Saudi Arabia hosts Sotheby’s auction featuring Picasso, Warhol and Middle Eastern masters

The auction spans categories including Ancient Sculpture, 20th-Century Design and Prints, Middle Eastern, Modern and Contemporary, Latin American, and Modern and Contemporary South Asian art.

Sotheby’s will hold its second auction in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 31, featuring over 70 works by leading local, Middle Eastern, and international artists.

Titled “Origins,” the sale takes place in Diriyah, the Kingdom’s birthplace and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The full selection will be available for free public viewing at Bujairi Terrace from Jan. 24.

The event coincides with the opening of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale and comes ahead of Art Basel Doha in February. The auction spans categories including Ancient Sculpture, 20th-Century Design and Prints, Middle Eastern, Modern and Contemporary, Latin American, and Modern and Contemporary South Asian art.

Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of sale and contemporary art specialist, said the auction reflects the company’s continued commitment to Saudi Arabia’s growing art ecosystem.

Key Auction Highlights

Safeya Binzagr, Coffee Shop in Madina Road (1968) – $150,000–$200,000
Considered one of Saudi Arabia’s pioneering artists and the “spiritual mother” of contemporary local art. The work comes from the collection of Alberto Mestas Garcia and Mercedes Suarez de Tangil Guzman.
Mohammed Al-Saleem, Untitled (1989) – $150,000–$200,000
An example of his Horizonism style inspired by desert landscapes, from a private collection in Bahrain.
Mahmoud Sabri, Demonstration (1968) – $400,000–$500,000
Combines social realism with Christian imagery in a charged depiction of mourning and protest.
Samia Halaby, Copper (1976) – $120,000–$180,000
Highlights the artist’s move toward abstraction in the 1970s.
Ahmed Morsi, Deux Pecheurs (1954) – $120,000–$180,000
A rare early work by the Egyptian artist, previously offered at auction only five times.
Pablo Picasso, Paysage (1965) – $2–3 million
Painted in Mougins during the final decade of his life, reflecting his late engagement with landscape and dialogue with art history.
Anish Kapoor, Untitled (2005) – $600,000–$800,000
A large-scale concave mirror sculpture from Kapoor’s iconic mirror series.
Andy Warhol, Disquieting Muses (After de Chirico) (1982) – $800,000–$1.2 million
Reinterprets Giorgio de Chirico’s 1917 painting through Pop Art repetition. Includes Warhol’s set of four Muhammad Ali screenprints from 1978 – $300,000–$500,000.
Jean Dubuffet, Le soleil les decolore (1947) – $800,000–$1.2 million
Appears at auction for the first time, inspired by the artist’s travels in the Sahara.
Roy Lichtenstein, 7 works from the personal collection of Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein
Includes:
- Interior with Ajax (Study) (1997) – $600,000–$800,000
- The Great Pyramid Banner (Study) (1980) – $150,000–$200,000