Case Study: Why Christie's Is Taking Its Middle Eastern Sale to Abu Dhabi

Twenty years after Dubai, the capital gets its first Christie's fine-art auction.

The case

Christie's has just announced that it will hold its first fine-art auction in Abu Dhabi. Mawasim: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art will take place at The Abu Dhabi EDITION on 1 November 2026, marking two decades since the house held its first sale in the UAE, in Dubai in 2006, when it became the first international auction house to hold a sale in the region. Mawasim means "seasons" in Arabic, and the timing is no accident: the sale lands just weeks before Frieze Abu Dhabi and the opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

The numbers

The sale will offer more than 70 works spanning six decades of practice across the Middle East and North Africa. The top estimate belongs to Lebanese-Armenian painter Paul Guiragossian (1926-1993), whose Noces (Wedding) (1958-59) is estimated at USD 300,000 to 500,000. Palestinian-American artist Samia Halaby's (born 1936) Yesterday (1978) and Syrian artist Marwan's (1934-2016) Kopf (Head) (1987) are each estimated at USD 200,000 to 300,000, while Moroccan modernist Mohamed Melehi's (1936-2020) A30 (1962) carries an estimate of USD 100,000 to 150,000. Egyptian painter Inji Efflatoun's (1924-1989) Untitled (1987) is estimated at USD 40,000 to 60,000 and Lebanese artist Nadia Saikali's (born 1936) Mandala Bleu Nuit (1982) at USD 30,000 to 50,000. Works by Nabil Nahas and Emirati conceptual pioneer Hassan Sharif (1951-2016) are also included.

This is a sale built on names with serious institutional backing. Born in Jerusalem to Armenian parents, Guiragossian settled in Beirut in 1947, and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha holds several of his works. Halaby, also born in Jerusalem, has been based in the United States since 1951, and her work is in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and Abu Dhabi, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum and the Institut du Monde Arabe. Damascus-born Marwan lived and worked in Berlin from 1957 until his death, and is held by the British Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Carnegie Museum of Art. Melehi, born in Asilah, was a leading figure of the Casablanca Art School, and Tate Modern acquired his painting Casa (1970). Cairo-born Efflatoun, a feminist, communist activist and former political prisoner, is best represented at Mathaf and the Museum of Egyptian Modern Art in Cairo, while Saikali, who has lived in France since the mid-1970s, is in the collection of the Institut du Monde Arabe. Nahas, born in Beirut in 1949 and based between Beirut and New York, is representing Lebanon at this year's Venice Biennale and is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern and the British Museum. Sharif, often called the grandfather of Emirati contemporary art, is in the collections of the Guggenheim, the Centre Pompidou and Mathaf.

Provenance is a big part of the pitch. According to The National, the sale includes five works from Sharjah's Barjeel Art Foundation and eight from the Dalloul Collection in Beirut, and Canvas also lists works from the Farid Trad collection. The National reports that when Christie's sold Dalloul works in London in November 2025, 38 per cent of buyers were new to the house. (All estimates are as published in US dollars.)

What happened

Rather than simply shipping a catalogue to the Gulf, Christie's is touring the sale. Highlights were shown in New York from 17 to 20 September, and travel to Paris from 2 to 8 October and London from 8 to 15 October, before a full exhibition in Abu Dhabi from 28 October to 1 November, with talks and events around it. "This event is not a one-off," Ridha Moumni, Chairman of Christie's Middle East and Africa, told The National. "We are coming with the intention of being more present and more visible in the city." He added: "We feel honoured to be entrusted by some estates and living artists with their works."

Why it matters for the region

For years, the headline MENA sales have happened in London, with Dubai as the regional outpost. Moving a flagship sale to Abu Dhabi, with major institutional consignors from Sharjah and Beirut, is a vote of confidence in the capital as a market and not just a museum city, and a win for the MENA region as a whole. It also comes after a bruising spring: The Art Newspaper reported in April that the Gulf art market was feeling the force of the Middle East conflict, and Art Dubai had to postpone and adapt its 2026 edition. A Christie's sale timed to Frieze's arrival and the Guggenheim's opening suggests the houses believe collectors are ready to come back to the room. Encouragingly for our region, the top of the sale is led by modernists from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Morocco and Egypt, and three of the headline names, Halaby, Saikali and Efflatoun, are women.

