Works by Picasso and Warhol go on sale at landmark Sotheby’s auction in Saudi Arabia

Pieces by dozens of celebrated regional artists are also set to go under the hammer in Riyadh at the broker’s first sale in the kingdom

Fernando Botero's Society Woman is estimated to fetch up to $1 million at the sale. Photo: Sotheby's

Works by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Colombian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero are among Sotheby’s inaugural auction in Saudi Arabia, set to take place on February 8.

Tiled Origins, the exhibition will also showcase the works of more than 50 renowned international and regional artists. The free exhibition before the auction will take place in the historic city of Diriyah at Bujairi Terrace and feature up to 100 pieces, including digital art, as well as jewellery, watches, sports memorabilia and handbags.

“Given this is the first auction in Saudi Arabia, we wanted to show what makes Sotheby’s who we are and give a taste of the amazing fields and artists we represent at auction,” Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of sale and contemporary art specialist, tells The National. “It was also important to bring new names to Saudi Arabia, many of whom have not been exhibited here before.”

Two works by the influential American pop artist Warhol – Police Car and Space Ship – from his Toy Painting series of the 1980s will go on sale, each estimated between $150,000 and $200,000. A third Warhol item is an edition of his famed Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom portrait, estimated to fetch between $200,000 and $400,000.

The Picasso work is a 1948 pencil-on-paper piece titled Fleurs. Estimated between $50,000 to $70,000, the work shows the Spanish maestro's mastery of line, where organic and vegetal forms that were prevalent in his work at that period, are full of immediacy and dynamism.

Other international artists in the exhibition include the Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte, Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky and Italian artist and writer Giorgio de Chirico.

The regional offering includes works by pioneering Saudi artists Mohammed Al Saleem and Abdulhalim Radwi, Syrian modernist artist Louay Kayali, Lebanese painter and sculptor Huguette Caland and renowned Palestinian-American visual artist Samia Halaby.

“It was very important to us to present an international selection of artworks, not only focusing on Middle Eastern art but also on international names,” Baghestani says. “We wanted to bring a wide range of artists to the doorsteps of our existing client base, but also think about what works might attract the attention of a new set of potential bidders.”

Of the international offerings, two works are estimated to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million, making them the most expensive of the pieces going to auction.

The first, Magritte’s L'Etat de veille, is a gouache on paper work characteristic of his surrealist style, and is from a series that depicts specific motifs, such as the sky. In this work, a cloud-filled sky covers the facade of a home, challenging our conventional perceptions of reality and creating an enigmatic dream-like image.

The second work is Man on Horse, a bronze sculpture by Botero, known for his style of adding volume and weight to his figures. This particular work depicts a plump man gazing out into the distance as he sits on top of an equally robust horse. The sculpture is a contemporary interpretation, in Botero’s unique style, of the classic equestrian statue, playing on a theme that also has resonance in the region.

Baghestani believes that no market should be restricted to a particular region and that it’s always been important for him to platform Middle Eastern artists in Sotheby’s international sales. Now, he's implementing the reverse in the region.

“That is what we are trying to do here, opening the market to new horizons, conversations and buyers, and introducing artists that we are passionate about to all of the people that we will hopefully meet over the course of the week-long exhibition,” he says.

“By curating the auction this way, we are placing our region’s amazing artists in dialogue and in context with their international peers.”

From the works by regional artists, Kayali’s powerful painting Then What?? is expected to fetch the highest amount and sell between $500,000 to $700,000.

In the work, Kayali depicts 11 figures, nine women and two children, all dressed in black and contrasted against a mustard yellow background. The figures, with their elongated necks, expressive poses and muted expressions, are compositionally arranged in two groups on each side of the frame.

Their poses and gazes lead the eye to various parts of the painting and eventually to the only figure looking directly out at the viewer – a young boy holding a dove that appears to be dead.

The work is emblematical of Kayali’s style and approach to depicting social issues and human struggles through strong figurative pieces.

“The most important work in the sale from the Middle Eastern component is the Louay Kayali, which is one of the most iconic, well documented and best-loved works of modern Arab art,” Baghestani says.

“It is truly extraordinary to have something of this quality by this artist to come to auction, and it can be directly compared to the museum-quality masterpieces that have made records by Mahmoud Said, Abdel Hadi Al Gazzar, Bahman Mohasses and Mahmoud Sabri.”

Baghestani says that it’s exciting to be able to showcase Arab art history to the public in Saudi Arabia, which lends itself to a greater desire regionally to grow the art community in the kingdom. This includes the growing infrastructure for commercial galleries to the opening of new museums such as the Digital Art Museum in Riyadh.

“There is so much more to come too, and our auction is also a landmark moment in history,” Baghestani says. “Together, this sets the foundation for what is going to become one of the most exciting destinations for art in the world – with the institutional world and commercial world working hand in hand.”