ArtDayME: On October 1 and 2, the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation in partnership with Sotheby’s successfully staged the most valuable art exhibition ever held in the Middle East, bringing together six masterpieces collectively valued at around $150 million. The landmark event, which has now concluded, marked Sotheby’s first-ever public fine art show in the UAE.

Over two days, visitors in Abu Dhabi had the rare opportunity to encounter works by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Frida Kahlo, René Magritte, Camille Pissarro, and Edvard Munch. None of these works had ever been displayed in the Middle East before, and several had not been seen publicly in decades.

The featured highlights included Van Gogh’s Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes) (1887), a rare still life estimated at $40 million, and Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait El sueño (La cama) (1940), which is expected to set a new auction record for a female artist when it is offered in New York this November.

The exhibition concluded with high acclaim, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as a cultural hub and a meeting place for the world’s collectors and art enthusiasts.

Photos credit: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation