Christie’s will exhibit more than $130 million of art in Abu Dhabi ahead of its first fine art auction in the UAE capital, the auction house said on Tuesday.
The live auction, MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, takes place on November 1 at The Abu Dhabi EDITION hotel, Christie’s said in a statement. A pre-sale exhibition runs from October 28 to November 1.
The sale comprises 70 works spanning nine decades by artists from the Middle East and North Africa, including works from the Dalloul Collection and the Barjeel Art Foundation.
Christie’s will also show three works from its New York 20th and 21st century sales in November. The most valuable is Wassily Kandinsky’s Betonte Ecken from 1923, estimated at $60 million to $80 million.
The other two are an untitled 1968 work by Mark Rothko, estimated at $10 million to $15 million, and Pablo Picasso’s Tete de femme from 1939, estimated at $12 million to $18 million.
Paige Kestenman, co-head of Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale, said the Kandinsky would “deservedly establish a new auction record” for the artist.
MAWASIM lots include Abdul Halim Radwi’s 1989 canvas Afaq Halima (Space), estimated at $250,000 to $350,000, and an Ibrahim el-Salahi sculpture estimated at $150,000 to $200,000.
The exhibition and events are presented in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), with support from luxury group Kering. Christie’s held its first UAE auction in Dubai in 2006.
