ArtDayME: On October 1 and 2, Abu Dhabi will host Sotheby’s most valuable art exhibition ever staged in the Middle East, with six masterpieces collectively valued at around $150 million. The exhibition, which will take place at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation on Saadiyat Island, marks Sotheby’s first public fine art show in the UAE and a milestone for the region.

The featured works are by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Frida Kahlo, René Magritte, Camille Pissarro, and Edvard Munch. None of these works have ever been exhibited in the Middle East before, and several have not been publicly displayed in decades. After their debut in Abu Dhabi, the paintings will travel to London and Paris before heading to New York, where they will be auctioned in November at Sotheby’s new headquarters in the historic Breuer building on Madison Avenue.

^{Vincent van Gogh, Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes), 1887. Photo: Sotheby's}

Highlights include Van Gogh’s Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes) (1887), a rare still life of books estimated at $40 million, and Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait El sueño (La cama) (1940), which is expected to achieve between $40 and $60 million and potentially set a new auction record for a female artist.

^{Frida Kahlo's El sueno (La cama), 1940. Photo: Sotheby's}

Other significant works include Gauguin’s La Maison de Pen du, gardeuse de vache (1889), Magritte’s Le Jockey Perdu, Munch’s St. John’s Night (Midsummer Night’s Eve), and Pissarro’s Bords de l’Oise à Pontoise (1872).

^{Paul Gauguin's La Maison de Pen du, gardeuse de vache, 1889. Photo: Sotheby's}

Many of the works come from renowned private collections, including those of Cindy and Jay Pritzker, founders of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. Sotheby’s emphasized the significance of presenting these treasures in the UAE, noting that Abu Dhabi has established itself as a global hub for art and culture, home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the forthcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

^{Rene Magritte's Le Jockey Perdu. Photo: Sotheby's}

“This exhibition is a true milestone — the most extensive and valuable Sotheby’s has ever staged in the Middle East,” said Katia Nounou Boueiz, head of Sotheby’s UAE. Julian Dawes, head of Impressionist and Modern Art at Sotheby’s, added: “Bringing together these masterworks for the first time in the region is an opportunity we couldn’t miss. Abu Dhabi is not only a hub for art and culture, but also a meeting place for the world’s collectors and enthusiasts.”

^{Edvard Munch's St John's Night / Midsummer Night's Eve}
 

^{Camille Pissarro's Bords de l’Oise a Pontoise, 1872. Photo: Sotheby's}