Christie's Holds Its First Fine Art Auction in Abu Dhabi
Christie's, the auction house, is holding its first fine art auction in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The live sale is scheduled for 1 November 2026, starting at 5 p.m. Gulf Standard Time, according to Christie's.
The sale is called "MAWASIM: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art." It brings together about 70 works, known in the trade as lots, which means individual items offered for sale. They span nine decades. "Mawasim" is the Arabic word for "seasons," and the title marks 20 years since Christie's held its first sale in the UAE, in Dubai in 2006.
Prices for the works in the sale run from US$8,000 to US$12,000 at the lower end, up to US$500,000 to US$700,000 at the top. Those ranges are estimates, the price bands the auction house expects each lot to reach. The final price can fall above or below them.
Three larger works will also be on view in Abu Dhabi, although they are not part of this sale. Wassily Kandinsky's Betonte Ecken (1923) carries an estimate of US$60 million to US$80 million. ARTnews reports that the painting will be auctioned at Christie's New York in November. Christie's describes it as monumental in scale and ambition. Artnet News reports that it was painted shortly after Kandinsky joined the Bauhaus, the German art and design school, in Weimar.
The other two works on show are Mark Rothko's Untitled (1968), estimated at US$10 million to US$15 million, and Pablo Picasso's Tête de femme (1939), estimated at US$12 million to US$18 million. Christie's says it has brought more than US$130 million of art to Abu Dhabi ahead of the auction.
The pre-sale exhibition runs from 28 October to 1 November at The Abu Dhabi EDITION, a hotel on Al Bateen Marina. The Kandinsky, Rothko and Picasso works go on view there from Wednesday, 28 October. Visitors can see them in person before bidding begins.
For the people who will crate, insure and install these works, the move means a long set of logistics across several days and borders. For visitors in the Gulf, it means a rare chance to see large-scale modern works without a trip to New York, London or Paris. The sale date is set, and the rest will be known once the hammer falls on 1 November.
