammed Al Saleem - offered directly from the collection of the daughter of the artist - selling for a triple-estimate $660,000. The artwork brings together abstract Arabic calligraphy with Al Saleem’s characteristic vision of horizons in the Saudi landscape.

The auction also saw Abdulhalim Radwi’s bustling market scene from 1984, sell for a record $264,000 (est: $150,000-200,000) competed for by 4 bidders, including one bidding online and another in the room. Ahmed Mater’s Illumination Diptych (Makkiah Tale) also exceeded its estimate at $102,000. Mater’s works have been collected and are exhibited internationally by institutions across the Gulf, United Kingdom and United States. Maha Malluh’s Magadeer (from Food for Thought) sold for an above estimate $84,000. Malluh is greatly influenced by her spiritual connection to the historic region of Najd, with its strong religious and cultural heritage, colourful patterned fabrics, and old Najdi architecture. The four works by Saudi artists together totalled $1.1 million.

Arranging an objet d'art.

Sparking an extended bidding battle, one of the most important images in the realm of modern Arab Art, Then What?? By Louay Kayyali sold for $900,000 - a new record for the artist. Also from the prestigious Samawi Collection, Samia Halaby’s Blue Trap (in a Railroad Station), from the 1970s realised $384,000, with 3 bidders, including a participant in the room. Offered directly from the artist’s Foundation, Saloua Raouda Choucair sold for $144,000 to benefit education and research, following a 3-way bidding battle. It was one of Choucair’s only early wood sculptures to appear on the market. 4 bidders vied for a rare painting by Aref El Rayess depicting the artist’s time in Saudi Arabia; it sold for $108,000. Works from the Desert series were exhibited in the Venice Biennale in 2024.

“For many years,” said Ashkan Baghestani, Head of Sale for Fine Art, Sotheby’s, “Saudi Arabia’s cultural expansion has been a source of great inspiration to us at Sotheby’s. Tonight marked a historic milestone in the art market of the region, set against the backdrop of Diriyah, the birthplace of the kingdom and a burgeoning new hub for culture. The results that we have achieved here during our inaugural sale is a clear signal of the depth of appetite that exists for art.” “The Middle East is a region rich with history and tradition - particularly in the creative arts,” said Vincent Brasesco, Head of Sale for Luxury, Sotheby’s. “The enthusiasm that we witnessed in the week leading up to the auction demonstrates the ongoing evolution of the market here, in tandem with a continued celebration of the world class artisans from the great brands of the world like Cartier, Rolex, and Hermes.” Among other luxury offerings, a diamond Himalaya Birkin by Hermès brought an above-estimate $336,000 and a specially commissioned Cartier Crash went for $228,000.