What to watch

Three things. First, sell-through and depth of bidding on 1 November: will Gulf collectors bid in person, or will the room lean on phone and online bids from London and Beirut? Second, whether Guiragossian, Halaby and Melehi can push past their high estimates, and whether any artist records fall. Third, whether Moumni's promise of a sustained presence turns into a regular Abu Dhabi calendar slot, and how Sotheby's, which has already held sales in Diriyah, responds. Frieze Abu Dhabi follows from 19 to 22 November at Manarat Al Saadiyat, with 84 galleries from 36 countries, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opens on 11 December 2026.

We'll be watching closely, and we'll report back on the results.

Mawasim: 20 Years of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art takes place at The Abu Dhabi EDITION on 1 November 2026, with the pre-sale exhibition open from 28 October.

References

The National, "Christie's to hold first Abu Dhabi fine-art auction ahead of landmark UAE season", https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art-design/2026/09/16/christies-to-hold-first-abu-dhabi-fine-art-auction-ahead-of-landmark-uae-season/

Canvas, "Christie's Announces First Fine-Art Auction in Abu Dhabi", https://canvasonline.com/christies-announces-first-fine-art-auction-in-abu-dhabi/

What's On, "Christie's to host its first auction in Abu Dhabi in November", https://whatson.ae/2026/09/christies-to-host-its-first-auction-in-abu-dhabi-in-november/

Scoop Empire, "Christie's to Hold Its First-Ever Fine Art Auction in Abu Dhabi", https://scoopempire.com/christies-to-hold-its-first-ever-fine-art-auction-in-abu-dhabi/

The Art Newspaper, "Gulf art market feels the force of Middle East conflict", https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/04/21/gulf-art-market-feels-the-force-of-middle-east-conflict

The Art Newspaper, "Art Dubai 2026 to be postponed and adapted in response to regional conflict", https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/03/19/art-dubai-2026-to-be-postponed-and-adapted-in-response-to-regional-conflict

Ayyam Gallery, "Samia Halaby: Biography", https://www.ayyamgallery.com/artists/25-samia-halaby/biography/

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, "Paul Guiragossian", https://mathaf.org.qa/en/encyclopedia/artists-biographies/paul-guiragossian/

ArtAsiaPacific, "Marwan Kassab-Bachi (1934-2016)", https://www.artasiapacific.com/news/marwan-kassab-bachi-1934-2016/

The Art Newspaper, "'King of colour': tributes paid to Moroccan artist Mohamed Melehi who has died of Covid-19, aged 84", https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/10/29/king-of-colour-tributes-paid-to-moroccan-artist-mohamed-melehi-who-has-died-of-covid-19-aged-84

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, "Inji Efflatoun", https://mathaf.org.qa/en/encyclopedia/artists-biographies/inji-efflatoun/

Arab News, "Trailblazers: The scientific and spiritual journey of Lebanon's abstract artist Nadia Saikali", https://www.arabnews.com/node/2476521/lifestyle

AMAN / NNA, "Artist Nabil Nahas to represent Lebanon at the 61st International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia", https://www.aman-alliance.org/Home/ContentDetail/100334

ArtAsiaPacific, "Hassan Sharif (1951-2016)", https://www.artasiapacific.com/news/hassan-sharif-1951-2016/

ARTnews, "Sotheby's Hosts Saudi Arabia's First-Ever International Auction", https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sothebys-establishes-a-foothold-in-saudi-arabia-after-hosting-the-kingdoms-first-major-auction-1234732136/

The National, "Frieze Abu Dhabi reveals 84 galleries for inaugural art fair", https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art-design/2026/08/27/frieze-abu-dhabi-art-galleries-dates-tickets/

Guggenheim, "Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi Announces December 11, 2026, Opening of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi", https://www.guggenheim.org/press-release/abu-dhabi-announces-opening-of-guggenheim-abu-dhabi