LONDON: Sotheby’s will hold its second auction in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 31. It follows the inaugural sale in February this year, which was the first international auction to take place in the Kingdom.
The second sale — like the first, titled “Origins” — will include works by Saudi artists, including the late Safeya Binzagr and Mohammed Al-Saleem, as well as international figures such as the Indian-born British sculptor, and Turner Prize winner, Anish Kapoor.
The works offered for sale will be on display to the public during a free, week-long exhibition. Details of the venue have yet to be confirmed.
“As the leader in this rapidly evolving market, Sotheby’s provides unparalleled exposure and is steadfastly committed to nurturing the region’s burgeoning art ecosystem,” said Ashkan Baghestani, the auction house’s head of sale and contemporary art specialist.
The auction will coincide with the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. It also precedes Art Basel Qatar, the first staging of the art fair in the Middle East, which which will take place in Doha from Feb. 5 to 7.
Binzagr, who was born in Jeddah in 1940 and died in 2024, was a pioneering artist in Saudi Arabia, widely regarded as the “spiritual mother” of the contemporary scene in the Kingdom. In recognition of her contributions to art and the Saudi identity she was awarded the King Abdulaziz Medal in 2017.
She drew inspiration from the Kingdom’s rich cultural heritage, as well as its local traditions, customs and clothing. Sotheby’s will auction her 1968 painting, “Coffee Shop on Madinah Road.”
Mohammed Al-Saleem, Untitled, 1989. (Supplied / Sotheby’s)
A 1989 painting by Al-Saleem, who was born in 1939 and died in 1997, is also up for sale. A modernist who pioneered the visual language of “Horizonism” in the Kingdom, he was inspired by the changing colors of the Riyadh skyline as he viewed it from the desert.
His works have been showcased in 36 solo exhibitions worldwide and one of his paintings sold for $1.1 million at Sotheby’s London in 2023, the world auction record for a work by a Saudi artist.
Sotheby’s inaugural “Origins” auction in February, which took place in Diriyah, recorded $17 million in sales and drew participants from 45 countries. Almost one in three of the buyers were from Saudi Arabia, the auction house said.
“At Sotheby's, we are not simply participating in this market — we are actively shaping and expanding it, bringing our global expertise, passion and vision to the heart of the Middle East,” Baghestani said.
The New York auction house and art broker in 2022 supported the Kingdom’s first Contemporary Art Biennale, as well as the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah in 2023 and the follow-up event in 2025. It has also participated in cultural events at the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and the Riyadh International Book Fair.
