Christie's Inaugural Abu Dhabi Auction Surpasses Expectations, Achieving $8.94 Million and Setting Nine New Records

Christie’s inaugural fine art auction in Abu Dhabi concluded on Sunday with a total of $8.94 million, marking the auction house’s most successful evening sale of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art in over a decade. The event, titled Mawasim: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, was held at The Abu Dhabi Edition and featured 70 lots from 58 artists across 13 countries. This auction also commemorated two decades since Christie’s first held an auction in the UAE, in Dubai in 2006.

Anthea Peers, Christie’s president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, expressed her delight to The National, stating, “We were absolutely thrilled this evening to see bidding from across our global client base. We felt enormous excitement in the room, and there was a real sense of engagement and dynamism.” She added, “This is only the beginning. We are very excited to build on tonight to make our contribution to the ecosystem of Abu Dhabi.”

The highest price of the sale was achieved by Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s 2006 work, Variations on the Hexagon, which sold for $844,800 after nearly seven minutes of bidding, significantly exceeding its estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. Other notable sales included Turkish artist Fahrelnissa Zeid’s Composition (1948–1949) for $524,800. Iraqi artist Faisel Laibi Sahi’s Baghdad Cafe (The Coffee Shop) (2016) and Iranian artist Ali Banisadr’s Homo Deus (2018) each garnered $512,000. Armenian-Lebanese painter Paul Guiragossian’s Noces (Wedding) (1958–1959) reached $486,400, a figure matched by Egyptian artist Mahmoud Said’s Portrait de Princesse Fadia (Portrait of Princess Fadia) (1952) and Zeid’s Endless Thoughts from the 1970s.

The auction saw nine new auction records established, including records for specific media for Guiragossian and Halaby. Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s Yesterday (1978) sold for $358,400, and Lebanese artist Ayman Baalbaki’s Babel Tower (2012) fetched $281,600. Farhad Moshiri’s Untitled (2003) rounded out the top 10 highest-priced works at $230,400.

The event also marked auction debuts for Emirati artists Rami Farook, Fatma Lootah, and Afra Al Dhaheri, as well as Lebanese artist Nabil Kanso. According to Christie’s, over 30 percent of the registrants were millennials or Gen Z, with 37 percent being new to the auction house. The auction was preceded by a week of exhibitions and events and featured works from the Dalloul Collection in Beirut and the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah.